Contemporary Histories’ Anna Kent is organising the International Education Association of Australia’s Scholarships and Fellowships Forum in Canberra in April 2018.

There is no denying the transformative power of international scholarships and fellowships, for host countries and students alike. This year’s IEAA Scholarships and Fellowships Forum will centre on highlighting the various pathways that sponsors, education providers, students and alumni can use to ensure awardees can utilise their newfound skills and expertise to create positive change.

A key theme for this year’s forum will be on-award enrichment. International guest speaker, academic and practitioner, Professor Joan Dassin (Brandeis University, Boston), will present a specially-commissioned paper about on-award enrichment activity embraced by scholarship programs across the world. This keynote presentation will inform further discussion about how sponsors and institutions can enhance their own on-award enrichment programs. These activities not only support students while they study, but can improve long-term outcomes of scholarship programs.

We will also hear from students and alumni about the programs that have best supported them to maximise the opportunities their scholarships provide. As always, delegates will have an opportunity to speak directly with sponsors as part of our popular ‘sponsor speed dating’ session.

Key themes include:

• What are the pathways into, during and after a scholarship program that help to create positive change?
• What can awardees and sponsors do while ‘on-award’ to maximise the impact of the scholarship?
• What can alumni and sponsors do post-award to maximise the impact of scholarships?
• What issues and ideas are currently on the minds of sponsors, universities and researchers in the field?