Albury-Wodonga, Bendigo, Mildura and Shepparton will benefit from a push to attract more people to regional areas to work and study, under the Destination Australia program.
La Trobe will receive more than $900,000 to deliver an additional 19 scholarships at its regional campuses over the next four years.
The Hon Anthony Chisholm, Assistant Minister for Education and Assistant Minister for Regional Development, announced the outcomes of the 2023 funding round earlier this month.
La Trobe received 94 scholarships in the first round of the program for study in 2020 – more than any other Australian university – and a further 30 scholarships for study in 2022.
La Trobe Vice-Chancellor Professor John Dewar AO said the program is already making a difference to regional communities, with the real benefits likely to be experienced for years to come.
“Now more than ever regional communities are experiencing critical workforce shortages in areas such as nursing, social work, allied health, teaching and engineering,” Professor Dewar said.
“Many of our Destination Australia scholarship recipients are keen to finish their studies, and find work in local hospitals, schools, community health centres and private practice.
“This injection of highly skilled, career-ready graduates, who have come to know and love regional life, will benefit those communities for years to come,” Professor Dewar said.
Destination Australia Program seeks to attract and support international and domestic students to study in regional Australia, and help meet skills needs by prioritising students studying courses aligned with the Australian Government’s National Skills Priority List.
Since the program was launched in 2020, La Trobe has awarded scholarships to students from a wide range of countries including India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Hong Kong and the UK, as well as Australia.
Courses of study include nursing, biomedical science, dental science, social work, business, engineering, teaching and IT and computer science.
Of La Trobe’s scholarships for study in 2023, 11 are for international students and 8 are for domestic students.
Applications are now open for the scholarships. Destination Australia scholarships are available to students undertaking studies with 27 tertiary education providers in regional areas, ranging from a Certificate IV through to a PhD for up to four years.
