special edition 2016 australia awards - pakistan · special edition 2016 australia awards -...

SPECIAL EDITION2016

Australia Awards - Pakistan

Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia

Bondi Beach, Sydney, AustraliaBondi Beach, Sydney, Australia

CONTENTS:Editor’s Note

Australia Awards alumnus is recognised through Australian Alumni Excellence Award for Business Leadership 2015..........................................................................................

Aussie Irrigation and Water Management - Adapting Lessons Learned in Pakistan...................

Kitchen Gardens - Income and a Source of Nutrition for Women...............................................

Promoting Improved Irrigation and Water Management Techniques in Chakwal........................

Reflections on Personal Journey.................................................................................................

Safe and Secure Food for Pakistanis - Ensuring the Health of the Consumer and the Wealth of the Farmer...................................................................................................................................

Reintegration Challenges............................................................................................................

Success is a journey, Not a Destination......................................................................................

Best Agricultural Practices - Learning from a short course in Australia.......................................

Pre-Departure Briefing for Australia Awards Scholarships 2016 Intake......................................

Hatcheries of Good Ideas - A Short Course on Business Incubation Management....................

Learning Study Skills at IBA/Informal Learning Opportunities (ILOs)........................................

A reflection on the Women in Global Business (WIGB) Conference ..........................................

Small Grant Scheme (SGS)........................................................................................................

Australia Awards South and West Asia Women in Leadership Network Launched....................

What to look forward to in 2016..................................................................................................

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Australia Awards Newsletter 2016 01

Editor’s Note

By Mahjabeen

I am pleased to share the Special Edition of the Australia Awards Alumni - Pakistan newsletter. The newsletter connects Alumni across Pakistan through articles reflecting experiences and knowledge, and information for keeping in touch and contributing to the Australia Awards Alumni Association.

The articles predominantly reflect on members' positive experiences during their stay in Australia. These experiences go beyond their academic learnings, touching on interaction and exposure to other international students from all over the world, cultures, social life style, political and economic systems, food and tourism.

Irrespective of the length of their stay in Australia, all Australia Awards recipients have brought back with them memories, contacts and knowledge that will stay with them throughout their lives.

With the passage of time, Australia Awards Alumni members have started to show the impact of their

learning and knowledge in their work. They have been able to translate their knowledge in their professional field of work or document it for the information of their fellow members. The newsletter aims to compile all such information and knowledge-based articles for the benefit of its readers. We intend that our newsletters should start contributing to knowledge management for its alumni and to the development agenda of the country.

I hope you enjoy reading the newsletter.

By Fahad

In 2015, I was awarded the Australia Alumni Excellence Award for Business Leadership in Pakistan.The Australia Alumni Excellence Awards recognise and honour alumni who have made exemplary achievements in their field of specialisation at a national, regional or international level, as well as those who have contributed significantly to the betterment of Australian education and their institution or alumni community.

I completed a Master of Science degree in Information Technology at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Adelaide in 2008. Upon completion, I joined Nestlé Pakistan as a systems analyst and, in less than five years, I was promoted to the position of Corporate Business Application Manager, a senior management role in Nestlé Pakistan.

CMU's curriculum and the Australian culture have contributed to my professional and personal growth. I became a better person and a better professional after graduating from CMU.

While I was in Australia, I worked as an International

Student Ambassador with Study Adelaide and was an active member of the CMU Student Social and Yearbook Committees and the Sports Club. I continued civic activity when I returned to Pakistan and am now part of "Board of Mentors" for Tech Hub - Plan 9, which is a Pakistani government initiative to provide young freelancers a platform to work.

Australia Awards Alumnus is Recognised Through Australian Alumni Excellence Award for Business Leadership 2015


Aussie Irrigation and Water Management - Adapting Lessons Learned in Pakistan

By Qaiser

A mid-career professional in irrigation and water resource management cannot dream of anything better than experiencing the irrigation and water resources management practices of Australia among the world's best. An Australia Awards Short Course helped me realize my dream. It was truly an unforgettable feeling when I received an email with news of my selection. This selection lifted my self-confidence as it was going to give me a major boost to my professional career.

The six-week journey was at one of the world's high ranking universities, the University of Queensland (UQ), located in Brisbane. It was memorable and matchless in terms of offering an international platform to learn the latest techniques in irrigation and sustainable water resources management, and most importantly experiencing it at the field level. The concept of gender integration in irrigation and water resource management and participatory training techniques, including group reflection sessions, active listening, positive feedback as well as the SMART model were new and inspiring approaches for me.

A special feature of the course was the diversity among the participating professionals representing all provinces and sectors, including government departments, universities, private sector, NGOs, and age groups ranging between 28 to 60 years. This added another flavour to the course. I was among the younger ones of the 22 selected candidates and this lifted my self-confidence even more.

On return, I resumed my duties with the Government of Punjab's Agriculture Department. I returned with higher confidence, faith in my capabilities, passion and commitment to work for the betterment of agriculture-based rural communities. The course has added more credence to my professional thoughts and proposals for bringing reforms at grassroots level irrigation and water management. Overall, it was an exceptional learning experience, which introduced new ideas and concepts into my professional work that I have tried to inculcate in my Return to Work Plan (RWP). Our organisation is now in the

process of implementing the new technologies I learnt while I was in Australia. However, it is a new concept to Pakistan and there are certain skill gaps that need to be addressed to achieve better results. My supervisor had requested me to explore opportunities for collaboration with Australian institutions during the course, especially in high efficiency irrigation technology. I was successful in exploring such institutions with the help of the UQ International Development Department.

Since returning I have been promoted to a higher grade and have been assigned some special tasks including capacity building of staff and planning and designing of farm level water management projects. In this regard, I have proposed a summary for a Master Degree program in the field of high efficiency irrigation systems for officers under a capacity building program. In this course, I have also included a semester-length course in a relevant institute or university in Australia where the students would be able to practically experience such technologies. This summary has been approved by the Chief Minister of Punjab.

Knowledge and new skills learned during the course in Australia enabled me to make a significant contribution to the agriculture sector plan for the next five years. Last but not least, the SMART model of carrying out professional and personal undertakings played a vital role in achieving my goals. One of the objectives of my RWP was to develop success stories about water conservation and productivity enhancement technologies and their circulation among stakeholders. My department greatly appreciated the idea and made it an integral part of its developmental activities.


I am grateful to the Australia Awards for organizing such a relevant and useful course that provided an opportunity for professionals to learn and experience Australia's world class expertise in irrigation and water management. It is my hope that

the Australia Awards can continue to arrange similar courses, especially for mid-career professionals. I am positive that Australia Awards alumni will continue to contribute towards the development of the country.

By Mahjabeen

Mahjabeen travelled to Australia in 2005 to undertake Master of Social Change and Development from University of Newcastle as part of the Australia Awards program. Her study contributed significantly to her work/research in agriculture and Mahjabeen used the knowledge and skills acquired through her Australia Awards study to contribute towards the development of the agriculture sector in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (KP). Below is a reflection by Mahjabeen on the use of kitchen gardens in KP, and the specific role of women.

Kitchen gardens are mainly managed by women within their home compounds. They require limited resources but have long lasting strategic impacts. The gardens not only help generate some additional income for the family but also contribute to the nutrition basket of the household. This activity is of particular importance in KP, where over 60 percent of the population have livelihoods dependent on agriculture and 94 percent farmers have less than 12.5 acres of land. The fragmentation of farm lands, increasing prices of agriculture inputs, power and energy shortages and declining water availability (per capita water availability has decreased from

5,260 cubic meters in 1951 to 1,000 in 2010) has made agriculture practices costlier with lower returns. As a result, there is huge out migration of working populations to other provinces and countries in search of alternative sources of income. This has increased the role of women, the elderly and young children to run almost all aspects of small family farms.

This situation has had a severe impact on food security and the nutrition status of the population. Research shows that KP has the highest percentage of people in the country (29%) with a poor food consumption score. The contributing factors for food insecurity in the province are identified as stress for food availability, affordability, armed conflicts, natural disasters and the poor performance of the agriculture sector.

In order to improve agriculture production and food security in the province, interventions need to be designed in such a way that they are well integrated into local farming practices and meet the needs and priorities of the local population. The promotion of kitchen gardens is one such intervention. It is less labour intensive, requires less costly inputs and

irrigation water and just a small piece of land. Moreover, vegetables provide a good source of nutrients and the consumption of a variety of vegetables produced domestically will improve the nutrition status of the population.

Kitchen Gardens - Income and a Source of Nutrition for Women


Promoting Improved Irrigation and Water Management Techniques in Chakwal

By Marjan

Irrigated acreage has increased at the global level with the increase in the global population. Many areas in Pakistan, however, face shortages of water. Water is the most precious commodity in the rain-fed areas of Pakistan and there is a dire need to improve

irrigation and water management strategies to ensure a sufficient supply of water for agriculture. In Pakistan more than 70 percent of rainfall is received during the monsoon season. Therefore, it is very important to conserve water for agricultural use.

I am Marjan and I work as an Assistant Agricultural Engineer in the rain-fed area of Chakwal. My work is to promote different irrigation and water management strategies that ensure availability of water for sustainable agriculture. I work on low-cost drip irrigation technique in rain-fed agricultural areas and bubbler irrigation systems for orchard development. As part of my work I conduct experiments in irrigation scheduling.

I also deliver training to professionals, service providers and farmers in water resource management in rain-fed systems. To improve my capacity to design and deliver training I wanted to learn some effective tools for delivering lectures in the field to professionals and the farming community. The Australia Awards Short Course caught my attention as a way to achieve this goal.

I applied for a short course award on "Training

Trainers on Irrigation and Water Management at the Grass Roots Level". The course was conducted at the University of Queensland. This short training provided me an opportunity to learn about Australia's water resource management practices and pick up skills in training techniques for effective water resource management which I could use in farmer education programs in Pakistan. Before starting this course, I was not satisfied with my own ability to train trainers and I was facing problems in involving women in irrigation and water resource management. In Pakistan, women are generally involved in agriculture (e.g. kitchen gardening, livestock, etc.) but not usually in irrigation activities.

After returning from Australia, I started working on my Return to work plan (RWP) and shared it with my supervisor. He appreciated the plan and encouraged me to implement it. I revised the existing training material by incorporating the newly learnt technologies, developed low-cost irrigation techniques and organised training on irrigation and water resource management. The results are very encouraging, especially for female farmers where they have started showing a keen interest in drip irrigation system.

For me, this trip to Australia was beyond my expectations and helped me to learn improved irrigation and water management techniques that will benefit the people of Chakwal.

Rapid urbanization, rising inflation, changes in dietary pattern and a shift from diversified food consumption to energy-dense monotonous diets and higher prevalence of nutritional deficiencies have further necessitated the need to review and

adopt new approaches. In this context, there is a need to focus on the promotion of kitchen gardens in urban and peri-urban areas through advanced and modern techniques.


By Muhammad

I am a development practitioner and my previous qualification, before Master of Development Studies (Melbourne University), was not relevant to my field of job. I was looking for an international education opportunity and Australia Awards offered me one. I am extremely thankful to Australia Awards for not only giving me an opportunity to learn in one of the world's leading university, the University of Melbourne, but also making my dream come true of visiting Australia. One of the major reasons for wanting to visit Australia was our mutual love for cricket. My passion for cricket drove me to various cricket grounds in both Australia and New Zealand. Australia is a country which offers you so many natural sites to see such as forests, sea, beaches, animals, birds and national parks etc. Initially for a couple of months, I faced few challenges in adjusting to the new environment such as living far from my family and friends, adjustment to the different systems, switching over from being an employee to student life and fluent communication in English.

Academic LifeI must say it was one of the greatest opportunities to interact with and learn from professors, lecturers and students from around the globe. Being associated with the rural development sector, I selected courses which were relevant to rural development and developing countries. The best part of learning was understanding common challenges that developing countries face such as poverty, conflict, rapid increase in population, poor governance, women development issues and the need for disability-focused development. I still interact with professors from the university and exchange experiences and learnings on various issues. I also attended a workshop on Environmental Pollution in Auckland, New Zealand, and learnt about modern-day environmental challenges.

Reflections on a Personal Journey


Personal LifeAustralia is a beautiful country and I bought a car especially for the purpose of exploring it. Once my family arrived in Australia we visited many places in Melbourne, including Wilson's Promontory, the Great Ocean Road, Port

Campbell, Philip Island, the Sorrento Ferry and many others. We also drove to Canberra and Sydney and enjoyed the most famous parts such as Wollongong, the Sydney Opera House, the Harbor Bridge, etc. I also flew to Tasmania, Gold Coast, Adelaide and Cairns. I really liked Australian food and I am especially a big fan of Australian lamb and fruits.

Living with the LocalsOne of the highlights of my stay in Australia was making friends with Australians and to learn their culture and way of life. When my family left me for Pakistan in February 2014, I decided to find a room with Australian house mates. I was extremely lucky to find a great home at my first search on gumtree.com.au. I stayed there for a lovely and lively eight months. My house Included five Australian mates and a couple from New Zealand. We all enjoyed BBQs, traveling around, watching and playing games (both at home and in grounds) and heaps of discussions on Pakistani and Australian foods, cultures and societies. Social media has helped us all stay in touch till now. I think I have achieved the objective of presenting a soft and friendly picture of Pakistan and have changed various perceptions to a great extent. Besides Australians, I was able to make friends from various parts of the world such as Latin American, Asia, Africa and the Caribbean.

Advice for People Looking for Work Upon ReturnIt may not be easy for all returning scholars to move and settle back to their countries. Therefore, it is recommended to plan well ahead. Working part time while in Australia could help people remain connected with their professional lives. Scholars returning to Pakistan should start searching for a job during their last semester. This will help them in finding an appropriate job in time upon their return.

The system, culture, people, religious practices, job and environment, traffic, driving and society in Australia is very different from most foreign students' home countries. It was very difficult for me to adapt back to my own culture and system after returning to Pakistan. Initially, I started motivating myself with what I have in Pakistan such as a beautiful family, prosperous career followed by realizing the fact that the Australian Government has spent a huge amount of money on me with an objective that I would serve my country as a trained professional with improved skills and knowledge and who can contribute to our society. We are hopeful that such interventions will enable Pakistan to come to par with the developed countries of the world.


Experiences and Achievements of Returning to WorkBefore the Australia Awards scholarship, I was working for a local non -profit organization in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (KP) as the manager of development and humanitarian programs, spread over seven districts of the province and four agencies of (FATA). After availing two years study leave from my organisation, I resumed my job with a promotion as Manager Operations. I am now responsible for all 26 districts of KP province and seven agencies of FATA. The new position demands more focus and entrusts more responsibilities on me. With my master degree exposure in Australia, I feel confident in performing my responsibilities efficiently and effectively. During the first five months of

appointment, I have been able to work on improving our working relationship with one of our major donors which had become extremely vulnerable and was about to cease its operations. Based on my analysis, the staffing structure and correspondence has changed which has already started to show its impacts and a significant improvement has been observed. This includes signing of four new agreements with the same donor for four different rural and poor districts of KP province.

By JunaidJunaid undertook an Australia Awards Short Course Award in Pro-Poor Market Development in Rural Areas from the University of Queensland in 2012. In his article, Junaid talks about the prevailing issues of food security in Pakistani with a specific focus on the dairy sector.

Pakistan's economy is primarily based on agriculture and agricultural produce, which include but are not limited to dairy and its allied products. Livestock plays an important role in the livelihoods of small farmers in the country. It is considered as a secure source of income for small farmers and also helps to reduce income variability, especially in

cases of crop failure. This indirectly plays an important role in poverty alleviation of Pakistan's rural masses by uplifting socioeconomic conditions. This sector occupies a unique position in the economic development of Pakistan, representing the strong tradition of keeping small and large ruminants along with the crop sector by more than 55 percent of the population residing in rural areas.

"Safe and Secure Food for Pakistanis - Ensuring the Health of the Consumer and the Wealth of the Farmer”


Food is a basic necessity for life. Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economical access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. Pakistan is listed among the forty countries facing food crisis. The food insecure population is 60 million out of 180 million, which accounts for 33 percent of the total population. With population growth, this is likely to increase if appropriate measures are not taken.

Milk and meat are the major produce of the livestock farmer. Pakistan is the fourth largest milk producing country in the world, with annual milk production of 52.63 million tons. However, almost 15 percent of this milk is lost in transportation mainly due to hot climate and poor storage and transportation facilities (Economic Survey of Pakistan 2014- 2015). Adding value to milk by converting it into value added products like cheese, yoghurt, butter, desi ghee etc.,

could become a strong tool for decreasing milk loss. Farmers lack cold storage facilities for milk and are not trained to convert milk into value added dairy products.

There is a need to develop an effective Dairy Value Chain from the farmer to the end consumer. This will not only increase the income of the farmer by decreasing the product loss, but will also open new avenues of research to explore further in product development. In addition, it will be helpful for easy delivery of the product from the farmer to the retailer and the end consumer. Poor farmers and the end consumers of milk products are the major stakeholder who want to see this improvement. A decrease in the loss of milk, an increase in the sale volume of value-added dairy products and an increase in income and profit for farmers will be some of the key indicators of success.

It was the third day of my return from Australia after completing my degree when I realized that I had actually fallen in love with the simple Australian lifestyle. I left home for Australia only to get a degree, but without being cognizant of it, I learnt many other good things during my stay. Upon return to my country and work place, I started comparing Australia's and Pakistan's work environment which led to developing conflict with my own environment. To escape the situation, I started planning for PhD study in Australia. However, my family and friends persuaded me to stay back and to utilize my learning and experiences in a positive manner.

Hence, I tried to adopt the positive learning's and make them part of my daily life.

This was a valuable lesson for me - instead of running away from our difficulties, we should invest our efforts in making our own situation better for ourselves and those around us.

By Musarrat

Reintegration Challenges

By Nagina

Success Is a Journey, Not A Destination


Studying in Australia has been a lifelong dream and while a few opportunities to do so arose in the past, personal commitments did not allow me take them. After completing Master's degree in Political Science from Peshawar University, I was appointed as an instructor in the Federal Ministry of Population Welfare. The job attracted me initially as it appeared to be welfare-related work; however it turned out to be more related to family planning. It was satisfying to some extent but did not satiate my desire of tangible human rights work. In the meantime, I got married and was gifted with three beautiful sons. The year 2007 was a most opportune year and a door of opportunity opened. I was posted into the fray of activity that I had wanted for so many years when I was transferred as Deputy Director to the Ministry of Human Rights.

While serving in the Directorate of Human Rights in Peshawar, my duties included conducting visits to almost all of the women sections of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) prisons. The experience gained during these visits was an eye-opener for me. A large number of female prisoners were languishing

in jails for years just for petty crimes and due to non-payment of meagre amounts of fines announced by the court of law. My wish of mitigating the suffering and social exclusion of women in jails through legal processes raged like a fire in my soul.

Restless, I yearned to change the policies and laws of the country but was restricted by my own limited knowledge of human rights laws and policies. I would get frustrated in failing to help women prisoners and victims of human rights abuses. Providence opened a door of opportunity and I applied for an Australia Awards Scholarship. The scholarship was a life changer. My introspection about life is that in order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure. In my view, one should not only strive to be successful but rather to be of value. I have learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. For my work in human rights, in 2010 the Human Rights Award of Excellence was bestowed on me by the President of Pakistan.


I completed my Master's degree in "Human Rights Law and Policy" from the University of New South Wales in Australia in 2013. When I thought I couldn't go on, I forced myself to keep going. My success is based on persistence, and not only on good luck.

During my stay in Sydney my perspective about life changed completely. My studies and life experience in Australia provided me greater understanding of laws and principles related to human rights and it transformed me from a very fragile and dependent person to a strong and very independent person. Getting strength is obvious when you pass through the hard experience of life. Since I was alone and had to manage everything by myself, I learned many other things apart from my studies. Sydney is known for its beauty but I was unable to enjoy it to its fullest because I was missing my family, especially my three children.

On my return from Australia, I re-joined the Population Welfare wing. Initially, it was challenging to re-adjust to the same the old system. I wanted to be in a place where I could utilize the knowledge and training for which I had struggled so hard and had left my three small children behind. I was frustrated and felt as if I could not fit in the system and would never get a chance to participate in any welfare program or policy making of my motherland. I did a lot of research but was getting nowhere and felt more disappointed day by day. I started feeling like my studies were of no use in Pakistan. But destiny provided me another chance as is the way if

we are committed and have faith to face life's challenges. Working in the field of human rights is my passion and I constantly pursued my vision to find an opportunity where I could work as a human rights activist and get much-needed job satisfaction. I applied for the post of Director Help line for Legal Advice on Human Rights in the Ministry of Law, Justice and Human Rights in Islamabad, and was selected for the position. In Pakistan, very few people opt for such studies. However, in my view, knowledge on human rights contributing to policy formulation and implementation is a dire need for a country like Pakistan.

Currently, I am Director of the Help line Project. This project is in its infancy but has taken a promising start since I took charge in March 2015. I have started it from scratch and there is a lot of room for working through the mandate of this project. The project objectives are aligned with the Government of Pakistan's policies, programs and national/international commitments to the protection and promotion of human rights and the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

I feel proud and satisfied to have been given this opportunity to work for the noble cause of promotion and protection of human rights in my country. I wish to leave an example by working hard to promote the cause of human rights in Pakistan not only for my children but also for the public at large and to serve fellow human beings in their respective spheres of duty.

By Rehmat

Best Agriculture Practices - Learning from a Short Course in Australia


I have taken and delivered a number of trainings in Pakistan to improve and share my knowledge, but no doubt the Australia Awards Short Course titled 'Training Trainers in Irrigation and Water Resource Management at Grass Roots Level' from The University of Queensland was very informative for me. This short course has not only improved my capacity but also broadened my vision on best agriculture management practices. It was interesting to note that the agriculture practices in Australia were not only technology-based but were climate-friendly and adaptive as well. The training has enabled me to compare Pakistan agriculture practices with Australian practices and to understand the main factors responsible for the improved agriculture and irrigation practices in Australia.

Major issues facing agriculture in Australia are drought, water security, low soil fertility, weeds, climate change caused by global warming and bio security (biological threats from imported foods and

livestock). Australia is working hard to overcome these problems through strong management practices in agriculture and irrigation.

In Pakistan, we have perennial rivers, good quality soil for cultivation, enough precipitation, good ground water quality, plenty of sunshine, four seasons a year, established irrigation systems, a variety of fruits and vegetables are grown and in an ideal climate. But we are still far behind in technology. Our farmers are not aware of proper management of soil, crops and agriculture. Farming practices include harmful activities to both our environment and to human life, such as indiscriminate use of pesticides, fertilizers and chemicals. Furthermore, over-irrigation has converted fertile lands into barren lands by causing water logging and salinity.


If we look back about 100 years and then come forward to the present time, we see tremendous advancements the world has made in agriculture productivity and especially in technology. However, in Pakistan we still practice traditional and conventional methods of agriculture. For example, soil tillage in Pakistan is mostly conventional - the soil is cultivated using plow, harrow and other farm tools or mechanical implements. In Australia I observed that a practice of climate-adaptive conservation tillage is practiced, where planting or sowing is done in the previous crop's residues purposely left on the soil surface. In Pakistan, this approach would be useful for our soil and environment because it conserves water, reduces erosion because the top soil is protected, reduces soil compaction, reduces the impact of rain and wind, improves the soil condition with the increased organic matter content and lessens the overall production cost. Other practices such as zero tillage, ridge tillage and mulch tillage also have very long term effects for best conservation practices.

In Australia, harvesting techniques have grown to include large and efficient machines that harvest large areas of land and are managed by few people. Unfortunately, in Pakistan harvest loss is high due to manual and traditional practices.

Irrigation systems in Australia are often fully mechanized, measurable and available to farmers on demand and at the required level. Farmers know the value of water and pay water charges with no subsidy from government. In Pakistan, water is available free of cost to farmers with meagre water charges, the overuse of which leads to over-irrigation on farms and injustice in water distribution.

Cooperative farming in Australia is well established and farmers know what should be produced against the market demand. However in Pakistan, farmers are producing traditional crops irrespective of market demand, mainly due to lack of knowledge of national and international market demands and linkages.

On-farm water management practices in Australia involve efficient and effective technologies in terms of saving water. On-farm water storage is mandatory for every farmer to conserve rain water in mini-dams, while in Pakistan our farmers are unaware of storing rain water for irrigation purposes. An important factor in Australia is that agriculture land is only used for agriculture purposes while in Pakistan agriculture lands are being converted for urban land use day by day.

On the basis of my learnings from the short course in Australia, today I feel I am in a position to suggest best agriculture and irrigation management practices to the three mega projects in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) that I am involved with. I suggest to every agriculturist and agriculture engineer to avail the opportunity of undertaking a short course in Australia - it will allow them to explore new and innovative technique in agriculture and irrigation adopted by the Australian farmer community.

Pre-Departure Briefing for Australia Awards Scholarships 2016 Intake


A Pre-Departure Briefing (PDB) was held at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad on 17 and 18 November 2015 for 20 Pakistani professionals who have received Australia Awards Scholarships to undertake master level studies in Australia in 2016. The PDB provides an ideal opportunity for awardees to receive essential information about living and studying in Australia. The PDB is also an occasion during which the Australian High Commissioner meets the selected awardees and farewells them.

On the opening day, the Country Program Manager, Ms. Erum Rabbani, welcomed participants and gave a brief introduction of the program for the PDB. The Regional Manager for Australia Awards South and West Asia, Mr. Tony Crooks, started his speech by congratulating the awardees and emphasizing that these prestigious awards are a wonderful opportunity for awardees to gain knowledge, exposure and advancement. The Australian High Commissioner to Pakistan, HE Margaret Adamson,

graced the occasion with her presence as the Chief Guest. In her address, the High Commissioner said that as a long standing friend of Pakistan, support to the country's education system is a key priority for Australia. Under the Australia Awards program, more than 750 students from Pakistan have completed a higher education degree in Australia. Through alumni engagement, Australia supports the career advancement and leadership development of graduates after their return from studies. She bid farewell to all the awardees and urged them to return home after completing their studies to contribute to the development of Pakistan.


Representatives of the Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection and the Australian Federal Police also held briefings during the opening day of the briefing where they informed participants about Australian immigration and civic laws.To give a festive end to the first day, a farewell dinner was arranged for the newly selected awardees, Australia Awards alumni and their spouses and officials from the Australian High Commission. Highlights of the evening included an interactive discussion with the High Commissioner, alumni and new awardees and a live performance by a local musical band. Awardees and alumni

actively shared their energy at the occasion.

The second day of the briefing commenced with the Regional Manager conducting a highly interactive and informative session with the awardees and their spouses. A panel of Australia Awards alumni hosted a Question & Answer session and responded to awardees queries and concerns regarding travel, accommodation and study. The briefing was concluded with a vote of thanks from the Country Program Manager.

Entrepreneurship and business incubation centres are a development priority in Pakistan. Business incubation is a unique and highly flexible combination of business development processes, infrastructure and people designed to nurture new and small businesses by helping them to survive and grow through the difficult and vulnerable early stages of development. The Government of Pakistan believes that entrepreneurship must be given more space in the coming years through more thoughtful policy and regulation. It must be given place in the value system by allowing merit to overtake privilege. Education too must give entrepreneurship space by replacing bureaucratic management by creativity, merit and risk-taking.

Taking government's strong policy initiative forward, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan is committed to establishing business incubation centres (BICs) across all provinces and has made progress in this direction. Since 2010, the

HEC has been instrumental in working with donors and the Government of Pakistan to attract seed funding for BICs, to organise training and to provide mentoring to staff at these centres established within higher education institutions. Given the increased focus of the Australian Aid Program on Trade and Economic Development, it was timely to consider ways to build Pakistan's domestic capacity in the BIC arena. Australia has a highly developed BIC system, with two of its BICs rated among the world's top ten in 2014.

Hatcheries of Good Ideas - A Short Course on Business Incubation Management


Australia Awards Pakistan, in close collaboration with the HEC and the University of Queensland, designed and offered a five-week short course on business incubation management to 20 Pakistani academics and professionals. The course was designed to provide practical guidance to the participants on how to manage, grow and sustain an effective BIC.17 men and three women who participated in the course at the University of Queensland represented public and private sector higher education institutions and all four provinces of Pakistan.

Through this course, the participants learned from key leaders in business incubation in Australia for four weeks. The fifth and final week of the course was held in a local Business Incubation Centre called Plan9 in Lahore where the participants consolidated their learning and experiences. During the course in Australia, participants were able to identify some of the similarities and differences between the two systems. The course facilitators worked with the participants to enable them to adapt what they learn in Australia to the Pakistan context. They also worked with the participants to develop a Return to Work Plan, to support them to apply the knowledge and skills they gained in Australia to their respective Business Incubation Centres back home.

At the pre-departure briefing organised for the course participants in Nov 2015, the Australian High Commissioner to Pakistan, HE Margaret Adamson, said,

"The skills and knowledge of successful business incubation management and entrepreneurship are integral to healthy economic growth in both the public and private sectors. This short course award responds to the Higher Education Commission of

Pakistan's desire to develop capacity to effectively manage Business Incubation Centres in Pakistan, and to stimulate entrepreneurship within higher education institutions and also the non-academic sector."

"I am very pleased to see women from business among the cohort today. Increasing women's participation in economic growth is a core policy priority for Australia and for the Government of Pakistan as articulated in Vision 2025. Australia is supporting Pakistan to achieve this goal by focusing our aid investments on livelihood development, inclusive trade reform, access to finance, and by enhancing women's decision-making authority", the High Commissioner added further.

Course participants are now back in Pakistan and working on finalising their Return to Work Plans. These plans will be closely monitored over the course of next one year by the HEC and Australia Awards. Upon return to Pakistan, the course participants have now become members of the Australia Awards Alumni network and we look forward to their active involvement in future alumni activities.


A group of 20 Australia Awards Scholarships Intake 2016 recipients from across Pakistan got together for three days at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) in Karachi in December to attend a study skills course. The course focused on preparing the new scholars for postgraduate level study at Australian universities, and at the same time, gave the awardees an opportunity to interact with each other and build relationships and networks.

One of the female participants, while talking about the course said, "The course was aimed at developing us personally and professionally. The

kind of detail that was in the course to develop us is commendable. I am thankful to the Australian Government that has taken so much effort into developing people like us who couldn't have afforded to do it on their own."

Australia Awards Pakistan, in collaboration with selected higher education institutions, organizes a study skills course every year for its new cohort. The faculty at IBA designed the course to enable participants to learn essential study skills like academic writing, reading comprehension, research and analysis, referencing, citation, and presentation skills.

Learning Study Skills at IBA

Informal Learning Opportunities (ILOs)

Australia Awards South and West Asia offers a range of tools to be used by country programs to meet identified learning needs. Among this range of tools, ILOs are the most flexible and responsive forms of tools available to meet identified capacity building initiatives. ILOs can come in many forms: study tours, workshops, conferences, and mentoring. This modality offers flexibility to countries to address priorities as identified. They offer variety in ways to respond to specific learning needs.

In 2015, Australia Awards Pakistan organised ILOs for 16 individual sso that they could develop technical knowledge, enhance their skills and create professional linkages with peers and networks. Of the 16 ILO recipients, ten were Australia Awards alumni.

ILOs in 2015 included:

Participation in the Women In Global Business (WIGB) Conference in Jakarta, Indonesia;

Attendance at the Australasian Council of Women and Policing Conference 2015;

Participating in 'Making History, Shaping the Future' in Sydney, Australia, Study Tour on Policy and Leadership for Senior Public Sector Executives in Canberra, Australia and

Contributing and participating in the International Conference on Maternal and Child Nutrition in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

One of the alumni who participated in the International Conference on Maternal and Child Nutrition summarized her experience by saying:

“Attending this conference enriched my knowledge

about efforts by government and non-government organizations in different South Asian countries to reduce infant mortality and morbidity. These organizations are involved in providing financial support as well as technical expertise and using inter-sectorial approach. I am impressed by the many programs conducted in different South Asian countries by involving communities. I would like to thank the Australian Government and Australia Awards Pakistan for providing this opportunity as attending this conference has enabled me to meet health professionals from South Asian region. The South Asian region shares many similar traditions and practices, thus we can find solutions which can be applicable to most of the countries."

By Amna (An ILO recipient)

A reflection on the Women in Global Business (WIGB) Conference


WIGB is a national program in Australia funded by the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) that recognises women's growth in contributing to Australia's economy through international trade. In March 2015 WIGB launched its first international chapter at a conference in Jakarta to develop trade connections between women-led small and medium enterprise (SME) business. Over 140 people attended the conference, where business matching sessions resulted in Indonesian businesswomen securing deals with members of the Australian delegation of women-led SMEs.

It was truly inspiring to hear the stories of such a diverse and successful group of SME businesses.WIGB strongly supported and encouraged women to build connections globally to break down cultural, social and economic barriers to promote and foster trade relationship between countries.

The publication of an International Labor Organization (ILO) report last month ranks Pakistan last in 108 countries in terms of women in managerial positions, brought a certain sense of urgency of what needs to get done if we were to change things. The 3pc representation of Pakistani women in managerial positions puts Pakistan behind Algeria, Jordan and Bangladesh. However,

the shrinking corporate pipeline for women is not unique to Pakistan.

I was keen on participating in the conference to learn from the Indonesia conference and apply it to Pakistan, since Indonesia is also a developing country and also because my organisation, Pakistan Society for Training and Development (PSTD) hosts annually a Women in Business Conference (WIBCON) which bring together over 50 companies from FMCG, chemicals, banks/financial institutions, pharmaceuticals, energy, automotive, airlines, and universities and over 500 women in Pakistan. It is the largest event hosted in the country bringing together some of Pakistan's most successful and highly accomplished women leaders who have made a difference in their businesses and communities.

Although I met a lot of people some of the people who stood out were Ms Marnie LeFevre who has over 20 years of experience in marketing and brand relationship and Professor Patrice Braun, Adjunct Professor at the Collaborative Research Network. I intend to be in touch with them to explore a possibility of engaging them to contribute in PSTD's on-going women development courses and connecting them with women entrepreneurs in Pakistan.


The Small Grants Scheme is an initiative of the Australia Awards Pakistan to assist proactive alumni to implement activities contributing to sustainable development in Pakistan. Under this scheme, all Australia Awards alumni across Pakistan have an opportunity to access a small grant to assist in executing an approved development activity related to the Australia Awards priority sectors of Public Health (including maternal, neonatal and child health services and nutrition), Education (including basic education services and early childhood education), Economic Growth(including agriculture, rural development, agri-business and entrepreneurship), Mining, Water Resource Management, and Governance, with a particular focus on improving pro-poor service delivery.

The SGS is an innovative way to maintain alumni engagement and so far five small grants have been awarded. Two projects supported by these grants have been completed, while the remaining three will start implementation from 2016.

The first small grant initiated the installation of a number of bio gas plants in Bajour Agency. These plants have helped reduce health and safety hazards ; provide beneficiaries with a steady supply of gas for cooking, which has reduced food preparation times; and generate income through the production of slurry that can be sold in the market as organic fertiliser. The Government of Bajour Agency observed the benefits of these bio gas plants and has committed to installing 100 more in the area, following the pattern of the plants installed under the SGS.

A second project supported by the SGS is aimed at educating farmers to produce, market and sell their products directly into the markets in order to generate higher profits. The project focused on training young female farmers to develop packaging for their products. This not only assists the farmers in generating more income but also empowers them as decision makers within their households.

Small Grants Scheme (SGS)

Australia Awards South and West Asia Women in Leadership Network Launched


The Australia Awards South and West Asia program conducts one Regional Alumni Workshop each year. These workshops will represent an opportunity for alumni to present their work, share their experiences with peers formally and informally, and build and strengthen relevant, professional-based networks across the region. This will extend the alumni experience beyond the local level and bring an enhanced professional development aspect to alumni engagement.

The 2015 Regional Alumni Workshop focused on existing and emerging women leaders from the Australia Awards alumni, who are committed to making a difference in the South and West Asia region. The workshop was held in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, in November and provided a platform for the formal launch of the Australia Awards South and West Asia Women in Leadership Network. Twenty eight women alumni from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka participated in the event.

The two-day workshop resulted in the formation of personal and professional linkages between participants, thus creating a Network. The workshop was also an opportunity for participants to share

ideas and their leadership journeys. Participants were motivated to mentor and support other women to overcome challenges in accessing Australia Awards, and to apply their newly-acquired knowledge, skills and experiences on their return home to become architects of change.

The workshop also facilitated the creation of a mandate for the Network:

"The Women in Leadership Network (WILN), is a network of Australia Awards South and West Asia Women Alumni committed to actively promote and support higher education advancement and empowerment for women through Australia Awards. The WILN members volunteer to facilitate the application process, promote information sharing, and mentor awardees to overcome challenges prior to, during and following their scholarship in Australia. The WILN will host events and develop linkages with other networks in the member countries to advocate for and strengthen gender equality and women's contribution towards the nation's development. The WILN will enable members to create and maintain strong linkages with Alumni institutions in Australia."


What to look out for in 2016…

Informal Learning Opportunities 2016: Australia Awards Pakistan has collaborated with the Pakistan Society for Training and Development (PSTD) to organise the International Women in Business Conference (WIBCON) in Karachi in February 2016. Australia Awards South and West Asia alumni from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka attended the conference. The objectives of the Conference were to recognise and highlight the notable achievements and life stories of global female icons, women leaders, entrepreneurs and professionals who have helped catalyze a positive change to the society. WIBCON celebrate women by offering them an opportunity to learn and get inspiration in order to achieve success in their profession. WIBCON provided professional women who are CEOs, activists, peacemakers, entrepreneurs, and managers with a platform to not only share their success stories but also to involve themselves in initiatives aimed at the uplifting of women and ensuring that they are heard.

Applications for Australia Awards Scholarships 2017 Intake have been recieved.Selection interviews will be held in August 2016. The Australia Awards align with the focus of Australia's development assistance to Pakistan, targeting human resource gaps in identified priority sectors and fields. They aim to provide awardees with the skills and knowledge to drive change and influence economic and social development. Alumni will be requested to contribute during promotions, shortlisting and interviews. Alumni will play a major role in mentoring and guiding new awardees during the mobilisation phase.

Global Alumni PortalAustralia Global Alumni Engagement Strategy will be launched in 2016 which includes a networking portal. The public facing website will provide information to allow alumni to connect with Australia and to identify opportunities to engage in alumni activities.

More information to come.

Short Course Awards in 2016:There will be four short courses offered in 2016 by the Australia Awards

Pakistan. The focus of these short courses will be on Women in Policing,

Effective and Efficient Management of Parliamentary Committees, Public

Financing and Renewable Energy. Australia Awards Pakistan will be

requesting alumni with relevant background and experience to contribute in

the design of the course concepts note and in identifying potential recipients.


Australia Day in Spring events:These events were held in April 2016 and provided alumni with an opportunity to meet representatives from the Australian High Commission and fellow alumni, and also recognised high achieving alumni for their contributions towards development of the country in their respective areas.

Alumni activities and professional development: Talks on 'Climate Change' and 'Innovations and Local Perspectives: Water Resource Management' will be organised by alumni in 2016.

Alumni Online Network (AON)

Launch:

AON is a centralized information

management system managed by the

Scholarships and Alumni Branch at the

Department of Foreign Affairs and

Trade (DFAT) that will provide online

networking for all alumni across the

globe who have undertaken any level

of education funded by the Australian

Government.

Women in Leadership Network (WILN): WILN will start operating in 2016 to advocate for and strengthen gender equality and women's contribution towards the nation's development. A dedicated WILN web page on the main website of Australia Awards South and West Asia will be launched. A bi-annual WILN Newsletter will be launched in 2016 having interesting contributions from alumni. All alumni can become members of WILN.

Alumni Development Impact

Survey (ADIS):

The purpose of ADIS is to capture

information from selected Australia

Awards Alumni related to any

development contributions they may

have made in their respective sectors

after the successful completion of

their scholarship.

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