Fellowship Selection Criteria & Rules

• The Fellowship is made available jointly by the Australian German Association and the Goethe-Institut. 

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• There will be one Fellowship and one German language and culture course offered each year. Applicants may apply for either the Fellowship alone or the Fellowship and the German language and culture The AGA reserves the right to award an additional discretionary Fellowship pending the outcomes of the selection process outlined below. There is no specific discipline or sector to which the Fellowship applies. The Fellowship is about the undertaking of a project of value to the Australian-German community and relationships between Australia and Germany.

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• The Fellowship has fostered awardees from: Business / Law / Politics / Engineering / Arts / Culture / Literature / Music / Medicine / Science / Technology.

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• The applicant must have impressive academic tertiary qualifications and the prospect of a promising career in business, law, science, engineering, technology, medicine, political studies or the arts.

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• The applicant will either hold an undergraduate or postgraduate degree, or have met the requirements for graduation at the time of application, with the expectation of graduating by 1st August of the Fellowship year. If the applicant does not graduate, the Fellowship will be withdrawn.

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• The Research / Project undertaken is ordinarily between four and eight weeks (Research Phase) and is to be undertaken in Q4 of the Fellowship year.

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• If the applicant is awarded the Goethe-Institut German language and culture course, the Research Phase can only commence after that course which is for a duration of maximum eight weeks. The specific timing and location of the course is to be agreed with the Goethe­-Institut.​

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• For the applicant to be able to undertake the Research Phase without the German language course, the applicant must possess sufficient German language proficiency in order to communicate effectively in their area of research / the Project.

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• To be considered for the German language and culture course, the applicant must have a good working knowledge of the German language but is below the necessary fluency to undertake the Project and would benefit from the course. As a guide, the successful applicant may have at least completed A1 level of the European Frame of Reference for Languages and is willing to reach B1 level prior to the commencement of the research project.  A description of the applicable levels may be found on the Goethe-Institut web page: https://www.goethe.de/ins/gb/en/spr/kon/stu.html.
  Applicants can undertake the following online test to assess their level of competency: https://www.goethe.de/en/spr/kup/tsd.html 

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• To be able to apply for the German language course component of the Fellowship, applicants must not have been the recipient of a German Government scholarship (including a DAAD scholarship) within the last five years in the period ending 31 May. However the AGA and Goethe-Institut may, in their absolute discretion, waive this restriction.

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• To apply for the Fellowship the applicant must not be 35 or over as at 1st August of the Fellowship year.

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• The applicant is expected to spend the Research Phase of his/her time in Germany researching the Project for which the Fellowship was awarded. It is anticipated that this may involve the successful applicant visiting centres of education, business and/or culture in Germany especially relevant to the Project.

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• The following items are the primary selection criteria which should be addressed in the application:

  • a clear outline of the proposed Project, specifically the topic to be researched;

  • an outline the goals t of the Project, and the benefit of the goals;

  • a description of how the results will be communicated to the relevant public in Australia – including methodology, audience, process;

  • an outline and explanation of the methodology and proposed steps for practical implementation of results/goals;

  • an explanation as to value and how the Project may be used to enhance Australian-German relations; and

  • a demonstrable capacity to be a future ambassador for Australian-German relations.

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• The fellowship provides for:

  • reimbursement of a return economy airfare from Australia to Germany;

  • AU $8,000 allowance to facilitate travel throughout Germany for the Project;

  • General advice on itinerary. Where possible AGA may facilitate introductions to areas and persons of particular interest to the successful applicant, however applicants should ensure their Project does not assume that such introductions will be available; and

  • eight weeks intensive language and cultural study with full accommodation and breakfast and one meal on course days.

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• Other personal expenses including insurance, are to be met by the successful applicant (a basic health, accident and public liability insurance is included for the duration of the Goethe-Institut course only).

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• Applicants must be:

  • an Australian citizen, or

  • a permanent resident of Australia who has lived in Australia for at least 5 years.

The Fellowship is not available to applicants holding German citizenship.​

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• Each applicant agrees that the applicants’ application is, if successful, subject to the following terms:​

  • presentation of the report at the Fellowship launch event for the following year or other date determined by the AGA, to be held in Melbourne (the launch event ordinarily held March/April each year) ;

  • the report is the applicant’s own original work and all third party work will be appropriately acknowledged;

  • the report must acknowledge the support of the Australian German Association and the Goethe-Institut;

  • the applicant must not authorise the use of the report by any third party for commercial purposes without the express prior written consent of the Australian German Association and the Goethe-Institut;

  • the applicant authorises the Australian German Association and the Goethe-Institut to reproduce and publish in whole or in part the report, by any means and in any form, for the purpose of promoting the Fellowship and disseminating the report (or any part of it) to their respective members and target audiences and for purposes otherwise consistent with the objectives of the Australian German Association and the Goethe-Institut. The applicant retains moral rights and will be acknowledged as the author of the report; and

  • the applicant will for a period of at least 6 months post return to Australia reasonably co-operate with any initiatives of the Australian German Association and/or the Goethe-Institut involving the promotion of the Fellowship or the report including:

    • presentation of the report to one or more meetings of the Australian German Association; and

    • provision of a condensed version of the report to the Goethe-Institut for publication.

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• The application form, accompanied by a copy of the applicant’s educational qualifications and birth certificate (or relevant page in the passport), should be submitted by email Alex Haberle, email: fellowship@aga.org.au
   

• To ensure appropriate governance of the fellowship, email applications are subject to the following requirements:

  • the applicant must print, sign and scan the application form declaring acceptance of the conditions of the Fellowship; and

  • if the application is shortlisted, the applicant agrees to submit an original academic transcript by mail or provide the transcript at interview.

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• Applications will be reviewed and the selection process will occur shortly following the application closing date. Shortlisted applicants will be requested to attend an interview in person in Melbourne (part of which will be conducted in German). The AGA funds travel of interstate shortlisted applicants for interview attendance. On account of government directives and laws restricting meetings and travel, it is likely interviews will be conducted by electronic means. The winners of the Fellowship will be publicly announced at an awards ceremony held late August / early September of the Fellowship year.

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These criteria and rules are available for download as a PDF file. The application form can downloaded as PDF or Microsoft Word.