Answer:

The Australia Awards initiative was announced by the former Australian Prime Minister in November 2009 and aims to consolidate all Australia’s international scholarship programs under a single scheme. The Australia Awards aim to promote knowledge, education links and enduring ties between Australia and its neighbours. The Australia Awards consist of Development Awards and Endeavour Awards,

Development Awards include the Australian Development Scholarships (ADS) and the Australian Leadership Awards (ALA). The ADS and ALA are administered by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID). The ALA consists of ALA Scholarships (ALAS) and short term ALA Fellowships (ALAF). In Vietnam the ALAS are no longer stand-alone scholarships but are now being administered as supplementary awards to the ADS.

The Endeavour Awards are administered by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR).

For more information go to the following websites:

www.australiaawards.gov.au,
www.ausaid.gov.au/scholar/ala.cfm
www.asdiv.edu.vn
www.endeavour.deewr.gov.au

Answer:

Australian Development Scholarships (ADS) and Australian Leadership Award Scholarships (ALAS) are the long-term Development Awards scholarships administered by AusAID under the Australia Awards scheme. ADS and ALAS are a key component of Australia’s bilateral aid program for Vietnam and have been awarded each year to meet Vietnam’s priority human resource and development needs and improve linkages between Australia and Vietnam.

From 2011 the ADS and ALAS were consolidated into a single application and selection process (ADS/ALAS) and now ALAS are no longer stand-alone scholarships in Vietnam but are supplementary awards to the ADS.
The supplementary awards will include a Leadership for Development Program designed to enhance leadership knowledge and skills. Recipients will be brought together with other Australian Leadership Awardees for leadership training, development discussions and the chance to build valuable networks. Further information on the entitlements for ALAS can be found at http://www.ldp.net.au/

ALA Scholarships are awarded to outstanding ADS applicants with potential leadership qualities and who have a minimum IELTS of 6.5 (or TOEFL equivalent) and no sub-band below 6.0 on application.

Up to 250 postgraduate ADS/ALAS scholarships will be awarded to Vietnamese scholars to study at their choice of university in Australia in the 2012 Round.

Answer:

Yes, short-term scholarships are available under the Australian Leadership Award Fellowships (ALAF). The ALAFs aim to develop current and aspiring leaders working in priority areas to increase institutional capacity of partner countries and to advance key regional policy objectives.

ALAFs are designed to provide short term opportunities for study, research and professional attachment programs in Australia. Applications are submitted by Australian organizations twice a year. The host Australian organizations in-cooperation with partner agencies from eligible countries such as Vietnam nominate fellows to participate in the program.

The ALAF programs are selected through a competitive process.

For more information go to:
www.australiaawards.gov.au,

Answer:

To be eligible to apply for ADS/ALAS, you must:

• be a Vietnamese citizen residing in Vietnam at the time of your application.
• not hold citizenship or permanent residence status in any other country.
• not be married to or engaged to/or be de facto of a person who holds or is eligible to hold citizenship or permanent resident status in Australia or New Zealand.
• have completed a formal undergraduate degree (for Masters applicants) or a Masters degree (for PhD applicants).
• belong to one of the following 3 Profiles and meet the related requirements (see FAQ 5 for details).

1. Local Government Officials & people working on development issues;
2. Central Government Officials;
3. Tertiary Education Institution Lecturers (including TESOL) & Researchers.

• commit to return to work in Vietnam for at least two years after you finish your Australian course.
• not hold or have held an Australian Government-funded scholarship (e.g. Endeavour Award) in the preceding two years, at the time of application.
• have at least two years relevant recent work experience in Vietnam, except for Disadvantaged Applicants (FAQ 6) who are required to have at least 12 months relevant work experience (evidence of work experience must be provided on application).

If you are a former AusAID scholar you can not apply for another long-term AusAID scholarship unless you have returned to and resided in Vietnam twice the length of the total time that you were in Australia under the AusAID scholarship.

Answer:

To be eligible you must belong to one of the following Profiles and meet the respective IELTS and GPA requirements.

* IELTS Certificates or TOEFL iBT will be valid if the tests have been on or after 1 January 2011. Please note that valid certificates must  be submitted with the on-line application by 30 April 2012.

Answer:  

Disadvantaged Applicants are people from designated poor districts and provinces and people with a disability.

If you were (i) born in OR attended high school in AND (ii) are working in one of the designated poor districts and provinces you will be deemed to be disadvantaged.

Disadvantaged applicants are required to provide evidence at application of their place of birth, high school graduation, location of current employment and/or disability.

