Executive Summary / Abstract
Sulapa Institute is supporting the delivery of Researchers Working Across Cultures, the second module of the PAIR Talent Accelerator Program (TAP) under the Australia–Indonesia Centre's Partnership for Australia–Indonesia Research (PAIR). The four-week online module helps early-career researchers from Indonesia and Australia build cultural intelligence (CQ), a learnable capability for navigating differences in communication, hierarchy and decision-making in cross-cultural research.
Sulapa Institute is supporting the delivery of Researchers Working Across Cultures, the second module of the Australia-Indonesia Centre's (AIC) Partnership for Australia-Indonesia Research (PAIR) Talent Accelerator Program (TAP). TAP is a capacity-strengthening initiative under the AIC's PAIR program. It helps early-career researchers build practical skills beyond their disciplines, including inclusive research practice, cross-cultural collaboration, transdisciplinary teamwork and research impact.
Research today is inherently cross cultural. Partnerships bring together different countries, institutions and disciplines, each with its own norms around communication, hierarchy, feedback, time and decision making. When these differences go unrecognised, they can quietly erode trust and weaken even strong research. RWAC treats cultural competence as a learnable capability, cultural intelligence (CQ), rather than an innate trait or a list of dos and don'ts.
What the module covers
Over four weeks and about 12 hours of learning, participants combine self paced content on OpenLearning with live Zoom workshops. They explore culture and cultural intelligence, how cultural values shape research and collaboration, and practical strategies for building intercultural skills. The module closes with a reflective final assignment. In it, participants connect their learning to real PAIR or research experience and set out a personal action plan for working more effectively across cultures.
Live workshops
Two substantive live classes brought practitioner perspectives into the course:
- From Cultural Awareness to Collaborative Practice: Working Across Indonesia–Australia Research Settings by Welmince Djulete, PhD, Assistant Professor (Research), Monash University, Indonesia – Herb Feith Indonesian Engagement Centre
- Bridging Cultures in Practice: Lessons from Australia–Indonesia Collaboration and Community Engagement by Rahmat Hidayat HM, Member of Board of Directors, CAUSINDY
Participants and inclusion
The module is open to early career researchers, academic staff and research practitioners from AIC partner universities, mainly within the PAIR Sulawesi network. All live sessions include BISINDO sign-language interpretation.