|
AusAID manages two long term Development Awards on behalf of the Government of Australia: Australian Development Scholarships(ADS) and Australian Leaderships Awards(ALA) scholarships. The selection process for both ADS and ALA scholarships was consolidated in 2011, with a single applications form and common open and closing dates. The process is based on merit, academic achievement and relevance of the proposed study to the development priorities by AusAID and Partner Government. Top ranking applicants in the selection process will be considered for ALA. Long term Development Awards are an important component of the Australian Government’s development program in Bangladesh. They support study at Australian tertiary institutions. The objectives of the awards are to develop the capacity and leadership skills of awardees so they can contribute to development in Bangladesh, and build people-to-people links at individual, institutional and country levels.
Development Awards in Bangladesh are available to support study at Masters level.
Applications for the intake commencing academic year 2013
Open on 1 February 2012 and Close on 30 April 2012
Applications received after this time will not be accepted. Applicants are encouraged to apply online at https://oasis.ausaid.gov.au early. For assistance, please contact the South Asia Scholarships Program (SASP) Office using the contact details below.
To ensure equity and broad participation, AusAID encourages women, people with a disability, people from ethnic minorities, people living in rural areas and members of socially and/or economically disadvantaged groups to apply.
Development Awards to study Masters by coursework or research are available for 2013 intake to the following groups:
- employees of the Government of Bangladesh*
- employees of ICDDR,B
- employees of BRAC, and
- ethnic minority communities across Bangladesh.
*Please note: Preference will be given to candidates from Departments aligned with Government of Bangladesh and AusAID agreed country priorities. Public university employees are not eligible.
Priority Development Themes for the target groups listed above are:
Employees of the Government of Bangladesh
- Economic Growth - Finance/Economic Policy, Development Economics
- Governance - Public Policy/Administration, Law/Governance Studies, Public Financial Management
- Gender - Gender Equality
- Regional Stability - Public Diplomacy / International Affairs
Employees of ICDDR,B
- Health, HIV&AIDS, Pandemics - Public Health, Biostatistics, Medical Anthropology, HIV&AIDS, Health Economics, Clinical Immunology and Vaccine Sciences, Health System Management, Nutrition, Finance, Administration
- Environment - Climate Change (as it relates to health)
- Education - Education
Employees of BRAC
- Governance- Monitoring and Evaluation
Ethnic minority/ indigenous communities across Bangladesh
-
Disability-Disability
- Disaster Risk reduction-Disaster Management
- Economic Growth-Finance/Economic Policy, Development Economics
- Education-Inclusive Education
- Environment-Climate Change
- Food Security
- Gender- Gender Equality
- Governance- Public Policy/Administration, Law/Governance Studies, Public
- Financial Management
- Health, HIV AIDS, Pandemics- Public Health
- Human Rights
- Regional Stability- Public Diplomacy / International Affairs
- Rural Development- Agriculture/Forestry, Community Development
- Water and Sanitation
Applicants must meet the following requirements:
- be a citizen of Bangladesh and be residing and applying for a scholarship from there;
- not have Australian or New Zealand citizenship or permanent resident status, or be in the process of applying;
- not be married or engaged to be married to a person who holds or who is eligible to hold Australian or New Zealand citizenship or permanent resident status;
- have achieved an overall International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score** of at least 6.5, with no individual band less than 6.*
- or, the equivalent level of TOEFL** as outlined below:
- a TOEFL paper-based test score of at least 580, or
- a TOEFL computer-based test score of at least 237, or
- a TOEFL Internet-based score of at least 92.
