AustCham China Scholarship History

Starting from humble beginnings, AustCham Beijing’s trainee placement structure formed under partnership with AIESEC Australia and AIESEC China in 2005. The Australia-China Young Leaders Program (ACYLP) was the first of its kind to provide a dedicated ‘China focused’ program for Australian graduates. In its short history the program provided over 35 Australians with work placement opportunities across mainland China. Many of these individuals have since continued their careers in China by taking up management positions in some of Australia’s best known companies.

Since 2005, the economic and human capital landscape of China has evolved dramatically. With many Australian companies seeking to localise their workforce by seeking staff with bi-lingual abilities and firm knowledge of both western and Chinese cultures. In light of this, it was clear that the program would need to evolve with the changing macroeconomic conditions.

In early 2010 a complete overhaul of the ACYLP was proposed and from it the AustCham China Scholarship was formed. In direct response to the changing Chinese labour market, the Scholarship would continue to provide work placements but would also include the critical elements of formal Mandarin language and cultural training. To support the program AustCham Beijing would partner with the Australia-China Council (part of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) whom would provide the financial support enabling us to add additional services to the Scholarship package. Along with continued support from the National Australia Bank, the AustCham China Scholarship would now provide a comprehensive range of services and opportunities for scholarship recipients.

With the establishment of the new financial structure of the program, the next step was to enlist the participation of Australia’s largest companies in China. This signaled one of the greatest shifts for the AustCham China Scholarship program. With the previous program focusing on small-to-medium enterprises, the Scholarship now exclusively targeted top tier Australian and international companies in China with an emphasis on market leaders within each sector. This shift of focus dramatically increased the profile of the program which is now attracting the brightest and most enthusiastic graduates.

2011 saw 15 exceptional young Australians begin comprehensive scholarship opportunities with a number of Australian companies across Greater China. Of these 15 Scholars, over half have gone on to secure full time positions as a direct result of initiatives introduced by the AustCham China Scholarship.  

After receiving over 150 applications from 25 Universities across Australia, 8 candidates have successfully secured a position with respected companies in China in 2012.   AustCham Beijing looks forward to seeing the young Australians grow and prosper in the coming year.   In the meantime AustCham will initiate the 2013 AustCham China Scholarship. With intensive marketing taking place across 25 Australian universities, combined with the assistance of several key student based organisations and industry groups. This year the AustCham China Scholarship aims to increase application numbers and ensure the success of the program into the future. AustCham Beijing is very excited to be taking the program to a new level for the year of the dragon.