Apply for CSIRO’s Data 4 Development Fellowship Program

The Data 4 Development (D4D) Fellowship Program supports qualified Indonesian civil servants to undertake a three-month fellowship at CSIRO's data and digital specialist arm, Data61.

About the program

The D4D Fellowship Program focuses on building capacity in data and design and facilitating locally-led innovation and solutions.

Round 2 of the program is open for applications. 

Successful applicants will travel from Indonesia to Australia for three months, working with experts at Data61 to solve complex, high-value development and data-related problems.

Data61's capabilities range from cybersecurity, confidential computing, robotics, machine learning and analytics, software and programming, to behavioural sciences and more.

The program aims to:

• provide you with access to high-end professional development opportunities in Australia, advancing your knowledge and skills
• build data skills within fellows' originating agencies
• help solve difficult, high-value development and data-related problems
• develop long-term institutional links between Australian and Indonesian government bodies and departments
• contribute to economic development, poverty alleviation, security and stability across Indonesia.

Fellows will live in Australia over the three-month fellowship, with all expenses covered by the program. Fellows will be supported through the program to apply for appropriate visas and insurance documents, find accommodation, and acclimate to Australia. Fellows will be hosted by Data61 in Canberra, Sydney or Melbourne.

What you’ll get out of the program

Participating in the D4D Fellowship Program will provide you with:

• opportunities to be mentored by experts in your field
• networking opportunities with Australian researchers and engineers, seeking and sharing advice and guidance
• the control to oversee the direction of your project in consultation with your agency supervisors
• access to, and participation in, the Australia Global Alumni Network
• additional opportunities to benefit your career, increase your capability and confidence to tackle challenges with data, and to lead organisational change.

The program is managed by CSIRO and funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

Requirements to participate in the program

To participate in the program, you must:

• be a civil servant from National Cyber and Crypto Agency of Indonesia (BSSN) or BPS-Statistics Indonesia (BPS)
• have significant cyber and/or data analytics (preferably AI/ML) capability
• have a clearly defined problem and a viable proposal for how to address the issue
• have full support from your ministry/agency, both during the fellowship and for implementation of outcomes upon your return
• be in an appropriate position to implement the project upon return from Australia
• be eligible to travel and stay in Australia from July to September 2024
• be able to participate within the fellowship timetable
• be fluent in English*.

*The applicant's English language competency is part of the selection process; however, there will be no official language test. The assessment of language competency is based on a phone interview and any additional evidence provided by the applicant (for examples: proof of studies or living in an English-speaking country or working in an English-speaking environment; completion of studies in English, or language course or language tests).

What our fellows from Round 1 thought about the program

"The flexibility at CSIRO is key to achieving impact. The team at CSIRO also has strong technical and interpersonal skills. We engage in discussions and share information, because involving more people makes finding solutions easier. For my Indonesian colleagues interested in applying to this program, key things to prepare or have in mind is a project you wish to support, and a clear problem statement supported by your organisation. Additionally, you should be confident in your abilities, knowing that the great people in the Data61 team will assist you. Lastly, be prepared in terms of language proficiency."

— Fajar Wijitrisnanto, Cybersecurity Analyst at BSSN.

"I gained valuable new knowledge and broadened my horizons about data science from CSIRO through this program. They provided me with a lot of advice and insights, not only from the mentors but also from the teams in remote sensing and high-performance computing. What you traditionally can do in one week, you can do in one hour with CSIRO. Mentors, buddies, and project managers—everyone offers advice, guidance, and alternative solution which is a key component to the success of this program. We meet weekly but members of the team are available to talk at any time and always provide the highest degree of professionalism."

— Arif Handoyo, Statistician, BPS.

Examples of past approved projects

Two fellowship projects were funded through the initial round of the D4D Fellowship Program.

Fajar Wijitrisnanto from the National Cyber and Crypto Agency of Indonesia (BSSN) leveraged the program to improve the quality of cybersecurity threat intelligence sharing, with the aim of ensuring organisations part of the Information Sharing & Analysis Center (ISAC) program receive relevant and sector-based threat information with strong predictive capabilities, helping them better prepare for cyber-attacks.

Arif Handoyo from the BPS-Statistics Indonesia advanced a mixed-method approach (combining field data with satellite imagery) currently being used to estimate paddy production in Indonesia. The enhanced technical capabilities, including remote sensing, are intended to resolve challenges such as pre-processing satellite image and choosing the correct ground truth that affects the accuracy of machine learning models to better assess paddy fields at various stages of growth.

The D4D Fellowship Program is modelled off the Australian Public Service (APS) Data Fellowship Program. Examples of successful projects in the APS Data Fellowship Program include:

• A Fellow from the Department of Finance built expenditure models for evidence-based policy design using a variety of health-related datasets.
• A Fellow from Treasury used machine-learning techniques to forecast real GDP growth in Australia and to compare the accuracy of this modelling approach to methods that are currently used.
• A Fellow from the Department of Health developed a microsimulation model for hospitalisation risk in chronic disease patients.
• A Fellow from the Department of the Environment and Energy developed an empirical model using machine learning algorithms with the aim to predict the changes of terrestrial soil carbon. This model is intended for use as a validation tool for the official estimates of greenhouse gas emissions from changes in soil carbon in Australia’s crop and grass lands.
• A Fellow from the Department of Social Services examined the effectiveness of the Commonwealth Financial Wellbeing and Capability Activity towards improving wellbeing outcomes for financially disadvantaged Australians, using robust analysis of administrative data.

Indicative timeline of the program

How to apply

As the first stage of the selection process, please submit an expression of interest.

The expression of interest should include:

• an outline of the problem and proposal of the solution to the problem
• CV (no more than three pages)
• proof of English proficiency (optional)

For more information about preparing your response, please review the below documents:

Request for expression of interest

• Expressions of interest: Data 4 Development Fellowship Program [updated 8 April] PDF (240 KB)
• Expressions of interest: Data 4 Development Fellowship Program [updated 8 April, accessible text] TXT (14 KB)

Questions

Questions about the program or the selection process can be sent to D4DFellowships@csiro.au.

Download our program brochure PDF (429 KB).

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