Past EDGS Visiting Scholars
Dr. Asmin Fransiska
January 28th - February 28th, 2025
Dr. Asmin Fransiska, a distinguished researcher and academic leader joined Northwestern University as a Visiting Scholar at the Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs from January 28th to February 28th, 2025. Dr. Fransiska brought a wealth of expertise to our campus, reflecting her outstanding contributions in the fields of human rights law, drug policy reform and international criminal law.
Dr. Fransiska currently serves as the Dean of the Faculty of Law at Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia in Jakarta, Indonesia, and is a prominent researcher at the Institute for Advanced Research (IFAR Consortium) Atma Jaya.
Dr. Fransiska recently launched the Indonesian Center for Drugs Research at Atma Jaya University. Her work on drug policy research addresses the complex challenges associated with drug crimes in Indonesia and Southeast Asia. In addition, Dr. Fransiska is also recognized for two other important areas of scholarship: international criminal law and laws protecting women and children.
Dr. Fransiska has longstanding ties to Northwestern. She earned her LLM in Human Rights Law from Northwestern’s Pritzker School of Law in 2004 as a Fulbright Scholar. Since then, she has played a pivotal role in the development of Northwestern’s Arryman Scholars program and the IFAR Consortium, strengthening ties between Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and the global academic community.
During her time at Northwestern, Dr. Fransiska explored opportunities for greater collaboration between the Faculty of Law at Atma Jaya and the Buffett Institute. As Atma Jaya works towards launching a Master’s Program in Public Policy, Dr. Fransiska collaborated with colleagues at Northwestern to incorporate critical issues such as human rights, marginalization and social construction into the program. Her visit provided a unique opportunity for both institutions to exchange ideas and foster deeper academic partnerships.
Dr. Fransiska also spent her time at Northwestern conducting data analysis and presented her recent scholarship on women, children and drug crimes at the Buffett Institute for Global Affairs. Her work aligns with the mission of the Buffett Institute to address global challenges through interdisciplinary research and collaboration, particularly through the Buffett Institute’s Equality Development and Globalization Studies (EDGS) program. Additionally, Dr. Fransiska worked on a research proposal for the Open Society Foundation focused on access to justice and the rule of law in Indonesia.
Dr. Sirojuddin Arif
August 9th - September 27th, 2024
Sirojuddin Arif, PhD, joined Northwestern as a visiting scholar at the Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs at Northwestern University. Arif currently heads the Master’s Program in Political Science at the Indonesian International Islamic University in Jakarta. His extensive research spans critical areas such as education policy, food security, gender equality, representation, maternal mortality and the politics of religion. Recognized as one of Indonesia’s leading social scientists, Arif excels in both qualitative and quantitative research methods and has shared his knowledge through a variety of methods courses.
Hosted by Professor Jeffrey Winters, Director of the Buffett Institute’s Equality Development and Globalization Studies (EDGS) program, Arif joined us in September 2024 to conduct research on the politics of technology learning and industrial upgrading in late-industrializing countries, with a particular emphasis on Indonesia. He aims to explore the connections between the formal Indonesian education system and the country’s broader system of innovation in Indonesia. Arif collaborated with experts across Northwestern’s academic community, particularly around his ongoing project, “Learning, Technology Transfer and Industrial Catch-up in Late Industrializing Countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, and South Korea in Comparative Perspective.” His visit enhanced both his research and the university's academic community. Additionally, Arif's visit aligned with the 2024 annual meeting of the American Political Science Association in Philadelphia, enabling him to present his work and engage with fellow scholars. His visit fostered valuable academic exchanges and strengthened ties between Buffett, EDGS, and the Institutes for Advanced Research (IFAR) Consortium, benefiting both institutions and their scholars.