Centre for Communication and Social Change

The PEATLI project

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Learn about and help solve a complex issue in Indonesia

The UQ Centre for Communication and Social Change (CfCSC) facilitates study trips for UQ undergraduate students. Students from a wide range of disciplines are offered the opportunity to explore a complex real-life issue in Indonesia in a hands-on way.

Hosted by various Indonesian partner organisations, students will spend 7 weeks in Indonesia, consisting of 4 weeks Indonesian language training at a local university and 3 weeks’ fieldwork in a specific region. The purpose of the fieldwork is to unravel policies and programs put in place to address the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

PEATLI stands for “People, Environment, And Transdisciplinary Learning – Indonesia”. In 2025/2026, the eighth cohort of the project, PEATLI-8, will be hosted by the Centre for Culture and Frontier Studies and the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences at Brawijaya University (UB) in Malang, East Java. The fieldwork will be done for and with the Regional Planning, Research and Development Agency of Trenggalek Regency, East Java. (In Indonesia, a regency is a governing body at the same administrative level as a city.)

During the fieldwork, UQ students work with UB students in teams of mixed disciplinary backgrounds. The teams will conduct a participatory situation analysis with stakeholders at the regency and community level. They will explore the policies and programs that target the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially those relating to poverty, equality and the environment. Teams will also learn from community members how these programs affect their families, and assess the effectiveness of engagement and empowerment processes designed for community-led sustainable and equitable development.

PEATLI-8 can accommodate up to 12 students in total. Students will be recruited, trained and mobilised according to this plan:

Timeline and locations for PEATLI-8, 2026-2027
Expression of interest and participant selectionSemester 1, 2026
Preparatory workshops (15 hrs) at UQ St Lucia campusSemester 2, 2026
Travel in Indonesia4 Jan – 21 Feb 2027
In-country introductory program, language training and fieldwork methodology development workshops (4 weeks)Brawijaya University, Malang, East Java Province
Fieldwork involving consultation with local government departments and community members (2.5 weeks)Trenggalek Regency, East Java Province
Seminar of fieldwork findings (0.5 week)Brawijaya University, Malang, East Java Province

There are 9 travel grants for UQ students. They are funded by the New Colombo Plan (NCP) Mobility Program and are available to participants who are:

  • Australian citizens
  • Enrolled in an undergraduate degree at UQ
  • Able to get credit for PEATLI-8 towards their undergraduate program, through a course taken in the semester following travel to Indonesia.

In addition, 3 self-funding students are invited to participate. They can be of any nationality or from any study program, but must be enrolled at UQ both at the time of EOI submission and throughout the activities of PEATLI-8.

The PEATLI project is supported by a range of undergraduate programs under the HASS, Science, BEL and HABS faculties. Students should discuss with their Program Convenor how they can use the PEATLI experience for course credit. This can be through a practicum, internship or industry placement course, a research or special studies course, or a course with a piece of assessment that allows a report on the research and/or engagement work done in Indonesia.

Application

Please download and complete the PEATLI-8 Expression of Interest form (DOCX, 168KB). Email the completed application to the Project Leader by Wednesday 15 April 2026, 17:00 AEST.

Additional information

Previous PEATLI cohorts visited the provinces of Central and West Kalimantan (PEATLI-1 and -3, respectively), Riau (PEATLI-2), Jambi (PEATLI-4), West Nusa Tenggara (PEATLI-5 and -6) and East Java (PEATLI-7). They were hosted by different organisations and spent a total of 2.5 weeks in-country. Some of their experiences are captured in the following stories: 

Questions?