Answer:

i. ALAS applicants can now be selected from among the total pool of applicants in the 2012 round. The scholarship application form is fully integrated for ADS and ALAS applicants and the ALAS is now a supplementary award to the ADS. There is no special section of the application form to be completed for ALAS as in the 2011 round.

ii. Applicants from all Profiles MUST submit their applications on-line. Applications in hard copy are not accepted and will be deemed ineligible. Hard copies of on-line applications are NOT required.

iii. All applicants are required to submit a Letter of Employment using the template provided (download here). There is no longer a special Endorsement Letter template for CGA applicants.

iv. There are a number of changes in defining Disadvantaged Applicants (FAQ 6) and their eligibility requirements:

• Disadvantaged Applicants are defined as i) persons from designated poor districts and provinces and ii) persons with disabilities. Ethnic minority applicants will be deemed Disadvantaged only if they are from designated poor districts and provinces.
• Disadvantaged applicants must have the same minimum GPA of 6.5 as all Profile 1 applicants.
• Disadvantaged Applicants in Profile1 are now required to have at least 12 months relevant work experience, while all other applicants require a minimum of two years relevant work experience.
• Disadvantaged Applicants will have to meet a minimum of IELTS 4.5 (with no sub-band under 3.5) at the IELTS Selection test which they will take if they are short-listed for interview. They are not required to meet this IELTS requirement at application.

v. See also the eligibility criteria in FAQ 4 placing restrictions on applicants who have held a previous AusAID or Australian Government-funded scholarship.

Answer:  

You MUST be one of the following and apply under Profile 3 only:

1. Tertiary-level lecturer working at a university, academy or college
2. Tertiary-level English language lecturer
3. Researcher working at a university, research institute or research centre

PhD applicants must have a Masters Degree and Masters by Research applicants a formal Bachelors degree.

PhD applicants must have an overall IELTS of 5.5 (or TOEFL equivalent) and Masters by Research 4.5 minimum at application. (TESOL Masters by Research applicants will require an IELTS of 5.5).

Both PhD and Masters by Research applicants must have a minimum 7.0 GPA at application.

PhD and Masters by Research must have reports from two academic referees and should provide a list of relevant publications. (Download referee template here)

PhD applications under Profiles 1 and 2 will be deemed ineligible.

Applicants for a PhD and Masters by research scholarship will need to provide evidence at application of having contacted a potential supervisor at an institution in Australia.

Please note that if PhD or Masters by research applicants receive a scholarship offer, they will need to provide ASDiV with a well-developed research proposal for submission to Australian institutions as part of the Placement process. The proposal should include a proposed methodology, timeline and a brief literature review.

Guidance on how to find a supervisor and how to prepare a research proposal can be found at the following link.

Answer:

No. It is no longer an eligibility requirement for PhD applicants to have a “scientific” publication. However PhD applicants are required to list relevant publications in their application. Short-listed PhD candidates will be required to bring copies of their publications to the interview. The quality and location of the publications of a candidate will be a factor in the assessment of the candidate’s qualifications for a PhD scholarship.

Answer:

You must be a full-time employee of the 30 designated Central Government Agencies.

You should have two years relevant, continuous work experience in your current agency of employment and meet the other application requirements of Profile 2.

You must submit a Letter of Employment with your application (download template here).

Answer:

You are NOT eligible to apply under Profile 2 if you are an employee of a commercial enterprise under any Central Government Agency. However you may apply under Profile 1 if the State company is involved in rural industry, rural infrastructure or providing rural services or is working on development issues relevant to the priorities of the Vietnam-Australia development cooperation strategy.

Answer:

If you are working on a Government project that is involved in rural industry, rural infrastructure or providing services in rural areas, or is working on development issues relevant to the priorities of the Vietnam-Australia development cooperation strategy then you may apply under Profile 1.

Answer:

You may apply under Profile 1 only if the company is involved in rural industry, rural infrastructure or the provision of services in rural areas, or is working on development issues relevant to the priorities of the Vietnam-Australia development cooperation strategy then you may apply under Profile 1.

Answer:  

No. Applicants cannot apply for a scholarship for a degree at the same level as their last degree.

Answer:  

If you have been a recipient of an ADS or ALAS you can not apply for a PhD scholarship unless you have returned to and resided in Vietnam twice the length of the total time that you were in Australia under the AusAID scholarship (for example, Masters degree graduates who were on an ADS or ALAS in Australia for two years will not be eligible to apply for an AusAID PhD scholarship until they have been back in Vietnam for four years).

Answer:  

The IELTS (or TOEFL equivalent) requirements differ according to the Profile as follows:

Profile 1
Profile 1 applicants are encouraged but not required to submit an IELTS certificate on application. Short-listed candidates will be invited to sit an IELTS Selection test. The IELTS Selection test is funded by AusAID as a part of the ADS selection process. At that test short-listed candidates will be required to achieve an overall IELTS score of 4.5 (with no sub-band under 3.5).

