When I was graduating from my undergraduate degree, I asked my supervisor, "Sir, I wanna apply Australia Awards Scholarship - Long Term Awards. Would you mind to give me an academic recommendation?" Then he answered me simply,"I thought it's not the right time for you. You may couldn't pass it because you don't have a good reason or aim yet."

I was relatively green for that scholarship, I lacked of experience. And his word is faithful. I received my rejection letter a few months later. It's not a pleasant memory, but it's something I'll never forget. It will always be my encouragement. 

Five years later, I had my second chance. Unlike my previous application, I applied for short term awards. Then after a series of selection process, I finally made it! Yeay! Alhamdulillah.. 

So, I am here to share about my latest scholarship from Australia Awards. What kind of scholarship it is, what we need to prepare, and what the strategy to be the right candidate they are looking for.

If you open Australia Awards website, you'll find this statement "The Australia Awards are prestigious international scholarship that provide you with high quality education experiences at world-class universities." They have two kinds of scholarships, there are short term awards and long term awards. The one that I want to share is about short term awards.

I applied for Sustainable Tourism Development 2019 - Short Term Awards in the mid of January 2019. This program will includes Pre Course (3 days preparation before departure to Australia), Short Course (2 weeks short course in Australia) and Post Course (3 days seminar to present the result of the project we have been done). It's a short course scholarship that will give us a bunch of new insights about tourism and how we can contribute to create a sustainable tourism development. 

The selection process consists of two stages :

1. Online Form Selection

We need to fill in form titled "Pembangunan Pariwisata Berkelanjutan_Bahasa Indonesia". If you have a question whether the form in English or Bahasa, I'll said that it is in Bahasa. So, it would be great for you to answer it in Bahasa also. In this form, you have to provide some information about your personal detail, current employment, latest graduated education, seminar and training history, and the most important part is essay about your future goal after you received this scholarship. 

Well, bisa dibilang ini kunci dari beasiswa Sustainable Tourism Development 2019 - Short Term Awards. Melalui essay ini, Australia Awards akan melakukan seleksi untuk memilih kandidat terbaik. 

Berikut adalah beberapa pertanyaan essay yang harus kita jawab : 

a. Jelaskan tujuan profesional masa depan Anda dan bagaimana dengan berpartisipasi pada program studi jangka pendek ini dapat membantu Anda mencapai tujuan tersebut?

- Di sini kita bisa menjelaskan posisi kita di kantor atau organisasi sebagai apa, bagaimana visi dan misi organisasi bisa mendukung pembangunan pariwisata yang berkelanjutan dan bagaimana program studi jangka pendek ini nantinya dapat meningkatkan kemampuan dan kapasitas kita baik sebagai individu maupun profesional sehingga mampu berkontribusi dalam pencapaian pembangunan pariwisata yang berkelanjutan.

b. Jelaskan rencana program/projek yang akan Anda lakukan setelah kembali dari Australia dan bagaimana projek tersebut akan berkontribusi pada organisasi Anda?

- I think it is the most difficult part. Kalau kamu apply beasiswa ini cuman buat iseng atau main-main, then you'll need to forget it. Because this scholarship require a commitment and real action from you to contribute in sustainable tourism development. When you come back from this short course, what will you do for your organization or your society. Saya pribadi saat itu agak bingung juga sih, what I can do then. Berhubung peran saya di kantor sebagai analis kebijakan pertama, maka program nyata yang bisa saya tawarkan adalah penyusunan rekomendasi kebijakan terkait dengan komunikasi pemasaran pariwisata berkelanjutan. Alasan terkuat saya memilih program itu karena saya merasa masih banyak wisatawan yang belum teredukasi tentang apa itu sebenarnya pariwisata berkelanjutan. Jadi saya ingin berkontribusi dalam penyusunan strategi komunikasi pemasaran pariwisata berkelanjutan agar semakin banyak orang tahu tentang produk pariwisata yang sudah menerapkan prinsip pariwisata berkelanjutan and bagaimana caranya ikut serta berkontribusi dalam pembangunan pariwisata berkelanjutan.

c. Jelaskan peran dan tanggung jawab Anda saat ini yang relevan dengan program studi singkat ini!

