UNS – Dr. Yuyun Sunesti, commonly known as Dr. Yunes, a lecturer of the Sociology Program at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP), Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta, has concluded her three-month stint as a Visiting Professor at the University of Saskatchewan (USASK), Saskatoon, Canada. Her tenure, which lasted from September 9 to December 6, 2024, was fully funded by the Visiting Scholar Fellowship in Southeast Asian Studies under the Canadian Southeast Asian Studies Initiative (CSEASI).
This initiative is a consortium program involving nine Canadian universities, including the University of Victoria, York University, McGill University, Université de Montréal, USASK, King’s University College at Western University, University of British Columbia, Université Laval, and the University of Toronto. The program promotes a deeper understanding of Southeast Asian culture through academic collaborations in teaching, research, workshops, and student research assistance.
Throughout the Fall 2024 semester, Dr. Yunes actively engaged in a range of academic activities within the Department of Anthropology at USASK. These included teaching, collaborative research, public lectures, and faculty events.
The program featured a guest lecture exchange between UNS and USASK. Dr. Susanna Barnes and Dr. Prashanth Kuganathan from USASK delivered guest lectures for UNS courses on Sociology of Religion and Sociology of Gender. In return, Dr. Yunes gave guest lectures for Introduction to Anthropology and presented a public lecture at USASK attended by faculty and students.
A highlight of her visit was a collaborative research project with Dr. Susanna Barnes, titled “Identity and Cultural Integration: Southeast Asian Muslim Immigrants in Saskatoon, Canada.” This study explored adaptation strategies employed by Southeast Asian Muslim immigrants, particularly Indonesians, in integrating into Canada’s multicultural society.
Dr. Yunes also visited two other CSEASI partner universities. It was McGill University, Montreal, that she delivered a public lecture as part of the Southeast Asia Lecture Series and engaged in discussions with faculty and students specializing in Southeast Asian Studies. Then it was University of Victoria (UVic), British Columbia. She participated in a discussion forum at the Centre for Pacific and Asian Studies (CAPI), sharing her preliminary research on Southeast Asian Muslim communities in Saskatoon. She also held a meeting with gender studies expert Prof. Laura Parisi to discuss potential future collaborations and was invited as a guest lecturer for a Bahasa Indonesia class attended by students from various Canadian universities.
To foster optimal collaboration between UNS and USASK, Dr. Yunes initiated the creation of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two institutions, which is currently in the signing process. The MoU is expected to serve as a framework for sustained and long-term collaboration between the universities.
“This initiative aims to enhance academic quality, expand global networks, and create a significant impact on society through teaching, research, community service, and other collaborative activities,” Dr. Yunes explained on Thursday (5/12/2024).
In addition to the MoU, Dr. Yunes also met and held discussions with representatives from the International Office at USASK to explore potential collaboration opportunities between the two universities.
Despite the conclusion of the visiting professor program, UNS, USASK, and CSEASI remain committed to future collaboration. One upcoming initiative is the CSEASI Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) Seminar Series, a joint program between USASK, UNS, and Universidade Nacional Timor Lorosa’e, scheduled for May–June 2025.
Dr. Yunes’ efforts align with UNS’s goals to support the fourth Sustainable Development Goal 4 Quality Education, and SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals, by fostering international academic collaboration. HUMAS UNS
