The University of Newcastle, Australia

Three University of Newcastle graduates have been recognised at the Australian Indonesian Alumni Awards in Jakarta.

The annual Awards recognise outstanding talent, achievements and contributions made to Indonesia by graduates of any Australian university who live and work in Indonesia.

The Awards were first held in February 2008 and are an initiative of Australian Education International (AEI) at the Australian Embassy in Indonesia.

Professor Ali Gufron Mukti

Professor Ali Gufron Mukti, Vice-Minister for Health of the Republic of Indonesia, has been honoured with the award for Outstanding Contribution to Public Administration. Professor Mukti completed a PhD (Public Health) at the University in 2000.

Nationally recognised, Professor Mukti is a Professor of Medicine and Public Health with expertise in health insurance and health financing, as well as health service quality, family medicine and epidemiology. As Vice-Minister for Health, Professor Mukti is responsible for overseeing the implementation and development of Indonesian health policy as well as increasing accessibility to health insurance for Indonesia’s poor. Professor Mukti is also currently Acting Minister for Health.

In 2008, at the age of 46, Professor Mukti was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Gadjah Mada, becoming the youngest dean and professor ever appointed by the University.

Professor Mukti’s research into epidemiology, health insurance, managed health care and health financing has been published in more than 40 international and national journals.

Krishda Tan

Krishda Tan, who completed a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering (First Class Honours, University Medal) in 2010, has won the Outstanding Young Alumni Award.

While a student of the University, Mr Tan participated in numerous on-campus volunteer engineering programs and donated his time to assist fellow engineering students as the Young Engineers Australia Campus coordinator. Through this role he helped reduce the drop-out rate of first-year engineering students through a targeted mentoring program and a student networking night.

Mr Tan was also heavily involved in the Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment’s Student Ambassador Program and helped promote engineering degrees to high school students at expos and open days. He now visits his high school in Malang, Indonesia annually and inspires other students to follow in his footsteps.

Following an internship at ORICA Mining Services, Mr Tan was offered a position with the company and his work with explosive emulsion was patented as a commercial technology. Mr Tan is now a Graduate Chemical Engineer with Rio Tinto Pacific Aluminium at Gove Alumina Refinery in the Northern Territory.

Ficky Maurya

Ficky Maurya, an industrial engineering graduate (1996) and CEO/Managing Director of Sunrise Steel, was listed as a top four finalist in the Business Leadership and Business Management category.