Professor Ariel Heryanto

Professor Ariel Heryanto.

Ariel Heryanto is the founding Director of the Monash Herb Feith Indonesian Engagement Centre at Monash University. Previously he was Head of the Southeast Asia Centre, The Australian National University, and Head of the Indonesia Program at The University of Melbourne. For many years, he has been a dedicated supporter of Australia-Indonesia relations.

A graduate of Monash University in 1994, Professor Heryanto returned to Australia and took his first continuing academic position at The University of Melbourne in 2000. In 2002 he collaborated with other Indonesians in Melbourne to launch the Indonesian Film Festival in Melbourne, the first for ten years. Since 2006 the Festival has been held annually.

Soon after Professor Heryanto moved to The Australian National University, he pioneered a collaboration with the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA). In 2010 he co-convened with Mr. Quentin Turnour (Programmer of NFSA) the first annual Southeast Asian Film Festival, a 2-week program that included screenings of some of the latest and finest films from Southeast Asia.

In early 2013, Professor Heryanto was appointed to the 14-member Joint Selection Committee of the Australian and Indonesian governments to select the finalists to be awarded full scholarships to pursue masters and doctoral degree studies in Australian universities with AusAID scholarships.

Professor Heryanto took the position of Director of the Monash Herb Feith Indonesian Engagement Centre in 2018. The Centre provides a platform for developing strong relationships and collaborations between academic researchers, cultural and art workers, government, industry and alumni leaders to promote cultural understanding and solve pressing social and practical problems.

Since taking the position of Director of the Monash Herb Feith Indonesian Engagement Centre, Professor Heryanto has been in close contact with the Australian Embassy in Jakarta. He has given a guest lecture on ‘Islamisation in Public Life in Indonesia’, as part of the Embassy’s ‘Big Ideas’ series. He has also presented two public talks as part of the Embassy’s ‘Australia Connect’ public diplomacy campaign.