An alumna has become a partner. Between 2003 and 2007, she completed her doctorate at the Universities of Jena and Regensburg with the support of KAAD on the topic of "A comparative cultural study on trust building using the example of German and Indonesian work groups". She returned to Jakarta at the end of 2007 and continued her work as a lecturer at the Faculty of Psychology at the Catholic University of Atma Jaya. She has been its dean since 2009. After her return, she worked in the academic field on the project "Leading and managing large scale change". This was part of a research project organised by the Global Change Alliance with partners from France, the USA, the UK, Germany and various Asian countries. With her diverse knowledge and analytical skills, she supports her home diocese in its pastoral work.
The predominantly Muslim country with 250 million people is the third largest democracy in the world after India and the USA. Certainly not free of separatist tendencies, spontaneous flare-ups of violence and internal tensions. But it is a largely stable state. Rarely has the idea of the nation state celebrated such an adventurous triumph as in Indonesia. This raises many questions that Juliana Murniati is confronted with on a daily basis due to her leadership responsibilities and social commitment: What holds this entity together? What role have intellectuals and artists played since students overthrew the autocrat Suharto in 1998? And what weight do religious fanatics have today in the country with the largest Muslim population in the world?
"Managing large scale change". Together with her colleagues on the Partners Committee, Dr Juliana Murniati is committed to the KAAD scholarship programme out of the conviction that the performance of each individual is crucial for the country's development. And there is yet another area of activity. In Indonesia, there is a large alumni group called Kontak, whose members come from the Catholic Student Family KMKI, which is active in Germany. Their activities are financially supported by KAAD. Almost all those who have studied abroad return to Indonesia. The reintegration rate is high. This is due to the close family ties. As Secretary of the KAAD Partner Committee, Juliana Murniati has succeeded in maintaining this unique potential of alumnae and alumni for KAAD's follow-up contact work.
Juliana Murniati was presented with the Bene Murniati Medal for her commitment to the KAAD at the 2018 Anniversary Academy.
