Hongjia Cui is a New Colombo Plan Mobility Grant recipient from The University of Queensland. Hongjia undertook the Public Health Study Tour in July 2024. Hongjia is studying Bachelor of Advanced Science (Honours).
Q:Why did you decide to undertake the ACICIS Public Health Study Tour?
I was always very interested in public health policy and epidemiology as a career path but I focused more on genetics during my undergraduate studies, so I really wanted to have the chance to learn and experience all aspects of public health system and policies that are in place for the public health issues to ascertain my interest. I’ve also haven’t had the chance to go for an exchange so this public health tour helped me to fulfill both needs.
Q: Did you receive a New Colombo Plan Mobility Grant? If so, how did this contribute to your experience in Indonesia?
Yes, I was very fortunate to receive the New Colombo Plan Mobility Grant! The grant assisted with majority of the program fee which was amazing!
Q: What did you find to be the most challenging about your experience on the PHST?
The most challenging aspect for me during PHST was trying to adapt to the new environment and attending all of the activities during the first week. My body needed some time to adjust to Jakarta during the first week, but there was immense support during the time that I wasn’t feeling the best from the ACICIS team (shout out to Anisya!) which helped immensely during this trip.
Q: What public health issues in Indonesia have you become more interested in/aware of as a result of this tour?
Public health issues like stunting and neglected topical disease was topics that I was not aware of before the trip, but they were very interesting to learn and understand. Having new insights on how politics can have big influence in the system and interventions of public health issues (especially with stunting) was fascinating to hear. Through presentations that we prepared during the tour, I gained more insights on some of the public health issues like gender-based violence and vector borne diseases and it was very interesting to see how Indonesia incorporates both cultural and social elements in their primary intervention strategies.
Q: What was your favourite field trip? Explain why.
My favourite field trip has to be our visit to the NGO Yayasan Kebaya in Yogyakarta. Listening to the motivation and courage from the founder Mami Vinolia had, to build and nurture a community to support transgender and waria women was both inspiring and heart-wrenching. Under the immense stigma and discrimination, this tight-knit community provides shelter for people who were abandoned by their family since young age and medical needs for people living with HIV and TB. From this field trip you can really understand the impact that this community has for LGBTQ+ people and the experience from the visit was both memorable and impactful.
Q: How do you think the Public Health Study Tour will influence your future career or studies?
PHST assisted me in strengthening my interest in epidemiology and public health policy, this tour helped me to experience the significance of public health policy in shaping the national public health system and its impact through the access to the health services (puskesmas and posyandu) and intervention strategies to reduce burden of disease. From the field trip visits, not only did I feel the impact of different public health policies have to individuals but also the support to a whole community.
Q:What did you most enjoy about the seminar series?
The seminar series are very informative and I truly enjoyed listening to the different perspectives provided from the lecturers and professors. All lecturers were experts in their respected fields and extremely passionate to reduce the impact of the public health issues and you could certainly connect to that during their seminars. Some of the most impactful seminar series that I enjoyed include mental health, stunting, smoking & public health policy.
Q: What was your favourite aspect about visiting Indonesia?
Indonesia is a country with rich history and vibrant culture and you can certainly experience that in both Jakarta & Yogyakarta through all the adventures of nature visits to exploring the temples and making your batik. Indonesian food is amazing and never be afraid to try the new ones becausr they might end up being your fav! But the people from this trip made the exchange even more enjoyable, especially the staff from UI and Yogyakarta and the most caring ACICIS team (Bimo, Anisya, Yani & Dr Emily).