Australia Awards South and West Asia

In 2025, Australia Awards continued to support Maldives’ development priorities by equipping emerging leaders with skills, networks and leadership experience to drive meaningful change. The 2025 Year in Review highlights the impact of Australia Awards Scholarships, short-term training and alumni engagement in Maldives.

Key highlights from 2025, as presented in the Year in Review, include

:

• Fifteen Maldivians (11 women and four men) completed their Australia Awards Scholarships in 2025 and returned home as alumni to apply their learning to support Maldives’ development priorities.
• Twenty emerging leaders from Maldives received Scholarships for study commencing in 2026.
• Scholars from Maldives participated in various Indigenous engagement activities across Australia, learning about the history, culture and achievements of Australia’s First Nations peoples.
• More than 580 participants took part in alumni engagement activities in Maldives, including an opportunity to meet the Hon Richard Marles MP, Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister, during his visit to Maldives.
• Australia Awards supported seven representatives of the Maldives Space Research Organisation to attend the International Astronautical Federation Workshop and the International Astronautical Congress in Australia through an Australian Professional Opportunity.
• Scholars, Short Course participants and alumni strengthened their capacity to respond to the challenge of climate change through targeted initiatives.

Reflecting on her Australia Awards experience, Maldivian alumna Uswath Ahmed, who completed a Master of Laws at the Australian National University in 2025, said, “While studying at the Australian National University, I had the opportunity to engage with leading experts in my field and cultivate meaningful professional relationships that have significantly contributed to my academic and professional development.”

Access the full report: 2025 Year in Review – Maldives.