Profiles 2 & 3
PhD applicants and all TESOL applicants (Masters and PhD) require a minimum of 5.5 IELTS (with no sub-band below 5.0) on application. All Masters applicants other than TESOL require overall 4.5 IELTS minimum (with no sub-band below 3.5) at application. (Please note: all Profile 2 and 3 applicants must submit a valid IELTS certificate regardless of whether they have received an overseas degree).

ALAS applicants
To be considered for an ALAS applicants (from all Profiles) must have a minimum of IELTS 6.5 overall and no sub-band below 6.0 on application.

All ADS/ALAS awardees must ultimately meet the IELTS requirements of their chosen Australian university course (which ranges from 6.0 to 7.5). This information can be found on university websites.

Answer:  

For Profiles 2 and 3 applicants, IELTS certified certificates or TOEFL iBT certificates showing tests on or after 1 January 2011 MUST be submitted with the on-line applications by 30 April 2012. Certificates submitted to ASDiV after this date will not be accepted.

For Profile 1 applicants, certified IELTS certificates of a test taken on or after 1 January 2011 should be submitted with the on-line application if available.

Answer:

All ADS/ALAS applicants, except Disadvantaged Applicants, MUST have two years recent relevant work experience in Vietnam at the time of application. For Profile 2 applicants the work experience should be continuous in their current agency of employment. Any probation period will be included as part of the two year calculation.

Disadvantaged Applicants are not required to be employed for a full 2 year period but they still must have at least 12 months work experience.

Answer:

For Profiles 1 and 3 applicants work experience DOES NOT have to be continuous or with the same employer but should be relevant to your proposed field of study.

Profile 2 applicants should have 2 years continuous work experience with the same agency.

Answer:

Yes. All applicants are required to submit with their application copies of work contracts to prove they have the required period of relevant work experience.

All applicants are also required to submit with their application a Letter of Employment from their current or previous employer (if they are currently not employed).

For Profile 2 applicants, the contracts and the Letter of Employment must show that they have been continuously employed with the same agency for two years.

Disadvantaged Candidates (FAQ 6) should show evidence of at least 12 months relevant work experience in their work contracts and Letter of Employment.

Answer: 

All Applicants MUST submit their application on-line together with supporting documentation by 30 April 2012.

Hard copy applications will not be accepted and will be deemed ineligible.

There is no requirement to forward hard copies of on-line applications to ASDiV this round.

Answer:

The following list of supporting documents should be uploaded with the on-line Application Form.

1. A certified copy of original formal degree
    
2. A certified translation copy of formal degree (if not in English)
    
3. A certified copy of original formal transcript
    
4. A certified translation copy of formal transcript (if not in English)
    
5. A certified copy of citizenship document (Passport OR National ID)
    
6. A certified copy of original birth certificate
    
7. A certified translation copy of birth certificate
    
8. A certified copy of work contract(s) that prove the required work experience
    
9. A CV with passport photo stamped by current or previous employer (download template here)
    
10. A letter of reference with stamp from current or previous employer (download template here)
     
11. One (1) academic referee report for all Masters by Coursework applicants (download template)
     
12. Two (2) academic referee reports for Masters Research and PhD applicants (download template)
     
13. A list of relevant publications for Masters Research and PhD applicants
     
14.  English proficiency Certificate (IELTS OR TOEFL equivalent) with a valid test on or after 1 January 2011 for Profiles 2 and 3 applicants, and if available (but not compulsory) for Profile 1.
     
15. Evidence of supervisor contact for Masters Research and PhD applicants
     
16. Conditional/unconditional letter of offer from an Australian University (if available)
     
17. Certificates of awards/prizes at national or provincial level or at university graduation only (if available).
     
18. If a Disadvantaged applicant with a disability, certified evidence of disability,
     
19. If a Rural Disadvantaged applicant, evidence of disadvantaged status if not available in above supporting documentation, e.g. high school transcript.

Answer:

A Joint Selection Committee (JSC) comprising representatives from AusAID and the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) selects ADS awards and recommends ALAS candidates to Canberra for decision, based on an assessment of the following factors:

ADS/ALAS
Academic results
Suitability and relevance of proposed study
Contribution to Vietnam’s development

ALAS
Outstanding leadership attributes and potential

Answer:

University academic transcripts can be certified by the Rector, Deputy Rector, the Head of the Training Department, or Deputy Head of the Training Department or by a Public Notary.

Answer:

All proposed study should align with the priority areas of human resource development, economic integration or environmental sustainability set out in the Vietnam-Australia development cooperation strategy titled Australia’s strategic approach to aid in Vietnam 2010-2015 and with the Development Awards key development themes.

Please note that MBA courses and courses in IT hardware and software programs, medicine and pharmacy will not be available for ADS/ALAS awardees.

