For more than 70 years, the Australian Government has proudly supported emerging leaders from developing countries in accessing a high-quality education and life experience in Australia. Today’s key delivery mechanism for providing this support is Australia Awards.
Australia Awards are a central pillar of Australia’s investment in people-to-people links with its partner nations—enhancing mutual understanding, cooperation, growth and stability in our region. Australia Awards equip recipients with the skills, knowledge and networks to drive change and contribute to the economic and social development of their own communities and nations.
Key objectives for Australia Awards are the empowerment of women and the inclusion of people with disability and individuals from traditionally marginalised groups.
In 2022, Australia Awards – South Asia & Mongolia offered opportunities to eligible nationals of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Through a range of modalities—including Australia Awards Scholarships, targeted Australia Awards Short Courses, Australian Professional Opportunities, and professional development and support for alumni—the Program aims to:
- develop capacity and leadership skills to enable individuals to contribute to development in their home country
- build people-to-people linkages at the individual, institutional and country levels
- support Australia’s public and economic diplomacy agenda.
Recipients of Australia Awards become part of the Australia Global Alumni network, connecting them to Australia and to each other—building a global network of leaders and advocates and establishing a network of ambassadors for Australia and its first-class education system.