The Australia Awards Sri Lanka programme has opened applications for a short-course called Bridging Research to Policy scheduled for 2025. Funded by the Australian Government, this course is designed to strengthen the connection between research, evidence-based policy design and implementation, and national development outcomes.

The application deadline for this Short Course is 16 November 2025 and up to 20 participants will be selected as Short Course recipients. After completing the short course, participants will be able to apply the knowledge and abilities they have acquired to create recommendations and implementation strategies for policies.

The course will be delivered in three components between February and April 2026.

• Preliminary Activities: 2-3 days from 16-18 February 2026

• Core Learning Elements (in-Australia): 2-13 March 2026

• Applied Learning Activity: 2-3days from 27-29 April 2026

All dates and locations are tentative, and more information will be provided at the time of selection.

Eligibility Criteria

General Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must :

• be a citizen of Sri Lanka and currently residing in Sri Lanka.

• not be applying for or hold permanent residency in either Australia or New Zealand, or be married, engaged to, or a de facto of a person who holds, or is eligible to hold, Australian or New Zealand citizenship or permanent residency. This criterion applies at any stage of the application, selection or mobilisation phases of the course.

• be able to provide attested documents for processing a visa application to enter Australia for the duration of the Australian component of the course and satisfy all requirements of the Department of Home Affairs for an Australian Student Visa (Subclass 500).

• be able to obtain the necessary study and travel approvals from their employer for the time commitment required, as outlined above.

• be able to commit to completing a Return-to-Work Plan (RWP).

• have access to the internet and be computer literate.

• not be a currently serving military personnel.

Further Eligibility Criteria

Candidates who can demonstrate the potential to apply the knowledge and experience gained through course participation are encouraged to apply. Selected candidates will be required to complete their negotiated ‘Return-to-Work Plan’ which will involve the implementation of observations and learnings obtained throughout the Short Course.

To be eligible candidates must :

• hold a strategic role in the respective organisation.

• have a minimum of at least two years in their current role or relevant work experience.

• not be retiring or being considered for transfer for at least one year from the conclusion of the Short Course.

• not have undertaken an Australia Awards Short Course in the last two years.

• be assessed as having a strong level of English to be able to participate in this course.

• be committed and available to participate in each of the three major components of the Short Course by ensuring release from usual professional duties during the course delivery phases due to its demanding subject matter.

Women, people of diverse ethnicity, ability/disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics are all encouraged to apply.

Application Process

Apply the course by following the following procedure:

• Register and access the online application on the Australia Awards South Asia and Mongolia Course application portal.

• Select Bridging Research to Policy from the drop-down menu as the course option.

• All applications should be completed and submitted online; no paper applications will be accepted.

• All required supporting documents need to be uploaded at the time of submission.

Only complete applications submitted by 16 November 2025 will be considered for assessment.

For more information, email inquiries@australiaawardssrilanka.org and visit the official Australia Awards website for Bridging Research to Policy 2 to find out more about the Selection Criteria and Selection Process.