Global Student Fellowship Program
The Australian Human Rights Institute’s Global Student Fellowship Program enables UNSW students from any faculty to undertake a paid fellowship with a leading international development or human rights-based organisation. The fellowship provides students with experience in building a career pathway into human rights and development, and to grow their network.
Through philanthropic support, the Institute provides AU$6,500 to each student selected to support their six-week fellowship. The fellowship provides students with an opportunity to experience first-hand how leading rights-based and international development organisations operate. Students will be actively involved in the day-to-day operations of the organisation, with a focus on research and/or policy development. Fellows will not receive academic credit for this program.
The 2024 program also supports an identified fellowship for a student with a disability, funded by the Disability Innovation Institute. For this fellowship, additional funding is available on top of the standard fellowship award to cover the costs of necessary disability support.
Key dates 2024/25
- Monday, 5 August – applications open
- 5pm Sunday, 1 September – applications close
- Mid-late September – shortlisted interviews
- October – successful candidates notified
- Mid-late November – Global Student Fellowship Information session
- December 2024 – February 2025 – Fellowship period
2024/2025 fellowship opportunities
- Blue Dragon Children's Foundation - Hanoi, Vietnam
- Human Rights Watch Australia - Sydney, Australia
- International Organization for Migration | UN Migration - various locations, Thailand
- Jubilee Australia - Sydney, Australia
- Justice and Equity Centre (formerly PIAC) - Sydney, Australia
- Australian Human Rights Commission - Sydney, Australia
- Amnesty International - Sydney, Australia
- Engineers Without Borders - Melbourne, Australia; Dili, Timor-Leste; Phnom Penh, Cambodia; or Port Vila, Vanuatu
- Indonesia Ocean Justice Initiative - Jakarta, Indonesia (with some regional travel)
Detailed information on 2024/2025 fellowship opportunities is available in the FAQs section.
How it will work
Once students have been selected to participate in the Global Student Fellowship Program, the Institute Program Team will advise them of the host organisation they have been selected for. They will be introduced to the relevant host and will be required to attend the Fellowship Information Session in October. The dates/timing of the placement will be determined in coordination with the relevant organisation. Fellowships will be completed between December-February.
2022 Global Student Fellow Sherine Al Shallah with colleagues at Citizen’s Constitutional Forum, Fiji.
The Institute is committed to supporting an engaging and inclusive learning environment for all fellowship recipients, and the Institute Program Team will be on hand to support all fellows throughout the program.
The Institute is grateful for the support of its generous philanthropic donors and UNSW partners, including:
- The Ingram Fund for International Law and Development (established by James Ingram AO, former Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme)
- The Louise Brown Memorial Award (established to remember the life and work of UNSW student Louise Odette Brown)
- Kate Harrison (Advisory Committee member of the Australian Human Rights Institute and partner at Gilbert & Tobin)
- Scientia Professor Louise Chappell (former director of the Australian Human Rights Institute)
Support the Global Student Fellowship Program
You can support our work by making a donation here.