- satisfy all requirements of the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) for an AusAID Student Visa 576;
- not be current serving military personnel;
- not be applying for another long-term AusAID scholarship unless they have returned to their home country and resided there for twice the length of the total time that they were in Australia (for example, a previous AusAID Scholar who has been on AusAID scholarship/s in Australia for five years will not be eligible to apply for another AusAID scholarship until they have been home for ten years);
- not hold or have held an Australian Government-funded scholarship (e.g. Endeavour Award) in the preceding two years, at the time of application;
- have a university qualification at least equivalent in standard to an Australian Bachelor’s degree;
- be a current employee of the Government of Bangladesh, ICDDR,B, BRAC or member of an ethnic minority community;
- have at least two years work experience in a field relevant to their proposed course of study;
- satisfy admission requirements of the institution at which the Development Award is to be taken;
* Note: Women, applicants with disabilities and applicants from ethnic minority communities who have IELTS scores of 6.0 with no individual band less than 5.5 will be considered. ** Note: English proficiency scores must be valid until 1 January 2013. Masters applicants must select a study program no longer than 2 years in duration.
Applicants for Masters by research must also provide evidence of conditional offer of admission to an appropriate course at an eligible Australian institution for full time studies commencing in 2013. Applicants must inform AusAID of any connection or relationship to staff employed at AusAID or its Managing Contractor (SASP) so that applications can be properly and transparently managed.
Applicants are encouraged to carefully consider course selection before applying. Apart from exceptional circumstances, AusAID will not consider requests to change a selected course. Awardees are required:
- to sign a contract with the Commonwealth of Australia declaring they will comply with the conditions of the scholarship;
- to return to Bangladesh after completing their scholarships and live there for at least twice the length of the total time that they stay in Australia, to contribute to economic and social development of the country. Failure to do so will incur a debt to the Commonwealth of Australia for the total value of the scholarship; and
- to meet all requirements of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship. Failure to satisfy visa requirements within the required timeframe will result in the scholarship being withdrawn.
Awardees for Development Awards are accepted widely by most universities in Australia. A list of the participating institutions for the intake commencing in 2013 is available at:
http://www.ausaid.gov.au/scholar/ads-institutions.cfm
Development Awards are offered for the minimum period necessary for an individual to complete the academic program specified by a university. Masters courses must be no longer than two years.
The following benefits generally apply:
- full tuition fees;
- return air travel: payment of a single return, economy class airfare to and from Australia, via the most direct route;
- establishment allowance: a once only contribution towards expenses such as rental bonds, text books, additional medical insurance, excess baggage etc;
- contribution to living expenses (CLE): a fortnightly contribution to basic living expenses;
- Introductory Academic Program (IAP): a compulsory 4-6 week program on life and study in Australia prior to the commencement of formal studies;
- overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC): for the duration of the award (for award holder only). This covers basic hospital and medical costs, excluding pre-existing conditions;
- supplementary Academic Support (Tutorial Assistance): to improve a student's performance to ensure their academic success, if required; and
- for eligible research students only, contribution to fieldwork costs may be available for one return economy class airfare via the most direct route to Bangladesh or within Australia.
For more details on benefits and entitlements please read the Scholarships Handbook, available at http://www.ausaid.gov.au/scholar/publications.cfm
- Check that you are eligible to apply for a Development Award scholarship. Eligibility criteria for Development Awards are detailed above.
- Download and read the Scholarships Handbook (http://www.ausaid.gov.au/scholar/publications.cfm) and the Bangladesh Country Profile (http://www.ausaid.gov.au/scholar/pdf/bangladesh.pdf).
- When selecting a course, check the participating universities listed at http://www.ausaid.gov.au/scholar/ads-institutions.cfm. Go to http://cricos.dest.gov.au and individual university websites to research suitable courses.
Applicants must carefully check that:
-
a selected course aligns with one of the Priority Development Themes for Bangladesh for the target group;
- a selected Masters course is no longer than 2 years;
- a selected course will enable an applicant to contribute to poverty alleviation and sustainable development in Bangladesh when s/he returns;
- they satisfy all university enrolment requirements, including English language proficiency.
All applicants must submit the following documents with their applications. Failure to do so will make an application ineligible.
