Aussie govt opens scholarship scheme

JAKARTA: The Minister of the Australian Embassy, Leslie Rowe, launched the Australian Government Scholarship program at a function at the Australian Ambassador's residence in Jakarta, on Wednesday.

The function was held to commemorate the opening of the Australian Development Scholarship program for the year 2000 and to farewell almost 200 Indonesian fellows who will soon depart for Australia to undertake short and long-term training at Australian universities and training institutions.

The Australian government this year will provide 345 scholarships for Indonesian citizens to undertake postgraduate study at Masters and Ph.D level in Australian universities. The program emphasizes gender equity and prioritize 30 percent of the awards reserved for people from the eastern provinces.

Rowe said that Australian government funding for training programs in fields such as economic governance, human rights, and small and medium business development was an important aspect of commitment to supporting the reform process in Indonesia and a rapid return to economic growth.

There are currently 900 Indonesians studying in Australia on Australian government scholarships with annual expenditures on the program is almost A$30 million, according to a release from the embassy.

Scholarships for the year 2000 intake are offered in areas of priority for Indonesia's national development. This includes Economic Governance, Agriculture, Health, Environmental Management, Science, Engineering and Education & Training.

Over 40 percent of the scholarships will be offered for study in economic governance. Scholarships are open to both government officials and private individuals and further information as well as application forms are available from the Australian Development Scholarships program office. (06)