- Kita bisa menghubungkan peran kita di kantor atau organisasi saat ini yang dapat mendukung tercapainya pembangunan pariwisata berkelanjutan. Sebagai contoh, dengan keikutsertaan saya dalam program studi singkat pembangunan pariwisata berkelanjutan ini, saya berharap mampu menyusun rekomendasi-rekomendasi kebijakan, terutama dari segi komunikasi pemasaran pariwisata Indonesia yang berkelanjutan.

After you complete your essay, you still have to upload some documents such as proof of identity (KTP/Passport), Bachelor Degree Certificate (Ijazah), Recommendation Letter from manager or supervisor, and English Language Proficiency (TOEFL/IELTS) - it's optional.

Actually, what I love from this short term awards is how the selection process going swiftly. I got a prompt announcement about two weeks later. Then when I read it, I just became speechless. Is it real? Do I really pass the first stage? Aaaa, I just wanted to scream a lot. I couldn't hide my excitement. Finally, it was just one step closer to my dream.. 

2. Phone Interview

First, you need to save the number of Australia Awards Indonesia that you got from the email. Maklum, saya punya kebiasaan males angkat telp dari no yang gak dikenal karena takut kena jebakan penawaran kartu kredit or something similar. Jadi ketika dapet no kontak Australia Awards yang bakal telp untuk phone interview nanti, saya langsung simpan dan kasih informasi nama kontak. Second, don't forget about what you have written in the essay. Karena yang bakal ditanyain di phone interview mostly adalah tentang essay kita juga. 

It's a panel interview indeed. I got a call at about 10 o'clock. If I'm not mistaken, there were four interviewer, from Australia Awards Indonesia, Australia Embassy, and two independents interviewer (maybe form academic or professional). 

Pertanyaan mereka simpel tapi kadang menohok, haha.. For instance, setelah mereka tanya peran kita di kantor atau organisasi apa aja, mereka langsung tanya lagi, "Lalu apa hubungannya peran saudara di kantor/organisasi dengan sustainable tourism development?" Ya saya jawab aja, "Tahun lalu tim komunikasi pemasaran Kementerian Pariwisata pernah membuat TVC terkait sustainable tourism, namun makna dari pariwisata berkelanjutan belum bisa tersampaikan dengan baik karena TVC hanya menampilkan landscape destinasi tanpa ada detail konten yang lebih informatif tentang apa itu sebenarnya sustainable tourism. Sebagai analis kebijakan pertama, saya berharap dapat berkontribusi dalam menyusun rekomendasi kebijakan, khususnya terkait strategi komunikasi pemasaran pariwisata Indonesia yang berkelanjutan."

Ada lagi pertanyaan yang justru pengen bikin saya ngakak. They asked me,"Mbak kan udah pernah ke Australia, terus ngapain mau ke Australia lagi?" Hahaha, ya ampun bapak, saya kemarin-kemarin ke Australia juga karena ada meeting sama media, jadi gak punya banyak kesempatan untuk explore Australia while I am sure I could learn many from Australia. Makanya saya ikut short term awards ini :D

They will asked you in Bahasa in the beginning, but then they left some English questions in the end of interview session. 

-&-

Less than two weeks later, a new email popped up on my cellphone. I still didn't care and didn't have any intention to open it yet due to some deadline. But then my colleague told me about this. OMG, I still couldn't believe it yet. I wanted to say it loudly that finally I became part of Australia Awards. Yeay!! Alhamdulillah.. 

Five years ago, I brought my big spirit to apply the long term awards but I got my rejection letter. Then, five years later, I can prove that I can make it. What can I say to My Lord? Alhamdulillah..

This scholarship has been my unforgettable journey. Start from application submission, then successful notification, until I met my wonderful new family of Australia Awards. It would make my 2019 more colorful than before. 

For those who are passionate in tourism industry and want to contribute in the term of Indonesia sustainable tourism development, I recommend you to apply this scholarship. Australia Awards is not only an ordinary scholarship for me, but it's a truly life changing experience. Let's make a change and do a big thing, for Indonesia, for our sustainable tourism development.