Dr. Maharani Hapsari (Rani) is an assistant professor at the Department of International Relations, Universitas Gadjah Mada, and the current Executive Secretary at the Center for World Trade Studies (CWTS) Universitas Gadjah Mada. Rani has over 15 years of experience in research on the politics of natural resource commodities in Indonesia, trade and environment in developing countries, and knowledge of co-production on sustainability transition. Rani has conducted various research on palm oil international certification, the impacts of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) on Indonesia’s strategic commodities, environmental movements, forest governance in Indonesia, and inclusive commodity trade.

Expertise: Trade and sustainability, knowledge co-production for sustainability transition, political economy of international development

Agustinus Moruk Taek, M.A. (Ampy) is a researcher at the Center for World Trade Studies Universitas Gadjah Mada. Ampy’s research interests are issues of international political economy, international development, and governmentalism. Ampy has joined several research projects analyzing global value chains and sustainable development goals. Furthermore, Ampy has published several researches on governance and sustainable development goals. In doing research, Ampy has worked collaboratively with various Indonesian government agencies and ministries. 

Expertise: International political economy, international development, governance, and sustainable development goals.

Rizky Alif Alvian, MIR (Alif) is a lecturer at the Department of International Relations, Universitas Gadjah Mada with a focus on international political theory, international securities studies, strategy, negotiation and conflict resolution, and democracy studies. In Alif’s academic journey, Alif is directly involved in various research projects on counter-extremism in Indonesia and Indonesian foreign policy. In 2021, he also reviewed research with the Center for World Trade Studies Universitas Gadjah Mada, entitled Forging Knowledge Co-Production on International Trade and Circular Economy Linkages in Developing Countries. Alif has also been actively writing for various mass media since 2017 and participated in conferences such as the World Congress of Political Science (2018) and ISA Asia-Pacific Conference (2019). 

Expertise: International political theory, international securities studies, strategy, negotiation and conflict resolution, and democracy studies.

Dr. Junita Widiati (Nita) has been a researcher at the UGM Center for World Trade Studies since 2020. Nita has been involved in various research experiences related to circular economy studies and education management. Nita has also made several publications such as a comparative study of education in Indonesia and Japan and published a book entitled “Sekolah yang Menyenangkan” in 2013.

Expertise: Circular economy and education management.

Dr. Siti Arifah Purnamasari  (Arifah) is a researcher and Coordinator of the Training Division at the UGM Center for World Trade Studies with research interests in Agribusiness and International Trade, Agriculture and Food, Circular Economy and Food Waste, and Technical Aspects of Trade. Arifah has been involved in various research projects since 2012, the most recent of which is entitled “Strategic Issues Assessment of Indonesian Creative Economy Service Trade in the Culinary Subsector and Mapping of Tobacco and Tobacco Products Industry in Kebumen Regency” in 2021.

Expertise: Agribusiness, international trade, agriculture, Circular economy and food waste.

Dr. Akhmad Akbar Susamto (Akbar) is a senior lecturer in the Department of Economic Science, Faculty of Economy and Business Universitas Gadjah Mada. Akbar has over 15 years of experience in Economics Studies. Recently, Akbar worked as the Head of Economic Development study program for post-graduate students in the Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Gadjah Mada. Akbar also worked as Research Director in CORE Indonesia, a think-tank group for economic issues based in Jakarta. Akbar published some research such as “Subsidized Health Insurance Impact among the Poor: evidence on Out-of-pocket Health Expenditures in Indonesia” in Jurnal Ekonomi dan Studi Pembangunan, “Public Ownership and Local Bank Lending at the Time of the Covid-19 Pandemic: Evidence from Indonesia” in Pacific Basin Finance Journal.

Expertise:  Development economics.

Suci Lestari Yuana (Nana) is a lecturer and researcher at the Department of International Relations UGM. Nana has research interests in sustainability transition, discourse analysis, circular economy, and international political economy. Throughout 2020, Nana has received three awards, namely the Best Paper Award at the 11th International Sustainability Transition Conference 2020, Committee Member of Transition in the Global South Thematic Groups STRN, and High-Quality Academic Paper Awards by BRIN. Some of Nana’s latest publications are in the Journal of Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions volumes 37 and 41 in 2021.

Expertise: Sustainability transitions, discourse analysis, circular economy, and international political economy.

Dra. Siti Daulah Khoiriati, M.A. (Daulah) is a researcher at the Center for World Trade Studies Universitas Gadjah Mada and lecturer at the Department of International Relations, Faculty of Social and Political Science, Universitas Gadjah Mada. Daulah’s research interests are issues related to political economy, trade, investment, and development. Daulah published research on “The Formation of Bilateral FTA in Political-Economy Perspective, Comparing the US and the Japanese Model FTA” (CWTS Journal); “Indofood: The Transformation of Indonesia’s EM-MNC” (Book Chapter IIS 2013), and; “Understanding the Formation of ASEAN Economic Community from the Perspective of Constructivism” (Book Chapter ASEAN, 2018). The research Daulah produced that correlates with the timber trade was “Transnational Actor in Global Furniture Trade” (Department of IR, 2012).

Expertise: Political economy, trade, investment, and development.

Taufiq Adiyanto, LL.M. (Taufiq) is a lecturer at the Faculty of Law UGM with a focus on tax law, international trade law, and energy law. Taufiq has also actively studied policy issues as a researcher at the UGM Center for World Trade Studies and the UGM Center for Energy Studies since 2018. Taufiq’s recent research experiences include The Global Minimum Tax: An Alarm for Inbound Investment in Indonesia (2022), Cross-Cutting Issue Study: OECD Two Pillars and its Impact on Domestic Industry (2022), and Consultancy Services for the Provision of Substance Documents for the Organization of Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG) and Digital Economy Minister's Meeting (DEMM) G20 Indonesia (2022).

Expertise: Tax law, international trade law, and energy law.

Maria Angela Koes Sarwendah, S.I.P. (Ela) is an aspiring researcher specializing in international political and economic development, commodity trade and diplomacy, and sustainability in trade. With a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Universitas Gadjah Mada, Ela is further polishing her research skills at the Center for World Trade Studies Universitas Gadjah Mada to pursue her interests in promoting inclusive and sustainable development. Ela aims to contribute actively to the co-production of knowledge and community of practices as a means of development.

Expertise: International political and economic development, commodity trade and diplomacy, and sustainability in trade.