Applying for an Australia Awards Scholarship (Intake 2018)

Bangladesh

Applying for an Australia Awards Scholarship (Intake 2018)

Australia Awards Scholarships in Bangladesh

Australia’s international development assistance in Bangladesh is focused on education and building economic resilience among the poorest and the most marginalised communities. In both areas, gender equality is prioritised with a focus on empowering women and girls.

Australia Awards Scholarships are prestigious international awards offered by the Australian Government to the next generation of global leaders for development. Through study and research, recipients develop the skills and knowledge to drive change and help build enduring people-to-people links with Australia.

Applicants will be assessedbased on their professional and personal qualities, academic competence and, most importantly, their potential to impact on development challenges in Bangladesh.

Applications are strongly encouraged from eligible women,persons with disability, and ethnic minorities. At least 50 percent of the Awards will be given to qualified women applicants.

Target groups

For Intake 2018, applications will be accepted from the following groups:

Group 1:Government of Bangladesh officials, limited toBangladeshcadre officials, officers of the Bangladesh Bank, and Judicial Services officials.

Group 2: Workers from development organisations, specifically non-government organisations (e.g. BRAC), civil society organisations, community-based organisations, and international development agencies (e.g. United Nations agencies).

Group 3: Employees of private sector organisations.

Group 4: Those coming from academia, research institutions (e.g. icddr,b), media, and cultural organisations (e.g. historical museums).

Priority areas of study

The priority areas of study for Bangladesh for Intake 2018 are:

Priority Areas	Fields of Study
Public Policy-related	Public Administration Public Finance Public Sector Accounting
Development, Governance, Environment/ Sustainability	Education Public Health Climate ChangeandDisaster Risk Reduction Water ResourcesManagement
Security Studies	Cyber-Security Policing Intelligence Counter-Terrorism
Science and Engineering	Engineering Technology Management
Trade	International Trade andDevelopment
Arts (limited to Fashion, Film, Screen, Animation, andMusic)	Creative Industries Textile and Fashion Design Multimedia Arts

Applicants must research two preferred courses, including information provided on institution websites, and ensure that they meet the institution’s English language and other course related requirements.

Level of study

Australia Awards Scholarships

Australia Awards Scholarships provide citizens of Bangladesh with the opportunity to obtain a Master’s qualification at an Australian tertiary institution.

Australia Awards Scholarships benefits

Scholarship recipients will generally receive the following:

·         Return air travel.

·         A one-off establishment allowance on arrival.

·         Full tuition fees.

·         Contribution to living expenses.

·         Introductory Academic Program.

·         Overseas Student Health Cover for the duration of the Scholarship.

·         Preparatory programs that run for up to a maximum of 12 months, if necessary.

·Supplementary academic support.

·Fieldwork allowance–for research students and mastersbycourse work which has a compulsory fieldwork component.

Eligibility criteria

Australia Awards applicants in Bangladesh must meet the following minimum eligibility criteria:

·          Be at least 18 years of age at the time of commencing the Scholarship (January 2018).

·          Be a citizen of Bangladesh and be residing in and applying for the Scholarship from Bangladesh.

·          Have at least two years’ full-time work experience in a relevant field.

·          Be able to satisfy the admission requirements (including portfolio work required) of the institution at which the Award is to be undertaken.

·          Be able to satisfy all requirements of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection to hold a Foreign Affairs or Defence Sector (Subclass 500) student visa.

·          Have an IELTS (Academic) overall score of at least 6.5 with no band less than 6.0 (or TOEFL paper-based test score of at least 580, or computer-based score of at least 237 or an internet-based score of at least 92) (or equivalent PTE score). Scores must be valid at 1 February2018 and must be submitted with the application.

Women, persons with disability and those from ethnic minorities are allowed to submit an overall IELTS score of at least 6.0 with no band less than 5.5 (or equivalentTOEFL or PTE score). However, they must meet the English language admission requirement at an Australian University. Assistance will be provided to applicants from the above groups if they need to retake an English test.

·          Have completed a tertiary level qualification at least equivalent to an Australian Bachelor’s degree.

Please note that Bachelor’s degrees obtained from private universities in Bangladesh are generally not considered equivalent to an Australian Bachelor’s degree.Applicants should check with their proposed Australian institution whether their Bangladesh qualification is considered equivalent to an Australian Bachelor’s degree.

