Eleven Ghanaians have been awarded scholarships to study in Australia in 2011 through the Australian Development Scholarships (ADS) program, a project that will improve by bi-lateral relations between Ghana and Australia.
They are among 239 Africans awarded scholarships for the 2011 intake and will study at the Post Graduate and Master degree level. On completion of their program, they will return to their home countries in order to contribute to the country’s development goals.
At a ceremony held at the Australian High Commission in Accra on Wednesday for the recipients, Billy Williams, Australian High Commissioner to Ghana said that the ADS would educate the students and help to match Australian knowledge with Ghana’s development and also in developing Human Resource capacity across West Africa.
“The scholarships will open their minds to different ways of solving some of the challenges they’ve had,” he told B&FT. He explained that the ADS provides an opportunity for Australia to transfer some of its expertise in areas such as the public sector industry and management of resources to a number of African countries, including Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Gambia and Burkina Faso.
The scholarship entitles the recipient to a range of benefits, including living and settling allowances, return flights, tuition fees, health cover and the entitlement for an annual reunion airfare for students who do not have any immediate family accompanying them to Australia.
Himmie Langford, a Liberian scholarship reciepient said that there were so many people who applied and he was “very excited” to be a part of the program. When asked how he thought the program would help his expertise, Mr Langford, a public service employee, answered: “I will know international standards and how it’s done around the world.”
In offering advice to others interested in winning a scholarship, he said that students should look out for opportunities being provided through governmental institutions and understand that they are real. “Sometimes people overlook the scholarship because they can’t see the end goal,” he added. By 2013, the Australian Government has committed to providing about 1000 additional scholarships to Africa annually.
Source: B&FT