- Notarised copy of original formal degree graduation certificate (i.e. testamur) and, if not in English, a certified translation copy;
- Notarised copy of original formal academic transcript/s and, if not in English, a certified translation copy of the transcript/s;
- Notarised copy of a citizenship document (e.g. passport or national identity card);
- Notarised copy of original birth certificate and, if not in English, a certified translation copy of formal degree;
- Curriculum vitae (CV) briefly detailing work history and responsibilities (and research experience, if relevant to the application);
- Referee reports: at least one academic referee report and at least one other referee report (e.g. a work supervisor). Masters by Research applicants should provide two academic referee reports. A template for the preferred format of a referee report is available at Appendix B in Scholarship Handbook and in the links below;
- English language test (IELTS or TOEFL) results certificate must be valid until 1 January 2013. In cases where applicants cannot attach or produce their IELTS result at the time of application, they can submit the test results up to one week after the application closing date. This means that applicants can submit their applications along with all other necessary documents by 30 April 2012, and their IELTS result by 7 May 2012. IELTS results received after this deadline will not be considered.
*Please note: Applicants who are shortlisted for interview in the selection process must provide notarised academic transcripts. Applicants who will be finally selected will require valid police clearance certificate from their current workplace location or permanent address location.
In addition:
- Masters by research applicants must provide a conditional or unconditional letter of offer of admission to a course at an eligible university for full time study commencing in 2013.
- Applicants who are offered a Development Award will need to submit other information required by DIAC for visa processing at a later stage.
- The online application form is accessible at https://oasis.ausaid.gov.au. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit applications online. Those who wish to submit a hard copy application must contact the SASP office well before the application deadline. If required, a copy of the application form can be forwarded to you.
- Applicants from the Government of Bangladesh must select one of the following four themes from the list in the application form: Economic growth; Governance; Gender Equality; and Regional Stability.
- Applicants from ICDDR,B must select one of the following four themes from the list in the application form: Health, HIV&AIDS, Pandemic; Environment; and Education
- Applicants from BRAC must select the following theme from the list in the application form: Governance.
- Applicants from the Ethnic Minority Community from across Bangladesh may choose any of the themes listed in the application form.
- The Supporting Statement section of the application form is particularly important. Applicants must provide strong arguments to demonstrate their suitability for a scholarship award.
- Applicants who wish to pursue studies by research (Masters by research, or Masters by coursework with a research component) must complete the Research Proposal Details section.
- Applicants must complete the English Language Proficiency section in full, including their scores. Applicants must attach a copy of their IELTS or TOEFL certificate. In cases where applicants cannot attach or produce their IELTS result at the time of application, they will still be allowed to submit the test results within a week of application closing date. This means that applicants can submit their applications along with all other necessary documents by 30 April 2012, and can submit IELTS result by 7 May 2012. IELTS results received after this deadline will not be considered.
- Certified (notarized) scanned copies of all supporting documents must be uploaded to the online application form. For more information on Development Awards, first read the FAQs and then contact the SASP office using the contact details below, email
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
.
- Hardcopy applications must be received by the SASP office at the following address on or before 5:00 pm 30 April 2012.
South Asia Scholarships Program (SASP)
Coffey International Development – Liaison Office
5th Floor, Plot # 4, Road # 12 Block-J, Baridhara Dhaka-1212 Bangladesh
The selection process is open and transparent. The 9 key steps in the processes are:
- Intake opens – 1 February 2012
- Submit applications with necessary supporting documents
- Intake closes 30 April 2012
- Compliance checks
- Ranking, short listing and interviews
- Notifying the successful candidates
- SASP seeks university placement
- Immigration/visa and health clearances
- Pre-departure briefing and mobilisation
Kanchan Khisa
Country Scholarship Coordinator - Bangladesh Mobarak Hossain Sajid
Scholarship Associate – Bangladesh South Asia Scholarships Program (SASP)
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Website: www.southasiascholarships.org
Telephone: (880) 2 8824416, 8826154
Mobile: (880) 01730338495 |
 Program overview
Eligible target groups
Priority development themes
Eligibility criteria
Participating Australian institutions
Benefits and entitlements
How to prepare
Required documentation
Scholarship management process
How to apply
Useful links
Contact us
|
