• AlburyCity Council to fund 42 scholarship places for local residents to study two community leadership and resilience subjects with Charles Sturt University
• First-of-its-kind scholarship program for AlburyCity aims to drive innovation and growth in the region through supporting residents to pursue higher education
• First of two scholarship rounds for Albury residents open until Monday 12 October, with successful recipients of round one set to start online study later that month

AlburyCity will fund the 42 scholarship places, over two rounds, for local residents to complete online study of two micro-subjects of their choice from Charles Sturt University's Graduate Certificate in Community Leadership and Resilience.

The scholarship program is the first of its kind to be set up by AlburyCity.

It was established to help drive innovation and growth in the Albury region by supporting residents, particularly those involved in the community, to broaden their knowledge and skillsets by completing study in Charles Sturt’s innovative and industry-backed micro-subjects.

AlburyCity Mayor Kevin Mack (pictured above) said council was delighted to partner with Charles Sturt as part of an ongoing Memorandum of Understanding with the University and TAFE NSW.

“Expanding the knowledge and skills base of our community is a fundamental plank of our combined mission to enhance our economy and liveability – especially in these challenging times – and we’re thrilled to be working with Charles Sturt University on this very important initiative,” he said.

“One of the many great aspects of this program is that it’s tailored to meet the needs of regional communities, helping to ensure that as one of regional Australia’s largest economies, our region will be well placed to deliver the leaders of the future as we continue to grow.

“We share with Charles Sturt University a commitment to making regional Australia an even better place to live, work and invest – and this exciting scholarship program provides a perfect foundation to make that happen.”    

Associate Professor Jenny Kent (pictured), the Associate Dean (Academic) in the Charles Sturt Faculty of Business, Justice and Behavioural Sciences, commended AlburyCity for taking the proactive step to establish the innovative scholarship program and said the subjects students will complete were designed to address the needs of regional communities across Charles Sturt’s footprint.

“When Charles Sturt University co-created our community leadership education, the feedback we received was that our communities need connected, capable leaders with a strong understanding of communities and a passion for building resilience,” Professor Kent said.

“Albury was strongly represented in that co-creation work, and having AlburyCity now support their community members to undertake this education shows just how passionate our regions are about building local leadership capacity.

“Thanks to this scholarship program, Albury will have a group of scholarship recipients who are committed to developing their knowledge and skills, and that benefit will go straight back into the community through the work they do.”

The scholarship support from AlburyCity Council was also welcomed by Charles Sturt Director of Advancement Ms Sarah Ansell (pictured).

“This is a perfect example of the power that proactive, forward-thinking organisations can have on regional growth and recovery and the role philanthropic investment can play in building social capital and strong, resilient communities,” she said.

“We can’t thank AlburyCity enough for their generous support. We are living in extremely uncertain times, our students and communities need help and never has student support been more vital.”

Applications for the first round of the ‘AlburyCity Community Leadership and Resilience Scholarship’ are open now and close on Monday 12 October.

The 21 successful scholarship recipients from the first round will commence their study in one micro-subject in October and the second micro-subject in March next year.

Applications for the second round of scholarships, which will also include 21 scholarship places for students to study two micro-subjects over two sessions, will open later next year.

Successful recipients will complete their study online and each micro-subject will run over an eight-week session.

To be eligible for the community scholarships, applicants must reside in the Albury Local Government Area and be able to dedicate time to university study. Applicants will also be asked to provide examples of their local community involvement. Further information about the selection criteria is available on the Charles Sturt website.  

All scholarship applications must be made via the Charles Sturt scholarship webpage. Further information about the scholarships and the application process is available on this website.