·          Not be married, engaged to, or a de facto of a person who holds, or is eligible to hold, Australian or New Zealand citizenship or permanent residency, at any time during the application, selection or mobilisation phases.

·          Not be currently serving military personnel.

·          Not be a citizen of Australia, hold permanent residency in Australia or be applying for a visa to live in Australia permanently.

·          Not be applying for another long-term Australia Award unless they have resided outside of Australia for twice the length of the total time that they were in Australia.

Generally, Scholarships will not be available for courses of study in Australia where the applicant already has achieved that qualification and the qualification is deemed to be equivalent to the Australian qualification.

Special conditions

Applicants must also meet the following country-specific conditions:

·          Applicants are required to submit a Development Impact Plan as part of their application.

Application dates (for study commencingin 2018)

Opening date:    1 February 2017

Closing date:      30April 2017

Applications or supporting documents received after this date will not be considered.

The application process­

Online applications

Apply online at: https://oasis.dfat.gov.au/

Applicants are strongly advised to apply online well before the closing date through Online Australia Awards Scholarships Information System (OASIS). The online application facility (OASIS) experiences peak usage in the days leading up to the closing date and applicants may experience delays.

Supporting documents

Applicants must submit all of the relevant supporting documents listed in the Scholarships Policy Handbook and Bangladesh-specific requirementswith their application.

Documents requiring certification/notarisation are specified in the table below. If the document is not in English, the translated copy must be certified. See the Scholarships Policy Handbook for certification requirements.

Required Document	OASIS Document Type	Certified
Passport	Proof of citizenship	Yes
Tertiary degree certificates (Bachelor’s and Master’s level)	Degree certificate	Yes
Academic grades (Bachelor’s and Master’s level)	Academic transcript	Yes
IELTS, TOEFL or PTE results (valid at 1 February 2018)	Proof of English language proficiency	Yes
Certificate of special achievement or merit	Other document	Yes
Academic referee reports (with seal: two reports for Masters by research applicants, andone report for Masters by coursework applicants)Template available at:http://dfat.gov.au/about-us/publications/Documents/referee.pdf MS Word: http://dfat.gov.au/about-us/publications/Documents/referee.docx	Referee report	No
Curriculum Vitae	Other document	No
Research proposal(for Masters by research applicants)	Other document	No
Development Impact Plan	Other document	No

Notes:

·          Referee reports in other than the prescribed format will not be accepted and may make applications ineligible. Contact the Australia Awards Bangladesh to clarify this requirement, if necessary.

·          Research applicants short-listed for a selection interview must submit a well-developed research proposal by the date of the interview and must show evidence of prior communication with a potential research adviser.

·          Experience shows that it takes time for supervisors to complete referee reports. Approach supervisors as soon as possible to obtain up-to-date referee reports. References should come from employers, senior colleagues or academics familiar with the applicant’s academic, professional skills and achievements. Referee reports from family members or spouses willnot beaccepted.

·          All templates are also available at: www.australiaawardbangladesh.org

The selection process­

Following eligibility checking, applications will be assessed and ranked by independent consultantsand then short-listed by Australian Government representatives. Only short-listed candidates are contacted for interview. The selection process will include an interview and a written exercise using a computer.

Applicants will be assessed against the following criteria:

·          Academic competence.

·          Potential outcome, including contribution to development outcomes in Bangladesh.

·          Professional and personal leadership attributes.

Preparatory training

All successful applicants will be required to attend a course advice session, a visa and mobilisation session, and a pre-departurebriefing/farewell event before they leave for Australia.

Outcomes

All applicants will receive notification as to whether they have been successful byAugust 2017.

Further information Further information about the Australia Awards can be found at: http://dfat.gov.au/people-to-people/australia-awards/Pages/australia-awards-scholarships.aspx Australia AwardsScholarship entitlements and conditions can be found in the Scholarships Policy Handbook, available at: http://dfat.gov.au/about-us/publications/Pages/australia-awards-scholarships-policy-handbook.aspx Other useful websites: http://www.australiaawards.gov.au http://www.dfat.gov.au http://studyinaustralia.gov.au https://oasis.dfat.gov.au https://www.border.gov.au (for information on Australian visas) Contact Details Australia AwardsBangladesh Telephone:+880 4478004423-24 Email:inquiries@australiaawardsbangladesh.org Website:www.australiaawardsbangladesh.org