Aussie govt opens scholarship scheme

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)