Apply Now for the Indo-Pacific Cooperation Network!
Applications are now open for the third cohort of the Indo-Pacific Cooperation Network!
This is a fully paid programme, involving study tours to Japan, the South Pacific, and Australia over the course of 2026 to examine disaster resilience.
The guidelines and application form are available by clicking on the button below. For more information about the program click “Discover.” To read about network participants from earlier cohorts, click “meet.”
To understand our selection process, read on.
How We Select
Making the First Cut
During the initial round of our selection process, we ascertain whether candidates meet the basic criteria, by assessing their connection to the region, their interest in disaster resilience, and their status as an early-career professional. Generally, the Indo-Pacific Cooperation Network is open to citizens or residents of countries in the Indo-Pacific, although we may make an exception if the either the candidate has a strong link to the region or their country of citizenship or residence has policies that indicate a strong Indo-Pacific orientation. We also examine the application for evidence that disaster resilience is a focus of the applicant’s career or whether the applicant by other means, for example, volunteer work or publications, can demonstrate an interest in a field related to disaster resilience. Once applications have met the basic criteria, they are assessed in the next step in the process.
Demonstrating Future Impact
The next step in the process is to assess whether the candidates have the potential to make an impact in their area related to disaster resilience. The questions we will ask at this stage depend on the field or profession of each individual candidate. Does the candidate work for an international organisation where they might work to shape the rules around disaster resilience? Will they likely contribute in future to domestic government policy on resilience? Will they likely contribute to public debate through the media or academic work? Can they change minds in the private sector? We’re looking for people who see this program as a long-term learning experience, who will integrate the lessons they learn on this program into the work in their own profession or field for years to come.
Selecting the Network
The last phase in the selection process is crucial. Here we assess whether candidates will provide a unique enough view to bring value to the other members and the network overall and whether they will complement the new cohort. At this stage in the process, we will have identified a wealth of candidates who would be fit for the program on merit. But the Indo-Pacific Cooperation Network is built around people with different backgrounds, professional focus, and different points of view. We are not simply creating a group of likeminded researchers at the top of one field, but a group where each member has something distinctive to offer others in the network. If your outlook, background, or profession gives you a unique position among those who work on resilience, it is a distinct advantage. It is also a good idea in your application to demonstrate, through, for example, volunteer activities outside of work, that you are ready to be part of a network larger than yourself. Candidates who are citizens or residents of Australia will be given more favourable consideration if they are members of the AIIA.
