Inder Kaur Reconciliation Scholarship

The Inder Kaur Reconciliation Scholarship provides up to $10,000 per year, for up to two years. For Certificate IV and diploma students, the program duration may include a sequence where you articulate from Certificate IV to a diploma and then into an advanced diploma in the same field.

To be eligible for this scholarship you must:

• be an Australian Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
• identify as a woman
• be enrolled full-time in the standard semester 1 and 2 at RMIT in a certificate IV, diploma or degree program
• be able to demonstrate financial disadvantage such as:
  • receiving a government tested low income benefit or having a Centrelink Health Care Card
• be able to demonstrate educational disadvantage such as:
  • having a long-term medical condition or disability which impacts your study
  • have previously/are currently living in foster/kinship care or are a ward of the state
  • experiencing difficult family/social circumstances
  • have/will be relocating from interstate or rural/regional Victoria to study at RMIT
  • completed your secondary education at a School Network Access Program school
• register with Ngarara Willim Centre and provide documentation showing that you are an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander by the close date. Proof of Aboriginality must be from a recognised Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander community organisation and must have a common seal
• be passionate about your education.

The online application form will be provided here when applications open. In order to be considered for this scholarship, you must submit a complete online application. Partial applications will not be assessed.

Supporting documentation

Depending on your circumstances, you will need to provide different types of evidence and material to support your scholarship application. Applications without supporting documents will not be considered.

Please visit Supporting documentation for more information.

You will also need:

• A copy of your academic transcript if you studied at an institution other than RMIT.

Application questions

If you are shortlisted for the scholarship, you will be contacted to answer further application questions. Please check the email address you nominate in your scholarship application form at least twice per week. The questions are listed below to allow you time to prepare your answers in advance.

• Discuss your passion for studying in your chosen field, including the steps you have taken to achieve your educational goals.
• What are your future plans and career aspirations?
• How do you intend to use this scholarship and how will it assist you to achieve academic success?
• Discuss any difficult circumstances you have faced that have affected your education.

Find out more about applying for scholarships.

This scholarship will next be on offer for 2024. Applications are expected to open in August 2023.

Applications are now closed.

View the Coursework Scholarships Office’s terms and conditions.

Education was a passion for Inder Kaur. She was taken out of school in Rawalpindi after the 8th grade because she was a girl. After the partition of India in 1947, the family including her husband and three daughters left their ancestral home in Rawalpindi and became refugees. She began studying again, while helping to support her family.

Inder Kaur graduated with a Masters degree in Punjabi from the University of Delhi in 1958 when she was 47 years old. This was a rare accomplishment. She became the Founding Principal of three women's colleges in Punjab, India.

The Inder Kaur Scholarship is being established to honour her initiative, daring and persistence in following her dream of education.

Quotes from past recipients:

"I was able to use the scholarship for keeping up with expenses, security while studying overseas, the ability to purchase a new laptop for my studies and be up to date with all textbooks for the course. I am extremely grateful to have been chosen as the recipient of this scholarship and look forward to continuing on with my studies." - Bachelor of Criminology and Psychology student

Find out how to contact the Coursework Scholarships Office.