Griffith awarded eight Australia Awards Fellowship grants

Fellows from the Institute of Strategy, Policy on Natural Resources and Environment (ISPONRE) in Vietnam look at measures to bridge the gap in waste management between Australia and Vietnam

Griffith University has been awarded eight Australia Awards Fellowship grants for training programs that will build stronger links between Australia and its international partners.

Under the program, 122 leaders from Mongolia, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Sri Lanka, Timor- Leste and Vietnam will study in Brisbane and the Gold Coast as well as visiting Cairns, Canberra, Darwin, traditional Aboriginal lands in Dimbulah- Wungu Country, Melbourne and Sydney.The Australia Awards Fellowships program, administered by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, aims to build capacity and strengthen partnerships between Australian organisations and partner organisations in eligible developing countries in support of key development and foreign affairs priorities.

Finance and economics training

The Fellowships include economic growth programs conducted by Griffith’s Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics (AFE) for the State Bank of Vietnam and Banking University of Vietnam; the Reserve Bank of Fiji; and the Department of Census and Statistics of the Government of Sri Lanka.

“The overall aim of AFE, in this regard, is to provide countries in the Asia-Pacific region with a unique training opportunities,” commented Professor Fabrizio Carmignani, Head of Department.

“We see this as one of the most valuable contributions we can make to development and prosperity in the region.”

Griffith also delivered a successful training program through AFE for 25 officials from the Ministry of Planning and Investment of Vietnam in 2014.

“In 2014, the programme was articulated over a period of three weeks and involved a combination of workshops, group work, and site visits to Queensland government offices,” said Professor Carmignani.

“The experience was very successful. The Fellows attending the training programme were all in medium-high level positions in MPI. This ensured that discussion and interaction with lecturers was not only of high quality, but also focused on actual policy issues faced by the Vietnamese government.

Fellows from the Melanesian Spearhead Group at Griffith’s new Health Precinct
Fellows from the Melanesian Spearhead Group at Griffith’s Health Precinct at the Gold Coast campus.

“As part of the programme, the Fellows completed a project whose aim was to provide practical, constructive policy options to address development issues in Vietnam.”

In addition, Griffith’s Department of International Business and Asian Studies will deliver a program in mining taxation to Fellows from the Mongolian Association of Certified Tax Consultants.

Environmental sciences

Programs on capacity building in environmental areas will be delivered by Griffith Sciences to Fellows from the Melanesian Spearhead Group from the Pacific as well as to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) and the Institute of Strategy, Policy on Natural Resources and Environment (ISPONRE) in Vietnam.

Gender violence

Griffith has also collaborated with external partners to deliver programs such as a a program to help combat gender violence through culture and media delivered to leading female artistes from Timor-Leste by the Griffith Film School and Ausdance Queensland.

Director of Ausdance, Ann Maclean said that the project with the Timorese women brings Ausdance Queensland significant strategic benefit. “For this project, we are working alongside Griffith International and the Griffith Film School, integrating gender studies, theatre, dance and stagecraft to meet the needs of these artists while achieving enduring outcomes in skills development and connections between Timor Leste and Australia. We look forward to the possibility of future projects with Griffith University”, she added.

Project management is through Griffith International’s International Business Development Unit (IBDU). For more information on these programs, please contact the International Business Development Unit.