The recipient of the 2022 R-Adhikarya ‘Niche’ Award (RANA scholarship) D.A. Wiwik Dharmiasih aims to research ways of using disruptive technologies to influence policy-making outcomes, such as reorienting power relations to be more receptive to local community needs. The RANA scholarship supports PhD study at the University of Hawaiʻi via the East-West Center (EWC). Dharmiasih’s RANA scholarship is offered in conjunction with the EWC’s Foundation Scholarship for a total value of $56,000.
As part of her doctoral study in geography and environment starting in the fall, Dharmiasih, who is from Bali, Indonesia, plans to review technologies such as participatory mapping with drones, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) story-maps, photography and video, along with innovative social media applications, to support communities in managing and preserving cultural landscapes, including environmentally friendly water management systems in Bali.
“Ms. Dharmiasih’s study plan at the EWC is innovative and pioneering, as she wants to create synergy by ‘brokering’ a synthesis of centuries-old cultural wisdom with disruptive technologies,” said RANA scholarship initiator Ronny Adhikarya. “I am pleased and proud that the RANA Program at the EWC is supporting an excellent PhD student with innovative and ‘niche’ career plans.”
Dharmiasih earned her master’s degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, India, and is a lecturer at Udayana University in Bali. An environmental activist, she works to improve and preserve Balinese villages’ traditional subak water management system, a cultural heritage that dates back to the 9th century and has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2012.
Awarded annually since 2020, the RANA scholarship supports study at three world-class educational institutions in the U.S: the East-West Center, Stanford University and Cornell University.
