Professor Eugene Sebastian

My work sits at the intersection of international education, international research and international development. I have led initiatives that bring universities, governments, industry and community groups to solve problems that cross borders and sectors. I focus on turning competing interests into coordinated action that delivers policy and institutional outcomes.

I have led major Australia–Asia programs, rebuilt drifting partnerships, and secured more than $90 million for research and capacity-building. This work often involves helping people who rarely collaborate find a common purpose, then building relationship, governance and delivery structures strong enough to sustain it. 

Across universities, I have led student recruitment, transnational education, international research and international development programs. I opened new markets in South America and the Middle East by aligning fragmented internal teams and repositioning offerings around institutional strengths. This created new scholarship pipelines, increased enrolments and generated new revenue streams.

I have grown international higher degree research enrolments through partnerships with foreign governments. I also rebuilt transnational education ventures in China, Singapore and Indonesia by targeting market catchments, redesigning offshore delivery models and improving student experience and engagement.

I have led development programs for AusAID, the World Bank, WHO and UNICEF, translating academic expertise into practical capability-building for senior officials responsible for policy delivery. 

At the Australia–Indonesia Centre, I led a consortium of 11 universities from both countries. A key focus of my work has been strengthening how research informs public decision-making. I designed and led the Partnership for Australia–Indonesia Research (PAIR), a research-to-policy model that brought together more than 500 researchers from 19 universities to work directly with policymakers, industry groups and communities. The program addresses climate resilience, transport connectivity, health and well-being of young people and vulnerable groups. It resulted in over $30 million in co-investment from both countries.