Minako Sakai

Associate Professor Minako Sakai serves as Deputy Head of School (Research) at UNSW Canberra's School of Humanities & Social Sciences. With a PhD in Anthropology from The Australian National University, she specializes in Islam-gender-development intersections across the Indo-Pacific.

• PhD, Anthropology - The Australian National University

Her research examines:

• Muslim women's economic empowerment through entrepreneurship
• Social innovation for poverty reduction
• Disaster resilience in Indonesia-Japan comparisons
• Islamic finance's role in community development
• Political dynasties and civil society

Recent award highlights:

• 2023 Indonesian Government's Culture Award
• 2024 Australia-Indonesia Institute Cultural Leadership Award
• 2024 Dorothy Green Award for research impact

Major research grants include:

• Dompet Dhuafa Republika Foundation ($60,000, 2024-2026)
• Ford Foundation (USD 200,000, 2018-2020)
• Australia-ASEAN Council Grant (2019-2020)