30 Australia Awards alumni take innovation challenge

Some 30 inventive Australia Awards alumni from South and West Asia have gathered in Dhaka for an innovation conference as part of Alumni Innovation Challenge under the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Senior CorrespondentReuters
Published : 1 Nov 2017, 04:05 AM
Updated : 1 Nov 2017, 04:05 AM

The Australian High Commission said the conference on Tuesday was supported by the BRAC Social Innovation Lab.

The Challenge provides successful alumni applicants with grants to pilot development innovations in their home countries – including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

This week’s events started with a two-day Design Sprint, linking grantees to expert mentors and an opportunity to gain a richer understanding on how to scale up their ideas.

The innovation conference, inaugurated by the Australian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Julia Niblett, was an opportunity for grantees to showcase their ideas through presentations to Heads of Mission from South Asia, the government officials of Bangladesh, international development agencies, fellow alumni, and other key stakeholders.

The Challenge will finish with an Innovation Tour on Nov 2, where participants will visit Australian government-supported and Australian alumni-initiated development innovations in Bangladesh.

Opening the innovation conference, Niblett said: “The Alumni Innovation Challenge will further enable us to respond to emerging global opportunities and challenges through innovation by drawing together some of our most inventive, creative Alumni across the region.”

“It will also provide a unique opportunity for our Alumni to network and share experiences,” she said.

Australia Awards are prestigious international scholarships and fellowships funded by the Australian government.

They offer the next generation of global leaders an opportunity to undertake study, research and professional development in Australia.

In the last five years alone, more than 1,000 Australia Awards Scholarships have been awarded to individuals in South Asia to study in Australia.

The next intake of Australia Awards scholarships will be announced in February 2018.