Australian Development Scholarships is the principal mechanism by which Australia provides scholarship assistance for individuals from developing countries to undertake studies at Australian education institutions.

In Pakistan, the program aims to improve sustainable, pro-poor service delivery and governance. It has been redesigned in consultation with the Government of Pakistan to increasingly align its objectives with Pakistan’s development priorities. Future awards will focus in particular on the following priority sectors:

• maternal, neonatal and child health services
• basic education services
• rural development and food security
• governance

The program also targets public sector reform and improved standards of governance in both public and private sectors.

The aim is to improve technical and leadership capacity of men and women working in federal and provincial governments, non-profit civil society, and the private sector.

Priority will be given to applicants from Baluchistan, Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), formerly the Northwest Frontier Province.

Under this program, the Australian Government is now offering up to 45 awards for Masters-level study for the January 2011 intake. For further information, click here.

All applicants have to ensure they fall under one of the four Scholar Profiles and meet Profile specific eligibility criteria along with the general suitability criteria.

About ADS Office Services

The ADS office provides the following support services to participating organisations and applicants:

• Human resource needs analysis and planning including a Re-Integration Action Plan
• Advice on appropriate fields of study, course selection and future career development through an Academic Advisor
• Candidate selection and university placement processing. This includes short-listing, interviews, IELTS testing for applicants applying under Scholar Profile 1, 2 and 3, study skills and placement at the Australian university
• Visa processing. This involves working with staff from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) and the relevant in-country Visa support provider and systems, making suitable arrangements to facilitate the efficient and timely processing of all ADS visa applications
• Pre-Departure preparation and in-Australia support. These include flight booking, pre-departure briefing session to ensure a smooth transition for each scholar to living and studying in Australia
• Reintegration planning. This involves facilitating the development of a reintegration plan between the awardees and their employers. This is to assist returned scholars with the re-integration back into their workplaces
• Supporting returned scholars. Facilitation is provided to returned scholars to become members of the Alumni Network
• Monitoring and evaluation. This includes conducting regular tracer studies and monitoring and evaluation studies to inform stakeholders of the impact and consequences that scholars have contributed to their particular fields, organisations, institutions or groups. For this, all returned AusAID scholarship awardees are encouraged to register themselves on the Alumni Registration portal.

Document(s) Available for Download

Please click here for a copy of the ADS Handbook.