Statistics

Saiful Mahdi, S.Si., M.Sc., Ph.D

I am a statistician by training with both BS and MS in Statistics and a Ph.D in Applied Econometrics in Regional Economics and Planning. My area of interest includes Disaster Statistics, Official Statistics, Social Statistics, Demography, Survey Methods, Quantitative Methods for Policy Analysis, and Quantitative Social Science (QSS) in general. I have taught graduate classes and supervised graduate students' thesis in Statistics, Applied Statistics, and Regional Economics, while regularly teaching undergraduate classes in Statistics, Applied Econometrics, Statistical & Total Quality Control, Official Statistics, Social Statistics, Disaster Statistics, Marketing Research, Demography, and Public Policy Analysis. In the post-2004 Aceh tsunami, however, I have also been learning about disaster and the "sociology of disaster" and relating them with my experiences and learnings on conflict, peace, and development. In these fields, I have been studying many issues, from social capital, community development, and regional planning, to environmental issues. Born and raised in Aceh, which used to be a protracted conflict area for 30 years, and is still very much a disaster-prone region, I study development in a critical and multi-discipline approach. Yes, I am definitely a T-shaped person. So, don't get confused with my study and curiosity in many different fields. But you sure will find numbers in many of them, should you have so much appetite for number crunching. A Cornell, UVM, and ITS Surabaya Alumn. With a Ph.D. in Regional Science focusing on Applied Econometrics from Cornell University's City and Regional Planning; an MS in Statistics with a Fulbright Scholarship from the University of Vermont, and a BS in Statistics from ITS Surabaya, I have never learned enough. So I am proud to be a lifelong seeker of knowledge and wisdom from anyone, any school, any media, and beyond. I served as the founding and First Chair of the Statistics Department at Universitas Syiah Kuala. I was also the former Founding Executive Director of the International Center for Aceh and Indian Ocean Studies (ICAIOS); and, Co-founding Director of The Aceh Institute, was the deputy director of the Center for Social Sciences and Cultural Studies (PPISB) of Syiah Kuala University, and still serve as a researcher at ICAIOS and The Aceh Institute. A positivist by training (can not be more positivist than as a statistician, can I?), a post-positivist by learning, and a humanist by understanding (at least trying to). I have worked with and been a consultant to several local, national, and international institutions. I was Head of Mission/National Coordinator for UNIFEM (now UN-Women) in its post-2004 Tsunami Programs in Aceh. I was the co-coordinator for a multi-year research project, The Aftermath of Aid (AoA), managing more than 100 team members from universities in Aceh with ICAIOS and NTU-EOS Singapore in 2012-2017. In 2018, I was a visiting professor at Nagoya University, before I served as a member of Forum Masyarakat Statistics (FMS), a 23-member advisory body for the Indonesian National Statistics Office (BPS) and National Planning Agency (Bappenas) in 2019-2020.
Email Address

saiful.mahdi@usk.ac.id

Location

Limpok, Aceh Besar, Aceh

Staff Handbook
Translate »