Graduate Profiles

Andrew Isbister

I graduated from the University of New England with a Bachelor of Asian Studies and Languages majoring in Indonesian and Chinese. I studied my degree by distance while living in Vietnam and China. After graduating, I entered the Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development (AYAD) Program working as a volunteer for one year in the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On completing the AYAD program I was awarded a scholarship to study a Masters of Public Administration in Japan.

Historically the Graduate Program was an entry point for recent graduates who had limited work experience. While there are certainly still opportunities in the Graduate Program for recent graduates, the profile of the Graduate Program as a whole has diversified with many people coming in with significant work experience. This diversity of age, experience and academic achievement makes the AusAID Graduate Program a very stimulating environment providing a good network of friends and colleagues throughout the agency both during the Program and after it finishes.

My first rotation in the Graduate Program was in the Aceh Reconstruction Section where I was very quickly brought up to speed on the ways and means of delivery of a large program that operates in a complex environment of local, regional and national Governments working in conjunction with NGOs and multi-lateral & bilateral donors. I spent three weeks in Banda Aceh and Jakarta where I had the opportunity to see the Aid Program close-up and be involved in meeting with the Indonesian Government to discuss reconstruction priorities.

My second rotation was in the Advisory Group. The Advisory group is the central point where AusAID's sectoral expertise is located. One of the benefits of the Graduate Program is the opportunity to work in areas that you would not normally have the opportunity to work in. I have no sectoral expertise but my time in the Advisory Group gave me an understanding of how this expertise is drawn on by country programs and how the experiences of country programs inform the work of the Advisory Group.

When I finished the Graduate Program I moved to the Office of the Director General. In this role I have been able to get a very good overview of the Agency and gain insight into the many different factors that impact on the policy making process.

The Graduate Program is an excellent way to enter AusAID. The training and work opportunities that are offered to Graduates are unique and provide a good launching point for a career in the Agency.