John Allwright Fellowship in Australia

The John Allwright Fellowship (JAF) provides scientists from partner countries currently or recently involved in ACIAR research projects with the opportunity to obtain postgraduate qualifications at Australian tertiary institutions. While individuals will benefit from the scheme, the primary aim of the Fellowship is to enhance research capacity in ACIAR’s partner country institutions.

The JAF is largest scheme in ACIAR’s Capacity Building Program in financial terms. It provides PhD and Masters scholarships to agricultural researchers, administered through the Australia Awards system.  There are approximately 80 JAFs studying in Australia at 12 universities across the country. Applications are invited annually. 

In its Gender Equity Policy and Strategy 2017-2022, ACIAR committed to achieving gender parity in its Capacity Building Program by 2020. In line with this commitment, women now comprise at least half of new JAFs. 

John Allwright Fellowship Executive Leadership Program (JAFel)

In 2019 the first cohort of JAFs began the new John Allwright Fellowship Executive Leadership Program (JAFel), which covers leadership, people and communication skills, finance and project management. Delivered by the University of New England, the fellows undertake a 10-day intensive camp followed by a 15-month program of online learning. The online program takes around six hours a month, complementing the fellows’ postgraduate study. The program concludes with a four-day camp. On completion, JAFel participants achieve 50 per cent of a certificate qualification.

How to apply

All applicants must be currently or recently working with an ACIAR project. Before progressing a nomination, project leaders and applicants should read our guidelines about how to apply.

An awardee’s postgraduate studies must form a discrete topic related to, but not part of, an ACIAR research project. Ideally, the study program will allow the awardee to remain actively involved in the project research work throughout their studies. ACIAR will support coursework postgraduate degrees in certain circumstances.

We ask project leaders to make sure that a project will not be jeopardised should their nominee receive an award, as the ACIAR project must be able to function in the absence of a successful awardee. More than one person may be nominated from a project, but the project leader must be able to demonstrate that the project can function in the absence of more than one awardee.

Project leaders wishing to nominate project staff for a fellowship should contact the relevant ACIAR Research Program Manager to discuss the eligibility of the candidate, possible program of study, and the impact on the project should a fellowship be awarded to the individual. 

Please contact the appropriate Research Program Manager with any questions.

Key dates 

Application round opens   -    3 February 2020

Application round closes   -    In view of the impact of COVID-19, DFAT has reviewed the current schedule for the 2021 Intake of Australia Awards Scholarships applications and advises that the closing date for the submission of the 2021 intake application deadline will be extended from 30 April 2020 to 30 June 2020.

ACIAR Training Committee selects successful applicants   -   August 2020 (assessment during July 2020)

Applicants notified of outcome   -   End of August/ beginning of September 2020

Applications are welcome from participants in both bilateral and multilateral (IARC) project. Applicants must be working with an ACIAR project in a current partner developing country.
Applicants must be citizens of the country in which they are working.
To be eligible for selection, a candidate must:

• at the time of applying, hold qualifications that would be assessed to be equivalent to at least an Australian bachelor’s degree in a discipline that is relevant to the proposed area of postgraduate study;
• be a scientist or economist from the developing country partner, who is actively involved in a collaborative research project supported by ACIAR at the time of application (in some cases, ACIAR will consider supporting researchers from “advanced pipeline” projects, i.e. in cases where a full project proposal has been approved by ACIAR);
• be jointly supported in the application by the Australian and partner country Project Leaders;
• obtain approval from the employing institution who must agree to the absence of the candidate should he/she receive a Fellowship for the period involved in obtaining the postgraduate qualification; and
• demonstrate that he/she is employed on a permanent rather than short-term contract basis.

Within the Fellowship Scheme, ACIAR strives to meet the Australian government policy on gender equity, and reflect ACIAR’s training policies and strategies.

Application procedure

There is one call for nominations per year. In view of the impact of COVID-19, DFAT has reviewed the current schedule for the 2021 Intake of Australia Awards Scholarships applications and advises that the closing date for the submission of the 2021 intake application deadline will be extended from 30 April 2020 to 30 June 2020.
An offer of an award is only valid for the Australian academic year following the calendar year in which the offer is made.
It is important that Project Leaders check the eligibility of proposed candidates before application, including the selection criteria used by the Committee in the competitive process. Any queries may be directed to the appropriate Research Program Manager or the Project Officer, Capacity Building: Fellowships@aciar.gov.au.

CLICK HERE to apply: https://www.aciar.gov.au/content/australia-awards-john-allwright-eligibility-and-online-user-guide

https://www.aciar.gov.au/Capacity-Building/John-Allwright-Fellowship