The United States Embassy congratulates Dr. Ahmad Agus Setiawan and Dr. Muhammad Makky on their selection as fellows for the ASEAN Science and Technology (S&T) Fellowship 2018/2019, sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), ASEAN and the ASEAN Foundation. Dr. Setiawan and Dr. Makky were selected for their track record of achievements and potential to advance science-based policy-making in ASEAN.

Serving as an assistant professor at the Department of Nuclear and Engineering Physics at Gadjah Mada University, Dr. Setiawan is currently contributing to the formulation of a draft government regulation on renewable energy for Yogyakarta Province. Dr. Makky serves as an associate professor at the Andalas University and the coordinator of the university’s Center for Quality Assurance for Research and Community Services.

The ASEAN S&T Fellowship provides opportunities for early- and mid-career scientists from ASEAN Member States to apply their knowledge and analytical skills to solving public policy challenges. Fellows are embedded in line ministries or other agencies within their home countries for a year to boost these agencies’ technical capacity to make informed, data-driven policy decisions to address intractable issues facing the region. Fellows will devote their time, knowledge and skills to encourage policymakers to use more science-based approaches in their policy- and decision-making. The Fellowship adheres to the ASEAN Plan of Action on Science, Technology and Innovation 2016-2025 by focusing on its priorities: climate change; sustainable energy; and science, technology, and innovation policy.

Through a competitive application process, Dr. Setiawan and Dr. Makky were chosen by experts from the ASEAN Secretariat Science and Technology Division, USAID and the U.S. Mission to ASEAN. Following their selection, they joined a group comprised of 15 other fellows from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Fellows’ first activity will be an orientation and workshop on June 25-30, 2018, in Jakarta, Indonesia.

To learn more about the ASEAN S&T Fellowship, follow @ASEANFoundation and @USMission2ASEAN as well as #ASEANSTFellow2018 on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.