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arlier this year a senior group of Indonesian academics visited Monash University'€™s Clayton campus in Melbourne'€™s east. The group toured some of the national facilities co-located at the university '€” the synchrotron, the center for nano-fabrication, the bio-sciences precinct and the New Horizons zone developing next-generation engineering and manufacturing technologies.

Monash had a clear objective. It wanted the visitors to understand the transformation that has occurred at the university, a transformation that has propelled it into the rankings of the top 100 higher-education institutions in the world.

It was clear that a positive impression had been created when one of the visitors said, on leaving the nano-technology center: '€œI want to lift up all of this and take it back to Indonesia with me.'€

Well, imagine if we could really do this '€” pick up and take to Indonesia the most dynamic parts of Australia'€™s university and research sector. Imagine if Australia could develop R&D strategies in consultation with its most important neighbor.

Progressive thinkers in Indonesia '€” in government, business and academia '€” are starting to tackle, often behind closed doors, some of their nation'€™s most difficult challenges. For example, should Jakarta continue to be the capital or should a new site be selected? How can Indonesia prevent an explosion in non-communicable diseases like obesity and diabetes as its middle class grows?

Imagine if Australia and Indonesia developed new energy sources. Is it possible to set up joint ventures in the beef industry in both countries supported by academic research units? Could we work together to develop new highly productive food bowls? How about smarter cities with smarter infrastructure? We could go on.

In part, such visions have been hampered by Australians'€™ lack of understanding of Indonesia. Many a survey has shown that Australians are really not sure about Indonesians. Some fear the big country to the north. Some worry about a different religion. Many haven'€™t tried to understand.

Yet at no point in the histories of Australia and Indonesia have closer economic and cultural ties been so important.

A lot has been said and written about Indonesia'€™s dramatic economic rise. If it can withstand hiccups like shifts in global cash, continue to stamp out corruption, lift skills, open the door to more foreign investment, and manage the predictable tensions created by its massive consuming class, Indonesia seems destined to be a top 10 nation by GDP by 2030. Go-getter entrepreneurs talk of '€œbuilding the boat while we sail'€.

The big question is: Will Australia be a close and trusted friend during this period or a distant and relegated observer?

The Indonesia of 2013 is rising in a world of instant communication, hair-trigger global markets, go-anywhere travel and a race for innovations and competitive advantages. The context for Australia is no different.

In this context, working with global partners is much better than trying to do everything yourself. It has been said so many times, but Indonesia is Australia'€™s big opportunity; and conversely, Australia is Indonesia'€™s big opportunity. Both nations have so much to gain by collaborating to solve shared
challenges.

Both nations can support each other'€™s growth, jointly tackle regional problems and build new global opportunities. This can be achieved through increased knowledge flows and deeper partnerships.

This is why the announcement by Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott '€” after talks with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Jakarta on Monday '€” that his government would provide A$15million in seed funding to set up an Australian Center for Indonesian Studies is so important.

Finally, there will be a national university-based Indonesia center in Australia to sit alongside the Chinese, United States, Indian and Asian centers.

The center will set out to strengthen all aspects of the Australia-Indonesia relationship. It will champion the study of languages and culture. This is a wonderful goal. The study of Bahasa Indonesia in Australia has been falling alarmingly.

However, the center'€™s additional responsibility will be to build on this mutual respect and understanding to address the challenges and opportunities in the region. It will bring together leading public and private sector organizations from both nations to collaborate. The areas of concern include health and primary care, resources and energy, development (including food security, infrastructure and education) and regional security.

The center begins its life with political backing, business support and a cluster of some of Australia'€™s most impressive institutions '€” Monash University, the University of Melbourne, the Australian National University and CSIRO. Each brings extraordinary research firepower.

In the first phase, the national center will be headquartered at Monash University, with nodes at the other three institutions. This hub-and-spoke structure or distributed network will allow much higher levels of collaboration between some of Australia'€™s sharpest minds, with research projects approved according to skill and impact. It is envisaged that an advisory board will include representatives of government and business from Australia and Indonesia.

At the same time, leading universities and research bodies in Indonesia will be invited to form a similar, '€œtwinned'€ network so that research can be jointly developed, discipline by discipline, sector by sector. It follows that greater understanding of Australia by Indonesians will be achieved. Indonesia'€™s leading universities like University of Indonesia, Gadjah Mada University and Bandung Institute of Technology, along with the Eijkman Institute and leading private universities, are potential members of the Indonesia-based network.

The next phase is likely to involve a broadening of the center'€™s reach to engage other institutions in both nations. Examples in Australia include the Australian Consortium for In-Country Indonesian Studies, the Latrobe University Australia Indonesia Dialogue, and Deakin University'€™s Australia Indonesia Research Institute for Humanity and Development.

Tony Abbott deserves praise for elevating Australia'€™s national focus on Indonesia and for moving quickly to change the narrative between the two nations. Perhaps one day soon Australia will be able to lift up more parts of its R&D sector and share them with Indonesia.

The writer is executive director of Global Initiatives at Monash University and a vice-chancellor'€™s professorial fellow. He is leading Monash'€™s engagement in Indonesia.