To address the growing need for an interdisciplinary understanding of renewable energy transition in Southeast Asia, the Master’s Program in Anthropology, Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Indonesia, organized an international short course entitled Renewable Energy Transition in Southeast Asia: Regional Policy and Local Realities (REAL-SEA). The program was supported by the UI EQUITY Grant from the Directorate of Education Internationalization, Universitas Indonesia.
The REAL-SEA International Short Course brought together 20 postgraduate students from diverse academic and cultural backgrounds, comprising six students from Universitas Indonesia (UI), eight from Universiti Malaya (UM), one from the University of Science and Technology of the Southern Philippines, and four from Universitas Islam International Indonesia (UIII). Participants represented a wide range of nationalities, including Malaysian, Algerian, Taiwanese, Chinese, Filipino, Pakistani, Afghan, and Indonesian. They also came from disciplines such as Anthropology, International Relations, Sociology, Public Policy and Climate Change, Sustainable Finance, Power Systems Engineering and Management, Southeast Asian Studies, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Malaysian History and International and Strategic Studies, fostering a rich interdisciplinary and cross-cultural learning environment.
The course introduced participants to the dynamics of renewable energy transition in the region, examining how regional policy frameworks, national development agendas, and local realities intersect in shaping sustainable energy futures. The program featured eight in-class learning sessions in FISIP UI, and a field visit to the Museum of Electricity and Renewable Energy in Taman Mini Indonesia Indah.
The course explored several key themes, including Global Governance and Geoeconomy, which examined how international politics, economic interests, and global climate agendas influence energy transitions; Renewable Energy and Green Transition in Southeast Asia, which focused on regional trends, policy frameworks, and pathways toward sustainability; and Local Realities and Socio-Cultural Impacts, which investigated the implications of renewable energy projects for local communities through the cases of hydropower development in Malinau, floating solar panels in Cirata, and nickel mining in IWIP and IMIP. The course also addressed Possibilities and Challenges in Governance, exploring diverse experiences of policy implementation, institutional arrangements, and opportunities for fostering inclusive and just energy transitions across Southeast Asia. The field visit to the museum at TMII further encouraged participants to reflect on how different imaginaries of development and nation-building shape understandings of renewable energy transition. Through the varied representations of local livelihoods, cultural practices, and regional identities, participants observed that government visions of development often portray energy transition as a pathway toward modernization and national progress, while local experiences reveal diverse needs, aspirations, and challenges that cannot be fully captured by technological narratives alone.
By bridging global policy discussions with local experiences, REAL-SEA invited participants to critically engage with the opportunities and challenges of renewable energy transition and to reflect on the multiple pathways toward sustainable energy futures in Southeast Asia. The program ultimately highlighted that renewable energy transition is never solely a technological project. Rather, it is a complex and interconnected process shaped by people, places, institutions, and everyday realities, reminding us that sustainable energy futures are as much social and cultural endeavors as they are technical ones.
