International education, both for Australians and regional participants, provides opportunities to establish networks and institutional links, while addressing regional skills shortages and contributing to regional research efforts. The awards also allow Australia to demonstrate the high quality of education it provides for international students. Australian Scholarships is a whole-of-government approach to education cooperation between Australia and the countries of the Asia-Pacific region.

The initiative brings under one umbrella three Australian Government education award programmes managed by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and the Department of Education Science and Training (DEST).

Australian Development Scholarships (ADS) are funded by the Government of Australia for postgraduate study at Australian universities. The main goal of ADS is to promote Indonesia's human resource capacity to contribute to:

• Improving economic management
• Strengthening democratic institutions and practice
• Increasing the accessibility and quality of basic social services
• Enhancing security and stability

Scholarships have played a significant role in Australia's development cooperation program in Indonesia, with around 10,000 scholarships provided over more than 50 years. ADS continues to be a major component of the program with up to 270 scholarships offered in 2007/2008.

Please note that the ADS scholarship program is a different program to the Australian Partnership Scholarship (APS) Program. For full details on APS go to www.apsprogram.or.id

The off-shore component of the ADS Program is managed by IDP through an IDP established ADS Project Office in Jakarta to ensure efficient end effective administration of the ADS scheme in Indonesia.

Each year, the Australian Government sponsors people from some developing countries to study in Australia through Australian Development Scholarships (ADS). The Australian Development Scholarship program in Indonesia aims to promote private and public sector human resource development in areas of agreed development priority.

This will be achieved by providing post-graduate scholarships for Indonesians to study in Australia and by working in close cooperation with the Indonesian Government to deliver a program which is flexible to Indonesia's human resource development needs.

Consistent with the principles of AusAID's education and training policy (August 1996), the ADS program will be implemented to ensure : quality (of project personnel, fellows and procedures); transparency (of selection); equity and merit (in the awarding of fellowships); access (of beneficiaries to scholarship documentation and information); and consistency (in award administration).

ADS Media Release — 18 June 2007

Your chance to make a difference – Australian Development Scholarships

Outstanding Indonesians who want to help shape their country's future are encouraged to take the first steps forward by applying for an Australian Development Scholarship, with applications opening today, 18 June 2007.

Australian Development Scholarships (ADS), offered through the Australian Agency for International Development – AusAID – can open a door to the world for Indonesians wanting to pursue Masters and Doctorate studies in Australia.

ADS is a merit-based scholarship program, and is open to applicants from both the government and non-government sectors. In 2007/08, up to 270 ADS scholarships will be available, with 50 per cent of all scholarships to be awarded to women.

Candidates can choose studies from within four areas of development priority: Economic Management, Democratic Institutions and Practice, Basic Social Services and Security and Stability.

The Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Bill Farmer, said the scholarships would provide a better future for Indonesia through helping promising Indonesian scholars to reach their full potential.

‘The Australian Scholarships program, of which Australian Development Scholarships are an important part, is all about people and investing in their futures’, Mr Farmer said.

‘The ADS program has been running since the 1950s, and this year's scholars will join more than 10,000 people whose commitment to pursuing higher studies will not only benefit Indonesia's political and economic future – it will also help steer the friendship between our two countries into the future.’

The Australian Scholarships initiative is a A$1.4 billion (IDR 10 trillion) program promoting development and education cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

ADS applications close on 7 September 2007.

Some advice from KGRE — June magazine 2007

If you are interested in applying for an Australian Development Scholarship (ADS) then it is important to be well prepared and know exactly what you must do. John Pariwono from IPB Bogor, and a graduate from Flinders University Adelaide, has been an academic interviewer for ADS since 1993. Each year he travels around Indonesia as part of a team of lecturers. They interview short-listed candidates for the ADS program. In 2006 they interviewed almost 600 candidates. But before interviews, candidates must complete the application form properly. Here are John's Golden Tips about completing the ADS Application Form.

