The School of Social Sciences at the University of Western Australia (UWA), in collaboration with the Tsinghua Southeast Asia Centre and United in Diversity, Indonesia, convened a one-day workshop at the Tsinghua University Southeast Asia Centre in Bali. Titled “New Perspectives on Trans-territorial Communities: Fostering Comparative Insights Across Time and Spaces,” the event was supported by the UWA Research Collaboration Award, which seeks to build sustainable research networks and lay the groundwork for a UWA-led ARC Discovery Project application.
The workshop opened with a session introducing participants’ academic backgrounds, research expertise, and recent projects related to migration, cross-border networks, and trans-territorial communities. To spark dialogue, each scholar also shared three keywords that best reflected their interests for future discussion. This was followed by the presentation of a proposed UWA-led ARC Discovery Project, with participants providing feedback on its conceptual scope, methodologies, and data collection strategies.
In the afternoon, the focus shifted to funding landscapes across different regions. Presentations highlighted opportunities in Australia, Mainland China, Hong Kong, the UK and Europe, and Southeast Asia, sparking conversations on the potential for joint grant applications. The final session introduced the UWA Asian Studies Discipline Group’s forthcoming book project, Asian as Crucible, and opened the floor for brainstorming future collaborations, comparative projects, and institutional exchanges.
By the end of the day, the workshop had achieved its purpose of strengthening connections among an international network of scholars while identifying shared research priorities. Participants departed with a clearer vision of collaborative opportunities, setting the stage for future joint projects that advance comparative insights into trans-territorial communities across time and space.
