Australia Awards Scholarships are a commitment to the long-term development needs of Papua New Guinea – and that doesn’t stop when scholarship awardees graduate.

Once back in Papua New Guinea, freshly graduated alumni are helped to develop the skills, attributes and associations that will support their future careers and set them up to be future leaders.

Sixty-six recently returned alumni have just completed a reintegration workshop in Port Moresby designed to build vital people-to-people links with other alumni and future employers and to connect with the PNG Australia Alumni Association (PNGAAA) which will continue to support them into the future.

A key feature of the workshop was ethical leadership training where the Australia Awards alumni are given some useful tools and approaches to becoming future leaders in Papua New Guinea. Many alumni have gone on to fill senior roles in public and private organisations and use their study experience as well as the professional relationships and links they built with Australian organisations to enhance their effectiveness as leaders.

The alumni completed studies late in 2017 and most are already applying their new skills and knowledge gained in Australia to deliver substantial contributions to Papua New Guinea’s economic growth and social development.