API Bursaries
Summary
API offers a bursary program to students undertaking degree level studies in engineering relevant to the power industry at particular Australian universities as follows:
- Available to current first year students
- studying electrical or mechanical engineering
- or studying a mix of electrical/mechanical engineering subjects and
other subjects e.g. telecommunications/computing.
- In exceptional circumstances, bursaries may also be awarded to students who are in the second year of their program.
- Available to students in QLD, NSW, VICTORIA, TASMANIA, SA and WA.
- Bursary value is $8000 OVER 4 YEARS.
- Preferential paid vocation employment potential value of over $20,000.
- Summary of vocation work 2008~2009 for: SA, QLD, VIC, NSW, WA, TASMANIA.
- Quotations from students placed in vocational employment:Download.
- Resources:
Applications
The API Bursary is now closed for 2009
A sample of a successful Bursary Application can be downloaded by clicking here.
The outcome of the selection process will be notified by email to all applicants by Friday 14th August 2009. Please refer to the API website for updates on the Bursary process.
Selection Process
A selection panel, will coordinate the selection process and ultimately select the bursary recipients. There is currently a commitment for the funding of at least 50 new bursaries; however, the actual number of bursaries awarded will depend on the success in obtaining additional sponsors.
Bursary Value
The bursaries would be paid at a rate of $1000 per year in the student's first year, $2000 in their second and third years and $3000 in their fourth year of study, subject to performance in previous years. This is to provide an appropriate level of incentive as students progress through the course.
The Bursary Program
A prominent, long-term issue confronting the power industry today is the small number of students choosing to study the discipline of power engineering, and the level of quality of those students.
There is a recognised scarcity of engineering graduates with power industry oriented skills, who choose to work in the power industry. Through the API Bursary Program, API aims to address this issue in collaboration with relevant universities across Australia and industry.
Industry sponsored bursaries reinforce the message to prospective students that excellent employment opportunities exist for power engineering graduates. The bursary program aims to:
- Attract students into areas of study in engineering subjects of relevance to the power industry at universities across Australia which are of benefit to the power industry, which, in turn will increase the number of quality graduates available for employment within industry; and
- Align studies in power engineering at particular universities with the needs of industry to ensure that graduates are well equipped to be productive employees and build successful careers in this field. A particular focus will be given by the participating universities to developing the asset management skills of bursary holders.
The program brings together a number of organisations who are prepared to support the development of graduates with specialised power engineering skills. As a result, each organisation will be exposed to a pool of high quality graduates for recruitment purposes, enabling them to find the student who 'best fits' their organisation.
The bursaries are available to full-time students undertaking a Bachelor of Engineering, or equivalent, at an approved Australian university who are able to demonstrate continuing alignment with the power industry. The bursaries will be paid to the recipients as a study stipend over the duration of their course.
Sponsors would be encouraged to offer bursary holders paid vacation employment work experience to further strengthen the efforts of the bursary program. The bursary holders would be encouraged to take advantage of such opportunities as they arise. We would also look to create networking opportunities between bursary holders and industry partners, where appropriate.
The Bursary Selection Process
As the key purpose of the API Bursary Program is to attract high quality students into areas of engineering relevant to the power industry, the main avenue of promotion will be through secondary schools. Participating universities would be expected to be actively engaged in promotion of the bursary scheme to high schools (via avenues such as school visits) and within their engineering student cohort with the aim of heightening interest in power engineering and reinforcing the significant career opportunities which exist.
The program will be promoted to Year 12 students, but bursary recipients will be selected in the second semester of their first year in the Bachelor of Engineering degree, or equivalent. In exceptional circumstances, bursaries may also be awarded to students who are in the second year of their program. The bursary recipients will be selected based on merit (eg tertiary entrance result) and a written application demonstrating both their interest and potential commitment to working in the power industry. It is expected that a minimum average grade for subjects of above average/credit(no subject failures) would be maintained by bursary holders throughout the course to retain the bursary. Bursary recipients would also be expected to maintain an interest in power engineering and engagement with industry during their course. Special consideration to these conditions may be given under particular circumstances, as agreed by the selection panel.
There is no obligation on the bursary holders, upon graduation, to seek employment with any sponsor company; neither is there any obligation upon the sponsor companies to offer to any bursary holder professional employment upon graduation.
Bursary holders may be excluded from the scheme if they accept scholarships or bursaries that would preclude them from undertaking vacation employment or permanent employment upon graduation with the sponsor companies. Examples of such exclusion are bonded scholarships, scholarships with companies which are not API bursary sponsors, and scholarships or bursaries with companies that operate in businesses that are not aligned with the power engineering focus of the API sponsors. However, bursary holders will not be precluded from accepting merit awards such as university or industry prizes that carry no obligation with respect to vacation employment or professional employment upon graduation.
A selection panel, will coordinate the selection process and ultimately select the bursary recipients. The number of bursaries will depend on success in obtaining additional sponsors, current commitments are for at least 50 new bursaries per year.
Sponsored By
| Company | Website Address |
|---|---|
| Governor Members | |
| Country Energy | countryenergy.com.au |
| Delta Electricity | de.com.au |
| Energex Limited | energex.com.au |
| Energy Australia | energy.com.au |
| Ergon Energy Corporation | ergon.com.au |
| Integral Energy | integral.com.au |
| Macquarie Generation | macgen.com.au |
| Powerlink Queensland | powerlink.com.au |
| SP AusNet | sp-ausnet.com.au |
| Transend | transend.com.au |
| Transgrid | transgrid.com.au |
| Western Power | wpcorp.com.au |
| Principal Members | |
| ABB Australia | abbaustralia.com.au |
| AEMO | aemo.com.au |
| Aurora Energy | auroraenergy.com.au |
| Aurecon | aurecon.com |
| CS Energy | csenergy.com.au |
| ElectraNet | electranet.com.au |
| ETSA Utilities | etsautilities.com.au |
| Stanwell Energy Corporation | stanwell.com |
| Tarong Energy Corporation | tarongenergy.com.au |
| Verve Energy | verveenergy.com.au |
| Wilson Transformers | wtc.com.au |
| Industry Promotions Members | |
| AREVA | areva-td.com | John Holland Power | johnholland.com.au |
| United Group Infrastructure | unitedgroupltd.com |
| PB Power | pb.com.au |
| Tenix Alliance | tenixalliance.com.au |
| Allaince Power and Data | alliancepoweranddata.com.au |