Expertise

I have more than ten years experience in tertiary education, including research, teaching and administration . My research on identity, multiculturalism, religion, education and business has been published in the form of books, journal articles, book chapters, op-ed articles and commentaries (see here). At present, I am the Director of the Centre for Advanced Research at the University of Brunei Darussalam. Prior to this, I was the Convenor of the International and Asian Studies program at Singapore Management University, and I taught courses on Asia, Indonesia and diversity management.

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I was a founding member of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee (D&I) at SMU, which led policy changes on inclusion and equity for all students, staff, and faculty across the university. I developed a course  on 'Managing Diversity in Asia', which was described by the BBC as 'unconventional'  (see here) and by The Straits Times as 'first of its kind in Singapore' (see here). The objective of teaching D&I was to help students "to appreciate and be aware of the diversity in their surroundings so they will be able to appreciate those differences as assets rather than liabilities" (cited in The Straits Times, 27 March 2016).

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My work on D&I encompassed speaking at organizations and multinational companies such as the American Embassy in Singapore, Diversity and Inclusion in Asia Network (Hong Kong), GIC (Singapore), Deutsche Bank, and Barclays.

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Besides teaching and research, I regularly present papers in international conferences, facilitate workshops and intercultural dialogue sessions, organize conferences, and engage in various consultancy activities with government ministries and government-funded agencies. I have delivered keynote speeches and invited presentations in more than 100 international conferences, workshops, and seminars. In the past few years, I was invited to speak at notable international conferences including the International Peace Conference at UNESCO, Paris; Conference on Asia Civilization Dialogue in Beijing, the ASEAN Forum at the University of Sydney, the International Think Tank Forum in Beijing, the Shanghai Forum, Asia Forum on Enterprise and Society in Manila, and China-ASEAN Think Tank Strategic Dialogue Forum in Nanning, China.

Research

 

My research interests encompass the following areas:

 

  1. Chinese diaspora

  2. ASEAN-China Relations

  3. Social issues in Brunei Darussalam

  4. Asian business networks

  5. Contemporary Asia/Indonesia

  6. Multiculturalism

  7. Race and ethnicty

  8. Diversity and inclusion

  9. Interfaith dialogue

  10. Multicultural education

  11. Reflexivity in practice and research

 

Teaching

 

I have taught various university-level courses on Asia, Indonesia and diversity:

 

  1. Introduction to Asian Modern History, Politics and Economics

  2. Asia Foundation Course

  3. Exploring Asian Identities

  4. Managing Diversity in Asia

  5. Sociology of the Body

  6. Anthropology of Religion

  7. Understanding Culture

  8. Study Mission to Indonesia

  9. Interdisciplinary Course

  10. Bahasa Indonesia

  11. Issues in Asia-Australia Relations

  12. Society and Culture in Indonesia

  13. Popular Culture in Asia

  14. Advanced Social Theory

  15. Approaches to Asian Studies

Public Speaking

 

Institutions that have invited me to deliver keynote lectures and seminars include:

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  1. UNESCO, Paris

  2. ASEAN, Jakarta

  3. University of Oxford

  4. University of Sydney

  5. Brown University (USA)

  6. Fudan University (China)

  7. China Institute of International Studies

  8. Arizona State University (USA)

  9. Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

  10. University of Western Australia

  11. Copenhagen Business School

  12. Harvard College in Asia

  13. University of Hong Kong

  14. East Asia Institute (Singapore)

  15. National University of Singapore

  16. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies

  17. University of Malaya

  18. Chonnam National University (S.Korea)

  19. Middle East Technical University

  20. Universiti Brunei Darussalam

  21. National Museum of Taiwan History

  22. National Chi Nan University of Taiwan

  23. Tamkang University (Taiwan)

  24. Sultan Iskandar Muda Foundation (Indonesia)

  25. Petra Christian University (Indonesia)

  26. Jakarta Theological Seminary

  27. Indonesian Institute of Sciences

  28. Atmajaya University (Indonesia)

  29. The U.S. Embassy (Singapore)

  30. East Asia Institute (Singapore)

  31. LeftWrite Centre (Singapore)

  32. The Humanist Society of Singapore

  33. Centre for Research on Islamic and Malay Affairs (Singapore)

  34. Islamic Religious Council of Singapore

  35. Fellowship of Evangelical Students (Singapore)

  36. Diversity and Inclusion in Asia Network (Hong Kong)

  37. Deutsche Bank (Singapore)

  38. GIC (Singapore)

  39. Sekar Group (Indonesia)

  40. Ateneo de Manila University (Philippines)

  41. University of Santo Tomas (Philippines)

  42. Singapore Soka Association

  43. Southeast Asian Studies Regional Exchange Program (Manila)

  44. The Shanghai Forum

  45. Singapore Management University

  46. Chulalongkorn University (Thailand)

  47. Pure Land Learning College (Australia)

  48. Guangxi University for Nationalities

  49. Asian Institute of Management

  50. Guangxi University (China)

  51. Guangxi Academy of Social Sciences

  52. National Cheng Chi University (Taiwan)

  53. National Cheng Kung University (Taiwan)

  54. New Era University College (Malaysia)

  55. Universitas Airlangga (Indonesia)

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