Asia Centre Podcast
Asia Centre Podcast
Asia Centre
S1E2 | Freedom from Academia: How Unencumbered Research Empowers Civic Action
53 minutes Posted Apr 2, 2026 at 3:41 am.
0:00
53:10
Download MP3
Show notes

Asia Centre's Big Ideas: Freedom from Academia ─ How Unencumbered Research Empowers Civic Action


What happens when academic conventions get in the way of speaking truth to power? Dr James Gomez walked away from the ivory tower to build something more agile — founding Asia Centre on the principle of "freedom from academia." By replacing the strictures of academic institutions with collective expertise and real stakeholder input, he's created a model that's faster, sharper, and that can be harnessed for advocacy and capacity-building bringing the research closer to the ground — and one that's actively equipping civil society leaders in Asia to challenge power on their own terms. Hosted by Kelvin Param.