SPEECH BY AMBASSADOR BILL TWEDDELL

AT THE LAUNCH OF

‘AUSTRALIAN SCHOLARSHIPS’

HANOI 29 MAY

Professor Dr Tran Van Nhung, Vice Minister of Education and Training,
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:

On behalf of the Australian Government, it is my great pleasure to be here today to officially announce that Australia will double the number of educational scholarships it offers in the Asia-Pacific region.

19,000 additional scholarships will be offered over the next 5 years. The Australian Government has committed AUD 1.4 billion (equivalent to VND 17.080 billion) for this initiative.

This initiative is an important pillar of Australia’s broader goal to double official development assistance (ODA) to around AUD 4 billion annually by 2010. However, as announced by our Prime Minister at the UN Summit in September 2005, this increase will be subject to the effective application of additional resources, and conditional on strengthened governance and reduced corruption in partner countries.

The Australian Scholarships initiative demonstrates the high value that Australia places on building relationships with Vietnam and other countries in the region, based on mutual understanding, respect and people-to-people linkages informed by education.

Australian scholarship programs have a long and distinguished history in Vietnam. We see them as one of the most positive and effective contributions we can make to Vietnam’s national development. We are delighted to note that many former students to Australia now occupy important positions in Vietnam and are helping to shape Vietnam’s future. We are also very proud of the fact that Australia is consistently the number-one choice among English speaking countries for Vietnamese students.

‘Australian Scholarships’ builds on these achievements. The program has five very important aims:

• To build enduring people-to-people links, particularly among potential future leaders and institutions in Australia and within the region, including an alumni program;
   
• To promote reform and improved governance;
  
• To build capacity in areas of critical shared interest, such as economic management, trade policy, regional integration and cross-boundary challenges such as pandemics and clean energy;
  
• To enhance mutual understanding, knowledge and innovation; and
  
• To help address regional skills needs.

Australia is also very keen to build a world class suite of scholarships for the most academically bright and best students. In the tradition of the Rhodes and Fulbright programs, the Endeavour Australian Program will attract the most talented students from around the world.

How will it work?

‘Australian Scholarships’ will bring together under one banner three major Australian scholarship programs: Australian Leadership Awards, which are new, Australian Development Scholarships, and Endeavour Scholarships. These programs will be managed by Australia’s Overseas Aid Agency, AusAID, and Australia’s Department of Education, Science and Training represented by Australian Education International (AEI) in Vietnam. In this way, ‘Australian Scholarships’ reflects a whole-of-government commitment by Australia to education and training cooperation in Vietnam, as well as the region.

How will Vietnam benefit?

Australia’s increased commitment will support a new range of regional scholarships and fellowships known as the ‘Australian Leadership Awards’. Australian Leadership Awards will focus on developing current and future leaders in business, education and government within the Asia-Pacific region, and provide support for post-graduate study in Australia. Vietnam has a strong pool of talented candidates who would be eligible to apply for the estimated 3,200 new, regional Australian Leadership Awards over the next five years.

The Endeavour Program will be significantly expanded. Over 9,000 new Endeavour scholarships will be provided, including for outgoing Australian students. Vietnamese students are eligible to apply for most of the categories. The scholarships will be a mix of postgraduate, undergraduate, vocational and technical education courses, and research and professional development awards. They are open to all fields of study but will be based strictly on academic merit.

Australian Development Scholarships (ADS) will continue to be a mainstay of bilateral development cooperation in support of Vietnam’s key development and human resource priorities. In 2007, AusAID will provide up to 150 scholarships for postgraduate study in Australia.

Further details will be provided in the presentations from AEI and AusAID which are to follow. However, I strongly encourage interested candidates to visit the Australian Government’s new website www.australianscholarships.gov.au for further information and application details.

Finally, to all former, current and future students to Australia, I would like to congratulate you on your success and look forward to building with you life-long bridges between our countries.

Those who know me well know how passionate I am about developing educational links. And I am particularly proud of the growing number of alumni of Australian educational institutions. These are people who remain lasting sources of advice about Australia long after professional diplomats like me have come and gone.

Thank you.