About

Dr Michael Underdown is an internationally known Altaic (Inner Asian) scholar and maritime and port lawyer.  He has held visiting appointments and research fellowships in Russia, China, Korea and the United Kingdom.  He has published and presented papers at conferences in Germany, France, Hungary, Korea, Romania, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Estonia, USA, Canada, Mongolia, China, Japan, Belgium, Macao, Singapore, Poland, UK and Malaysia.

He has extensive experience in government service, multi-sector project management and strategic planning.  He managed one of two UN multilateral development projects for UNDP, coordinating the interests of China, Russia, North Korea, Mongolia and South Korea in the economic development of Northeast Asia and promoting and facilitating investment, trade and infrastructure projects as Director of the Intergovernmental Secretariat.  He has been Research Specialist (East Asia) at the Parliament of Australia.

Dr Underdown has been a Special Counsel at Clayton Utz, a barrister in Dunedin and a solicitor in Nelson, New Zealand.  He is an experienced maritime arbitrator and has given evidence to the Russian Duma, Parliament of Australia and Parliament of Western Australia.

Interests
Professional
  • Editing and reviewing
Research
  • Monographs on Belgian constitution; Manchu invasions of Korea in 1627 and 1636; papers on legal, business and other topics in progress
Teaching
  • Law: maritime, port, fisheries, international law Business: strategic management, project management Linguistics: Altaic linguistics, particularly Manchu-Tungus and South Siberian Turkic; History: Inner and North Asian history, ethnology and prehistory; history of Arctic and North Atlantic outliers
Experience
  • 1996 to present - Visiting Professor, Centre of Northeast Asian Studies, Northeast Normal University (Changchun)
  • 1995 to present - Visiting Professor of World Economy, Graduate School, Jilin University (Changchun)
  • 1992 to 1993 - Visiting Scholar, School of Asian Studies, University of Sydney (Sydney)
  • 1992 to 1993 - Research Associate, Centre for Chinese Political Economy, Macquarie University (Sydney)
  • 1991 to 1992 - Visiting Professor of Altaic Linguistics, College of Humanities, Seoul National University (Seoul)
  • 1991 to 1992 - Visiting Scholar, Research Institute for Asia and the Pacific, University of Sydney (Sydney)
  • 1988 to 1989 - Executive officer, UNSW-UTS Centre for Research on Provincial China, University of New South Wales (Sydney)
  • 1982 - Research Assistant, Applied Research and Development Unit, Phillip Institute of Technology (Melbourne)
  • 1979 to 1980 - Research Assistant, Public Policy Studies Programme, University of Melbourne (Melbourne)
Honours
Fellowships
  • 2020 - Fellow, Royal Society of South Australia
  • 1993 - College Visiting Research Fellowship in the Humanities, St David's University College, University of Wales, Lampeter
  • 1993 - Korea Foundation Fellowship, Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies (Royal Archives), Seoul
  • 1986 - Australia-USSR Academic Exchange Award, Institute for History, Philology and Philosophy, Siberian Branch, Soviet Academy of Science, Novosibirsk
  • 1984 - Exchange Fellowship, Joint Academies, Australia-China Exchange, Institute of Nationality Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing
Memberships
  • Panel Member, Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration, Kuala Lumpur
  • MCIArb, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, London
  • 2020 - Member, Expert Pool, BCI and BIMC, Shenzhen
  • 2018 - Member, Panel of Arbitrators, China Maritime Arbitration Commission, Shanghai
Publications

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles
Conference Papers
Other research outputs
Supervision

Advisory Accreditation: I can be on your Advisory Panel as a Primary or Secondary Advisor.

These Higher Degree Research projects are either current or by students who have completed their studies within the past 5 years at JCU. Linked titles show theses available within ResearchOnline@JCU.

Current
  • The bureaucratic postulates of Weber and the 21st century Australian university (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
  • Importance of Innovation in Small and Medium Organizations in IT Sector: The role of Knowledge Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Diversity (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
  • I-Fintech Readiness (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
  • Compassion Fatigue: Experiences of Human Resource Professionals in the Not for Profit Sector (PhD , Primary Advisor)
  • Investor Risk for Owners of Allotments in Registered Strata Property Schemes in Far North Queensland (PhD , External Advisor)
  • Common Law: Is the presupposed separation sustainable? (PhD , Advisor Mentor)
  • Paramedic paediatric readiness for trauma: self-efficacy, attitudes and confidence (PART SEAC) (Masters , Primary Advisor)
Completed

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