UTS Alumni Award winners are trailblazers in their fields. They’re part of a high achieving global community of UTS graduates. UTS College is proud to sponsor the International Alumni Award, which goes this year to Nurul Barizah, Professor of International Law at Indonesia’s prestigious Universitas Airlangga. When we speak with Nurul, she’s still recovering from the surprise. “I never imagined it before. It’s an honour, but I never think about achievements – I do these activities because I feel I need to contribute to our communities,” she says.
Even while growing up (in a small village about 35 kilometres from Surabaya), Nurul had no doubts that she was headed for university. She says, “My family is religious, but not conservative. Most are very well-educated. When I was a child, it was my dream to become a medical practitioner – a doctor or something like that. I studied science in senior high school.” She was so determined, that of the three preferences required for her university application, Nurul put medicine first and second. “I put the faculty of law third,” she says. “When I applied, I was discussing with a friend who said, ‘Why don’t you apply for law? You’re always strong in debating and arguing. You always know how to convince people.’”
A disappointment or a blessing in disguise?
She may have added law to her application, but Nurul’s heart was still set on medicine. “I had studied hard – science, physics, chemistry – they were difficult subjects.” She then had to wait for the university admissions to be published. She says, “Back then, we got that information in the newspaper. When I saw that my name wasn’t in the faculty of medicine, but in the faculty of law, I was shocked and disappointed.”
Looking back, Nurul now sees accepting that offer of a place in Law at Universitas Arilangga as a fortunate turning point in her life. “Listening to lectures and studying deep into civil law, criminal law, I felt what I was learning was very important. I met friends from different backgrounds and became active in student organisations. It gave me the potential to be a good lawyer one day,” she says.
A commitment to social justice
Nurul’s experiences doing advocacy for marginalised people also ignited her lasting passion for social justice. She says, “I volunteered for the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute. We provided advocacy for real conflicts and problems in society, like labour cases, environmental cases, and land cases. I learnt empathy for the needs of society. I believe I have to contribute. We have to create opportunities for people so they can defend their rights.” This work also reinforced the importance of education. “I chose international law as my major because at the time, there weren’t many lecturers in that area and I wanted to teach,” she says.
Connecting with UTS
After completing her Bachelor of Law, Nurul worked in the Universitas Airlangga Faculty of Law as an assistant lecturer. This involved more training and study, including training in intellectual property rights, as she advanced her academic career. It was on one of these courses that she met two academics from UTS, who recommended her for further study in Australia. She says, “I first went to UTS for the IASTP (Indonesia- Australia Specialised Training Project) in 1998, studying with one of the UTS professors I’d met in Indonesia.” She went on to complete her Master’s and PhD at UTS, and says it’s had a huge influence on her career. “All the UTS community has influenced my development,” she says. I studied there for five and a half years.”
Learning vital career skills in a family-friendly environment
Of the many things Nurul learnt during her time at UTS, she says critical thinking was the most important. “To be always questioning – asking why this, why that – is a very important skill for a lawyer,” she says. “And when I did my PhD, I learnt to write a comprehensive thesis. I never imagined earlier how I could achieve that.”
She was also impressed by the way UTS supports students. “I remember when I studied there, I had two daughters. When I was doing my PhD, one was one and a half and the other was nearly three. Financial assistance from UTS reduced the cost of my childcare and really helped me to complete my studies in time,” she says.
Making her mark on the world
Nurul, now Professor Barizah, is busy. With specialities including international law, international intellectual property law, international trade law, and international dispute resolution, she’s in demand as a speaker and expert consultant. Her commitment to education also continues. Under her leadership, the Universitas Airlangga Faculty of Law achieved a QS World University ranking of 200 (it previously had no ranking). She is active in Muhammadiyah, one of Indonesia’s largest Islamic civil society organisations, and in Aisyah, a leading women’s organisation focusing on women’s empowerment, education, health care, and social service.
A different kind of doctor
When asked how she feels now about her early pivot away from medicine to the world of law, she says, “I’m very happy with my position and what I’ve achieved. Would I study medicine if I could go back in time? No. I may not be a medical doctor,” she laughs, “but I’m a doctor of law.”
See Nurul's interview with Professor Grace Li, Associate Dean, Faculty of Law, UTS
Like Nurul, many students change direction at the start of their studies. Sometimes they decide a course is not for them, or perhaps they miss out on the offer they were hoping for. If that’s you, a Diploma of Animation Production, Business, Communication, Design and Architecture, Engineering, IT, or Science from UTS College could fast-track you to your dream degree.
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