Alumni Stories

Climate-smart agricultural technologies are significantly improving crop yields and the lives of farmers and communities in West Mamprusi Municipality, Ghana. In doing so, the technologies are addressing issues that have plagued this part of the country for more than a decade.

Mrs Gertrude Tamade Elai hails from Taemigidu village in Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. A lawyer by profession, she completed a Master’s in Law at the University of Melbourne in 2015 together with her husband a fellow alumni and is currently working as the Senior Legal Counsel with Barrick (Nuigini) Ltd.

Australia Awards alumnus Ikhtiar Ahmed has been instrumental in improving the lives of thousands of unemployed young people in Pakistan by equipping them with entrepreneurial skills so that they can initiate their own micro start-ups in their communities.

When Madagascar first discovered gold and graphite ore, mineral exploration became a profitable undertaking for private companies in the island nation. The discovery wasn’t all good fortune, however.

More than 500 staff, contractors and truck drivers of TOTAL Tanzania have been trained on occupational safety and health over the past year.

Australia Awards alumna Sonam Pelden Thaye has spearheaded and contributed towards significant initiatives in Bhutan, including the institutionalisation of the Election Commission and promoting the delivery of core public services from electronic and mobile platforms.

Financial literacy is changing the lives of women and their families across two coastal communities in East Nusa Tenggara, thanks to a program run by the East Nature Gate Foundation (Yayasan Gerbang Alam Timur or YAGAT), funded by the Alumni Grant Scheme.

Introducing renewable energy from a young age is one way to equip children to participate in reducing carbon emissions in the future. In Sumba island, an Australia Awards Scholarship alumnus Dedy Haning is using a card game called AKATARA as an appealing visual tool that also spark insightful discussion among school children.

Australia Awards scholar Nurunnahar Nupur from Bangladesh is undertaking a Master of Education with a focus on Special Education at Flinders University.

A commitment to seeking local and global solutions on issues related to climate change motivated 2018 New Colombo Plan scholar, Daniel Hay-Hendry, to explore firsthand the ever-growing impact that climate change is having on people’s lives across the Indo-Pacific region.

Australia Awards scholar Mahpara Farrukh from Pakistan is undertaking a Master of Development Studies at the University of Melbourne, with a focus on social and human development. Before her studies in Australia, she worked in Pakistan’s development sector for 5 years, mainly in the areas of women’s political participation and empowerment.

Australia Awards scholar Saima Mazhar is undertaking a Master of Education with Leadership and Management as a specialisation at the Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne. Before her studies in Australia, she worked in school leadership roles for ten years. She has always wanted to explore the potential of educational leadership.