Answer:

For PhD applicants proposed courses must be in the field of study undertaken for a Masters degree.

For Masters Degree (other than TESOL), applicants who nominate a course in a field of study in Australia that is different from their academic background can still be considered, depending on their relevant work experience and career goals. In the application you must demonstrate how you would use the knowledge and skills gained in your proposed studies to advance Vietnam’s development when you return from Australia.

All TESOL applicants must have specialized in English language studies in their previous degree.

Answer:

Shortlisted candidates will be able to change their course if they do not meet the entry requirements of the universities they nominate. Other reasons for a change of course will be considered on a case by case basis.

Answer: 

Yes. The Academic Advisers will assist short-listed candidates in finding supervisors so that they can be offered a place at an Australian university.

If PhD or Master by Research candidates have already found supervisors at the application stage, they are asked to provide the name of a proposed supervisor in section 8 of the Application Form. While it is not a requirement to name a supervisor at the application stage, in order to facilitate the processing of your application you are encouraged to make contact with a potential supervisor as soon as possible, since finding a supervisor can be a time-consuming exercise.

If you have found a supervisor willing to accept you or have contacted a potential supervisor at the time of your application, please submit this evidence together with your application. In any case, if you are short-listed for an interview for a scholarship you will be asked to provide an update on contact with a potential supervisor.

Answer:

For detailed guidance on finding a supervisor and on how to complete the “Research Proposal Details” section 8 - in the Application Form use the link how to find supervisors.

Answer: 

ADS
For all short-listed ADS candidates a decision is expected on conditional awards in early August 2012.

ALAS
For ALAS applicants recommendations will be made in early August 2012 to Canberra who will make the final decision on awards in September 2012, in conjunction with other regional ALAS candidate recommendations. Successful ALAS awardees will be informed in October 2012. Those candidates who are on the recommended list but not approved for an ALAS will receive an ADS.

Answer:

Full scholarships are offered for the minimum period necessary for you to complete the academic program specified by the university, including any preparatory training.

Scholarships are valued at up to A$ 300,000 for a 4-year PhD and up to A$ 150,000 for a Masters degree covering:

For ALAS awardees additional leadership training is provided.

Return airfares to Vietnam are available for students not accompanied by spouses and children as follows:

• Masters students whose course of study is 2 years (not less than 2 years) are entitled to a return airfare to Vietnam after one year of satisfactory study.
• PhD students studying for 4 years are entitled to a return airfare every year (maximum 3 airfares) subject to satisfactory study.

For full details of scholarship benefits, please refer to www.ausaid.gov.au/scholar/studyin.cfm

Answer:
ALAS awardees receiving the supplementary ALAS are able to participate in the Leadership for Development Program which includes:

a. a national three-day conference where all ALA scholars come together to meet each other and Australian leaders to discuss emerging issues, attendance at which is compulsory

b. participation in tailored workshops and identifying other activities that will enhance the ALAS scholar’s development leadership knowledge and tools.

Other opportunities for networking may be provided throughout the period the ALA Scholar is in Australia.

Further information on the ALA Leadership for Development Program is available on www.ldp.net.au .

Answer:

Before ADS/ALAS awardees take up an offer of a scholarship they will need to enter into a legal agreement with the Australian Government. This agreement will contain detailed information about awardee responsibilities.

In general, awardees will be required to: participate in the university’s Introductory Academic Program (IAP) and any other required preparatory study on arrival in Australia; commit to your studies and meet all the expectations of the university; achieve satisfactory academic progress; maintain contact with the Student Contact Officer at your university; abide by the laws of Australia; and strictly adhere to the conditions of your visa.

ADS/ALAS awardees are required to return to work in Vietnam for at least two years after they finish their Australian course.

Answer:

The Australian Government does not provide any financial or other support for the dependants of ADS/ ALAS awardees. Dependents are entirely the responsibility of the awardee.

ADS/ALAS applicants must indicate in the Application Form whether they are intending to bring spouses and dependent children with them to Australia.

Awardees are generally advised to wait until they themselves have had time to adjust and settle in to their new environment - this can take up to 3 to 6 months- before having family members join them in Australia.

The Student Contact Officer at the awardee’s university is required to contact ASDiV indicating they support the awardee’s family joining them in Australia. Once ASDiV has received this confirmation a letter of “No Objection” is issued to the awardee.

For more information on awardees’ responsibilities for their spouse and dependent children should they come to Australia, contact DIAC (http://www.immi.gov.au) or the university where you wish to study.

 Answer:

You should be aware of the provisions of Decree 54/2005/ND-CP ‘Concerning the provisions on resignation, provisions on compensation for training fees in respect of cadres and civil servants’ that set out the conditions for repaying training fees for training undertaken, if the Government employee resigns before the stipulated period of employment required after completion of study. See Chapter III of the Decree.