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Mawson Lakes Fellowship Program

The broad purpose of the Mawson Lakes Fellowship Program (MFP) is to establish a commemorative project between South Australia and Japan, growing out of the collaboration on the Multi-Function Polis and focusing on urban innovation and innovative urban development practice.

The Mawson Lakes Fellowship Program is sponsored by the South Australian Government, three of the State's universities (Flinders University, the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia) and MACAJ, a consortium of leading Japanese companies. It provides three scholarships each year for South Australian postgraduate students interested in urban innovation and innovative urban planning and development practice to study in Japan for six months. In turn, three Japanese students are given the opportunity to study in Adelaide.

For exchange participants in the year 2008, the Mawson Lakes Fellowship Program will provide:

• South Australian candidates with a grant of A$2,500 for travel to and from Japan and a grant of approximately A$13,000 to cover accommodation and subsistence costs, based on a stay of six months. For shorter visits this amount will be reduced pro rata.
• Japanese candidates with a grant of $2,500 for travel to and from Australia and a grant of approximately A$8,800 to cover accommodation and subsistence costs, based on a stay of six months. For shorter visits this amount will be reduced pro rata.

Stipends will be made available in the currency of the country where the student will study. The MFP Steering Committee reserves the right to review the stipend each year. Exchange candidates will normally pay all required fees to their home institution and will be exempt from tuition fees at the host institution. Some costs may not be covered - for example course materials, computer use, or health insurance - by the scholarship grant.

Exchange candidates will be funded to undertake programs or projects that, ideally, will form part of their research in progress at their home institution. Applicants should discuss their proposal with their academic supervisor to ensure it meets the requirements of their degree. Credit for any course undertaken will be at the discretion of the home university.

An interim report (pdf 12kB)   will be required from award recipients after three months. A final report (pdf 12kB)   in English of not less than 5,000 words will be required soon after completion of the study visit. Japanese candidates studying in South Australia would normally be required to meet the English language requirements of the universities. More information about the language requirements of the three participating Universities is available online:

• Flinders University
• The University of Adelaide
• The University of South Australia

Application Forms

Application forms are available for:

• Australian applicants (pdf 86kB)   
• Japanese applicants (pdf 83kB)   

Applications should be sent to:
Ms Paula Ritchie
Coordinator, Adelaide Abroad
International Office, University of Adelaide
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia 5005

Applications for the next round of scholarships will close on 1 October 2008 for students commencing study in February (in Adelaide) or April (in Japan) and 1 February 2008 for students commencing study in July (in Adelaide) or Sept (in Japan) 2008. Japanese applicants should note that in Australia first semester normally commences in February and second semester in July.

Information for South Australian candidates

South Australian students may choose to study at one of the following universities:

• University of Nagoya, about two-and-a-half hours from Tokyo by bullet train, which has particular strengths in sustainable transport, metropolitan planning and land-use transport interactions.
• University of Tsukuba located in Japan's principal planned science city about an hour north of Tokyo, which has strengths in environmental and public policy analysis, spatial information systems, planning and urban design.
• Waseda University a long established private university close to central Tokyo with strengths in urban design and planning.

Applicants will be asked to indicate, in order of preference the Japanese university at which they wish to study. However, the MFP Steering Committee reserves the right to offer applicants a scholarship to any of the three Japanese universities. Applicants chosen for a scholarship to study in Japan will be subject to acceptance from the Japanese university selected.

Students must be undertaking honours, masters or doctoral studies by coursework or research in a relevant discipline at Flinders University, the University of Adelaide or the University of South Australia. Junior members of academic staff with research interests in relevant areas also will be considered.

Students normally pay all required fees to their home institution and are exempt from tuition fees at the host institution. However, they may be required to pay some other fees in Japan, such as for course materials or computer use. Students are also responsible for their own health cover.

A committee comprising academic staff of the three South Australian universities will select suitable Australian candidates on merit. This committee will make recommendations to the Steering Committee of the Mawson Lakes Fellowship Program, which will be required to ratify the nominations of the Australian and Japanese universities and to approve the release of funds.

Applicants should note that in Japan first semester normally commences in April and second semester in September.

For further information contact:

Adrienne Gorringe
MLFP Project Officer