The Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (DIISR) has finalised the evaluation of the International Postgraduate Research Scholarships (IPRS) program as part of its 2009-2010 work program.
The 2010 IPRS Evaluation Report is now available.
Background
The IPRS program is part of the suite of Research Block Grant funding administered by DIISR.
The objective of IPRS program is to support research excellence and research effort within Australia by attracting top quality international postgraduate students to areas of research strength in Australian higher education providers (HEPs). Eligible international students (except from New Zealand) undertake a higher degree by research in Australia and gain experience with leading Australian researchers.
The scholarship covers tuition fees and health cover costs for the recipient and their dependants. A total of 330 IPRS places are awarded to HEPs each year at a cost of around $20m per annum. Section 46 of the Higher Education Support Act 2003 and the Commonwealth Scholarships Guidelines (Research) 2008 provide the legislative basis for the provision of funding to this program.
Terms of Reference
The International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (IPRS) Evaluation, in conjunction with a program evaluation against objectives as informed by the Australian Government’s Expenditure Review Principles, will:
- Examine the current performance of the program in meeting its objective to support research excellence and underpin research effort within Australia by attracting top quality international postgraduate students to areas of research strength in Australian higher education providers.
- Identify any known trends in research workforce participation by IPRS recipients within Australia and identify their collaboration and ongoing participation with Australian research following completion of their scholarship.
- Develop options to improve the IPRS program to better meet its objectives.
The evaluation will also examine ways in which the IPRS program could be integrated and aligned with Australian Postgraduate Awards (APAs) and in consultation with the higher education sector including whether APAs should be opened up to eligible IPRS recipients in future years (from 2011 onwards).
Based on the above, the evaluation will include the preparation of a report on the outcomes and findings, and present options for possible enhancements to or refocusing of the IPRS program.
The Department will be engaging the services of a contractor to assist with aspects of the Program Evaluation, based on the Government’s Expenditure Review Principles of appropriateness, effectiveness, efficiency, integration, performance assessment and strategic policy alignment.
Advisory Committee
The Department appointed an Advisory Committee comprised of representatives of the Australian higher education research sector to provide advice on the evaluation and stakeholder consultation, provide relevant data that may assist, and provide opinion on whether APAs should be extended to IPRS recipients.
Contact
For more information, please email RBGrants@innovation.gov.au with "IPRS Evaluation" as the subject line.