• First, as early as possible gather as much information as you can from the ADS website and make sure you fulfill the standard requirements. If you have all these then proceed to the next step.
• ADS is open to all individuals no matter whether you work in the private sector, as a civil servant or in an NGO. You must check, however, that your proposed field of study is acceptable. Choose which category you belong to. If you are not sure then contact ADS Jakarta by email. If the data on your application form is incorrect you may have to re-apply next year.
• Clearly define your study area. Again if you are not sure then contact the ADS office.
• Incomplete forms are always rejected. Always check you have answered all the questions and check again before you post the application.
• Start collecting all the required documentation as early as possible. Application forms without the required documentation are automatically rejected.
• The whole process from application to actually going to Australia can take between 6 months to one and a half to two years. This depends on your IELTS score. So be patient.
• Look out in the next KGRE Magazine for John's Golden Tips on being well prepared for the ADS Academic Interview.
  The Australian Scholarships Initiative covers the 3 types of scholarships offered by the Australian Government. ADS, Australian Leadership Awards (ALA) and the Endeavour Program. Visit this website for all the details of all these scholarships - www.australianscholarships.gov.au

Australian Leadership Awards — April 2007 update

Applications for Australian Leadership Awards (ALA) for the 2008 academic year will open on 1 May 2007.

The Awards, a component of the Australian Government's $1.4 billion, five-year Australian Scholarships initiative, aim to develop partnerships and create lasting linkages with the Asia-Pacific region. The Awards are intended for current and future leaders who will contribute to social and economic policy reform and development outcomes, both in their own countries and throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

The ALA program includes both Scholarships and Fellowships.

ALA Scholarships are prestigious awards offered to high achievers from the Asia-Pacific region each year to undertake postgraduate study (Masters or Doctorate) and a Leadership Development Program in Australia.

Up to 150 ALA Scholarships will be offered to students from countries across the Asia-Pacific region to study at Australian universities in 2008, including candidates from Indonesia. Scholars will be selected from a highly competitive regional pool on the basis of demonstrated leadership qualities and academic achievement. Twenty one scholars were selected from Indonesia in 2007.

ALA Fellowships are for short term study, research and professional attachment programs in Australia delivered by Australian organisations. ALA Fellowships complement the longer term ALA Scholarships, providing opportunities to senior officials who cannot leave their positions for extended periods. Australian organisations are able to leverage their links within the Asia-Pacific region to apply. In 2007, 64 Indonesian fellows will be hosted by Australian organisations. Applications for round two will open 1 May 2007.

Applications are restricted to Australian organisations demonstrating on-going linkages with counterpart overseas organisations in eligible countries. Partner country counterpart organisations and individual fellows are not eligible to apply for support, however they may initiate contact with an Australian organisation to explore their interest in applying.

Applications for the 2008 round of ALA Scholarships will close on 31 July 2007 while applications for Round 2 of the Fellowships will close 29 June 2007.

For further information or to apply for an award, visit: www.australianscholarships.gov.au.

The Endeavour Programme

The Endeavour Programme was established as part of the 2003 International Education Package Education package Engaging the World Through Education.

Through international, merit-based competition, the Endeavour Programme brings leading researchers, professionals and students to Australia to undertake short or long term study, research and professional development in a broad range of disciplines and enables Australians to do the same abroad.

The Endeavour Programme is part of Australian Scholarships, a $1.4 billion Australian Government initiative that brings under the one umbrella the scholarship programmes managed by DEST and AusAID. Over the five years from July 2006, Australian Scholarships will double the number of Australian Government funded scholarships available in the Asia-Pacific region.

Under Australian Scholarships, the Endeavour Programme has been greatly expanded to provide approximately 9,000 scholarships over five years, of which nearly half will be for outgoing Australians. The scholarships will be a mix of postgraduate, undergraduate, vocational and technical education courses, and research and professional development awards. They are open to all fields of study.

The focus of the Endeavour Programme is to strengthen education linkages between Australia and the region and to showcase Australia's excellence in education, science and training.

The Endeavour Programme comprises of four categories:

• Endeavour Postgraduate and Postdoctoral Awards
• Endeavour Vocational Education and Training Awards
• Endeavour Executive Awards
• Endeavour Student Exchange Programmes