Fifteen Ghanaian professionals have been selected under the prestigious Australia Awards Scholarships programme to pursue fully-funded Masters Degrees in Australia.
The professionals comprise nine men and six women, who would begin their studies at various Australian universities from January 2020.
This was in a statement issued by the Australian High Commission and copied to the Ghana News Agency.
It said as part of activities to prepare the Ghanaian scholars and their two Ivorian counterparts for the studies, the Australian Government would host a pre-departure briefing in Accra from October 30 to 31, 2019.
The two-day workshop would equip the scholars with valuable information about travelling to and settling in Australia, adapting to its climate and cultures, coping with the academic environment and developing strong professional networks.
The statement said the scholars would also formulate work plans on how they would apply their newly acquired skills and knowledge towards contributing to their countries’ development when they returned home.
On Thursday, October 31, the scholars and their families would be hosted to an official send-off reception by the Australian High Commission in Ghana.
The Awards is a flagship development assistance programme of the Australian Government, providing world-class postgraduate training opportunities for African professionals.
It provides prestigious, all-expenses-paid Masters and professional development Short Course scholarships to exceptional African candidates in areas where Australia has known expertise.
Priority areas include agriculture, disability studies, education, environmental studies, extractives, gender studies, health, journalism and media governance, and public policy.
The scholarships are aimed at high calibre professionals from the public sector, private sector and civil society.
After their studies they are required to return home and contribute to the development of their communities.
Meanwhile, the 2019 application round for Australia Awards Masters (2021 academic year) and Short Course scholarships for 2020, would close on December 6, 2019 and January 17, 2020 respectively.
It said interested applicants should apply online at: www.australiaawardsafrica.org.
The application process have been opened and merit-based, providing equal opportunities regardless of gender, ethnicity or disability.
“The Australian Government strongly encourages applications from women, persons with disabilities and people from regional and remote towns. Mechanisms are in place to support the participation of applicants and finalists with special needs, who require assistance,” it said.
Source:GNA
