Miya Irawati

Currently, Miya is working as an assistant professor (research) at Monash University in Indonesia and as a researcher at the Herb Feith Indonesian Engagement Centre, Faculty of Arts, Monash University, with a research focus on developing a Model of Future-proofing for Climate Resilience by Engaging (Vulnerable) Communities in Eastern Indonesia and using the Gender, Disability and Social Inclusion approach that also collaborates with diverse stakeholders, including local NGOs, governmental bodies, interdisciplinary research teams and journalists.

Miya completed a doctorate at the Geography Department, National University of Singapore (NUS), with a thesis titled "Situating Practices of Desakota Transformation: A Study of Urbanisation in the Extended Metropolitan Region of Jakarta" funded by National Research Foundation (NRF) Singapore and Singapore-ETH Centre (SEC) when she worked as a researcher at the urban-rural system module in Future Cities Laboratory (FCL) at ETH Zurich. Miya holds an M.Sc. in Construction and Real Estate Management from a joint study program of HTW Berlin and Helsinki Metropolia and a B.Arch degree from Trisakti University in Jakarta.

Miya has experience as a researcher globally. She worked for FCL from 2016 to 2021. Miya and her team at FCL received Best Housing in the Indo–Pacific region at the INDE Awards in 2020 for 'the Expandable House' project in Batam, which was also selected as one of the twenty shortlisted projects for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2022. The project is recognised for its sustainable, incremental approach, allowing housing to evolve in response to residents' needs and Batam's rapidly changing urban context. In recent days, Miya has also been a research fellow at the Agropolitan Territories of Monsoon Asia, Future Cities Laboratory Global, in Singapore, and a research associate at the Urban Human Urban Institute at the University of Sheffield in the UK.

Before joining FCL at ETH Zurich, she served as managing director and researcher at the Urban Laboratory at Tarumanagara University in Jakarta. She was involved in various joint research programs with partners from the US and Europe, including those on urban transformation, sustainable development, and real estate development. From 2008 to 2016, she was also a principal researcher at the Research Centre of Socio-economic and Community Empowerment at the Ministry of Public Works in Indonesia. Her research focused on land issues, community empowerment, slum upgrading, housing provision, and local economic development. Miya has conducted various research projects, ranging from policy research to pilot initiatives, in Indonesia.

Miya has taught as an adjunct or guest lecturer in architecture, urbanism, and climate change at universities in Indonesia, Singapore, Europe, and the US. Currently, she is on the executive team of the International Forum on Urbanism (IFoU), a network of universities, research institutes, and knowledge centres that strengthens international collaboration in urbanism. These experiences make her a juror, reviewer and mentor for international competitions/ awards in architecture, urbanism and housing provision.