Launch of Australian Partnership Scholarships

On 28 June 2005 the Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, H.E Mr. David Ritchie AO, officially launched the Australian Partnership Scholarships (APS) program. APS is an initiative from the Australia Indonesia Partnership for Reconstruction and Development (AIPRD). AIPRD was established after the devastating earthquake and tsunami of December 2004 with a total of one billion Australian dollars to be made available over five years. The main objective of AIPRD is to support Indonesia’s reconstruction and development efforts, both in and beyond tsunami-affected areas. The APS program is one of the first activities to be under-taken with funding from AIPRD.

The objective of the scholarship program is to increase the human resource capacity of Indonesia in the areas of Economic Governance, Public Sector Management and Education. The scholarships are for postgraduate study at Australian universities. Applications close on 5 August and short listed candidates will be interviewed through a joint selection process overseen by representatives of both the Indonesian and Australian governments.

The 600 APS scholarships to be awarded over the next two years are in addition to the 300 scholarships provided every year under the AusAID-funded Australian Development Scholarships (ADS) program. Successful candidates for both ADS and APS awards undertake pre-departure English for Academic Purposes training at IALF centres in Jakarta and Bali. Courses range from 9-months to 6-weeks, depending on the candidate’s level of English proficiency.

Information on the APS program can be found on www.apsprogram.or.id and on ADS on www.adsjakarta.or.id

Workplace English in Aceh

Caroline Bentley from IALF Bali visited Banda Aceh in May 2005 to work with the International Labour Organisation (ILO). The ILO is currently providing basic vocational, technical and academic skills training for local Acehnese people through their Employment Services Centre, in an attempt to assist them to find employment following the devastating earthquake and tsunami which hit the region on 26 December 2004.

One of the programs offered by the ILO is English language tuition. To date, five courses have been held for over 300 people. Students are divided into two classes: English for Drivers and English for Office Workers, with a maximum of 20 students in each class. The students study for two hours a day over three weeks and are awarded a certificate upon completion of the course to assist them with applying for jobs where English skills are required.

During her visit, Caroline worked with the Course Coordinator, Muhibbudin to discuss ways of improving the current course provision and delivery and the results of these discussions were presented to the ILO in the form of recommendations. Caroline spent time observing the language classes, meeting the four course teachers and students, evaluating the course and conducting some mini teacher development workshops. The workshops focused on classroom management techniques and lesson planning, as well as materials development. IALF Bali donated a range of coursebooks, cassettes, posters and teaching aids to assist the teachers with their lessons as well as to help develop the current syllabus.

During her trip to Aceh, Caroline also visited the state Islamic university (UAIN) to assess the current teaching situation and give a short teacher training workshop to Semester 6 students who are preparing for their teaching practice in local junior and senior high schools. The campus was quite severely affected by the earthquake and the tsunami, with many classrooms and materials damaged. Campus activities were suspended for three months and resumed in March 2005. Ibu Nashariyah, the new Head of the English department, talked about the constraints they are working under, namely severe staff shortages and lack of materials. Following the visit, the UAIN received teaching resources from LAPIS, an AusAID-funded project involved in Islamic education, and the IALF is currently looking at ways of working together with AusAID to assist the UAIN further.

Indonesia Australia Language Foundation

IALF Language Centres in Indonesia: