Scholarship details
Since 1982, ACIAR has supported research projects in four regions—eastern and southern Africa, East Asia, South and West Asia, and the Pacific. Our research projects focus on agribusiness, climate change, crops, fisheries, forestry, horticulture, livestock systems, social systems, soil, and land management, and water. They deliver specific development outcomes.
To date, ACIAR has commissioned and managed more than 1,500 research projects in 36 countries, partnering with 150 institutions along with more than 50 Australian research organizations.
The John Dillon Memorial Fellowship was established by ACIAR in recognition of Professor John L. Dillon’s life-long support for international agricultural research. The Fellowship scheme serves the memory of John Dillon by providing career development opportunities for outstanding young agricultural scientists or economists from ACIAR partner countries who are involved in a current or recently completed ACIAR project. 8-10 Fellowships are offered annually.
The Fellowship aims to develop leadership skills in the areas of agricultural research management, agricultural policy, and/or extension technologies. This is achieved by providing exposure to Australian agriculture across a range of best-practice organizations involved in research, extension, and/or policymaking.
The visit programs are tailored by negotiation between ACIAR and the selected Fellow to meet the needs of individual Fellows and their employing organization. Arrangements for the Fellowships will be flexible, and the following points are intended to indicate features of the program:
Fellowships normally involve a 5-6 week period in Australia. Fellows are hosted by 1-2 Australian organizations (such as a Federal Government Department, a University, a Cooperative Research Centre, or State Department of Agriculture) where they spend at least 50 % of their Fellowship period. Fellows participate in a formal research management training course in Australia. Fellows undertake a structured program of visits to various institutes, including the presentation of relevant lectures.
ACIAR identifies opportunities and partnerships to undertake international agricultural research and capacity building but does not undertake research directly.
ACIAR-supported projects are designed to produce specific research outputs that translate to development outcomes.
The 2021 to 2023 John Dillon Fellowship program will be managed by the University of New England (UNE) on behalf of ACIAR. The UNE Training Team specializes in customizing management and leadership programs that meet the learning objectives of each participant. Its training team is highly engaged and provides mentoring and coaching support, mindful of the cultural and professional context of the Fellows. ACIAR has also partnered with UNE to deliver several capacity-building and alumni engagement programs, including the Meryl Williams Fellowship.
Eligibility
- Must be a student from Vietnam.
- Must be a student studying humanities and researching global impact in Vietnam.
- This is an invitation-only scholarship and a student has to be invited by the MARD and ACIAR endorsed organizations for the John Dillon Fellowship.
- Applicants can be either male or female.
- Applicants must not have a criminal background, if it is found out later on that an individual does in fact have a criminal background, the student will be removed from the program.
- This scholarship turns into a merit-based scholarship when the final round of panels comes into view when looking for recipents.
The list of organizations endorsed by MARD and ACIAR It should be noted that the final selection of John Dillon Fellows will be merit-based, with candidates based on the program’s selection criteria. Being a current staff in one of these organizations does not necessarily ensure an applicant’s success:
1. Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development
2. Department of Science, Technology, and Environment
3. Agro Processing and Market Development Authority
4. Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences
5. Northern Mountainous Agriculture & Forestry Science Institute
6. Institute for Agriculture Environment
7. Western Highlands Agriculture and Forestry Science Institute
8. Southern Fruit Research Institute
9. Vietnam Academy of Forestry Sciences
10. National Institute of Animal Sciences
11. Research Institute for Aquaculture number 3
12. Vietnam National University of Agriculture
13. International Cooperation Department of Ministry of Science and Technology
14. An Giang University
15. Health and Agricultural Policy Research Institute of the University of Economics, Ho Chi Minh City
Requirements
Basic requirements for students to know and thoroughly understand before filling out this application will entail:
• Understanding self and others.
• Differences between leadership and management.
• Working effectively in teams.
• Leading with values.
• Leading with resilience through COVID-19
• Working strategically in changing political environments.
• Managing change through uncertain times.
Along with an added gender understanding equality:
- Understanding of gender norms and roles in agricultural production and all along the value chain.
• Gender dimensions of community development and agriculture extension practices
• How to build an inclusive workforce.
• Gendered aspects of leadership and management.
• Strategies for enhancing diversity and social inclusion.
How to Apply
To apply students will first need to be nominated by two organizations that work within the John Dillon Fellowship scholarship.
The applicant will need to read through the whole application to understand what their duty entails once they have become a recipient. One example involves teamwork and working together for the common good:
These projects must involve collaboration among the Fellows during both the design and the delivery phases, and it is very strongly encouraged that every Fellow is involved in one of the projects. Collaboration between organizations will be highly encouraged. To help build further linkages between Vietnam and Australia, each project will be strongly encouraged to have an Australian collaborator. Australian collaborators will be eligible to receive a small proportion of project funding (of up to 10%) to support their engagement in the project.
Reward – Extra Benefits
Students can expect to have online courses available to them that will last the duration of 16 weeks.
Extra additive benefits are that recipients will learn to design and implement collaborative projects by groups of Fellows, which addresses a pressing challenge within research, extension, policy, or management that has real-world application.
Along with a two-week immersive workshop and study tour in Australia in late 2023, where professional skills are further developed, and networks built through visits to Australian organizations.
Deadline
Applications will close at 11:59 pm (Hanoi time) on September 5, 2022.
Open Submission Window Time Frame
The open time frame for this scholarship fellowship is for a 6-month window time frame from the deadline date which is September 5, 2022.
Annual
This is an annual scholarship that happens and awards students once per year.
