The ACS Foundation (ACS F) was established by the Australian Computer Society, in August 2001 to address a number of issues that had been identified:-

• University courses and their graduates were found to be not fully relevant to the needs of such a fast evolving industry as IT
• Graduates were not “work ready” and organisations generally had to invest at least 6 months in them before they became productive
• Industry organisations were tending to distance themselves from Universities, because they were not meeting their needs
• While the industry attracted many bright students, and they enrolled into IT courses, many drifted into other disciplines either during their course or on graduation
• The statistics for Sydney and Melbourne showed that up to 47% of new graduates left their employer in the first 12 months

The Australian Computer Society (ACS) felt that as it understood both the academic world and the industry it should establish a “value add” entity to service and grow this area.  If this entity could provide a better experience to the industry donors, they would be more inclined to support scholarships.  If the students had a better experience and they were more easily able to get employment on graduation, they would be more inclined to stay in the industry.  And, the eventual beneficiaries would be the industry itself, having more and better graduates with more industry relevant experience.

The ACS established the ACS Foundation as a totally separate legal and governance structure, it is a Designated Gift Recipient organisation of the ATO, with two broad scholarship programmes :-

• Grow A Graduate – where a donor organisation provides a scholarship for a student to do part, or all, of their course.  We encourage the donor to be very specific about their requirements – the type of student, their location, the type of course they are enrolled in and the skills they wish them to have when they complete their course.
• Work Integrated Learning (WIL) – where a donor organisation provides a scholarship for an undergraduate student to experience the real workplace on a full time basis over an extended period, up to 48 weeks.

These programmes have been enthusiastically received and supported by the IT industry.  Since its launch in August 2001, the ACS F has raised over $24 million in contributions, and has awarded over 1,700 scholarships.  In the 2008-2009 financial year it awarded over 430 scholarships worth more than $5.0 million.  Its students have achieved at a high level – around 35% have achieved all High Distinctions, and over 80% getting a Distinction average or better.

The ACS Foundation is Uniquely Positioned to Meet industry’s Needs to Support its Current Graduate Programme

The ACS Foundation WIL scholarship programme as described above is designed to compliment an organisation’s graduate recruitment programme.  It provides an opportunity for the organisation to evaluate which students are potentially well-matched to the culture and needs of that organisation, while at the same time providing the students with a unique and valuable learning experience.

How the ACS Foundation WIL Scholarship Programme Works

Flexibility and pragmatic are the words best to describe the ACS F scholarship programmes.  There is no “ACS F scholarship/internship model” as such – a question that is often asked.  Each organisation has the opportunity to construct the scholarship/internship model or models which best suits it and its various business units.  It is common that different parts of the business may have different requirements.  Part time or full time, the length of the scholarship/internship, who sources the applicants (the company, the ACS F or a combination of both), and whether the scholarships are aimed at undergraduates or post graduates are examples of just some of the ways scholarships/internships might be “customised” for an organisation or particular business units within it.  The ACS F scholarships are founded on flexibility, and the scholarships/internships are “owned” by the donor/partner organisation.

Again the scholarship/internship process is also flexible and able to be changed to meet a company’s requirements.  Below is a description of a “normal” ACS Foundation WIL scholarship/internship process.  We work with our donors to develop and agree a process that can be customised to best meet their unique requirements.

The normal process by which the WIL programme works is that once the donor makes the decision to proceed with a scholarship/s/internship/s, the ACS Foundation will raise and execute the ACS Foundation Donor Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the donor.  Once the scholarship/s/internship/s requirements have been decided by the donor, the scholarship/s will be advertised either via the media, throughout the ACS email lists, via academic focussed emails, or perhaps all of the above.  

Applications will be then sought, sorted, and a short list compiled by the ACS Foundation, and forwarded to the organisation.

The donor decides the level of involvement they wish to have in the interview and selection process, and interviews conducted.  This can be done on the basis that the ACS Foundation doesn’t participate, does participate, or is responsible for the whole selection process, according to the preference of the donor. Our donors can “outsource” their Student selection process down to the short list completely to us, if required.

Once the successful candidate/s have been selected, they sign the ACS Foundation Student Agreement.  The undergraduate applicants have normally completed 2 years of their 3 year degree course, and when successful in their WIL scholarship application, they spend up to one year in the donor organisation, and then return to their University to complete the final year of their degree.

The student is engaged with the organisation on the basis of a scholarship, which is paid to them regularly, and currently the favoured standard model is fortnightly over 52 weeks.  The donor needs to ensure that the scholarship funds have been paid to the ACS Foundation in advance.  The students are normally paid their scholarships via the University they are enrolled at.

The students are offered to their donors on a “first right of refusal” basis for employment following graduation, assuming the student is willing to be employed by their donor.

ACS Foundation Responsibilities

There are some responsibilities that are clearly those of the ACS Foundation, and some which are those of the donor.  However, mostly it is a process of discussion and agreement to reach a decision on the separation of responsibilities which make most sense for all parties.  Those decisions are then documented and distributed to ensure that each party is clear as to the division of responsibilities, and the processes by which the arrangement will operate.

Donor Responsibilities

Again it is a matter of discussion and agreement as to the exact distribution of responsibilities makes most sense for a particular donor/partner, but the main donor/partner responsibilities are determining and gaining internal approval for their scholarships/internships, mentoring and growing the student’s skills and experience while they are in their organisation, and assisting with establishing and documenting the objectives of their scholarship/internship period, and evaluation of the students performance during that period.

Cost of an ACS Foundation WIL Scholarship to the Donor

Each standard ACS F undergraduate WIL Scholarship/Internship will cost a donor $34,000 per year.  Of this amount $28,000 ( the exact amount is up to the discretion of the donor) is paid to the student on a fortnightly basis over 52 weeks.  The scholarship/internship is tax free to the student assuming that the student doesn’t have an additional source of income.  The remaining amount is used to cover administration related costs.

The Students are not employees of the donor organisation and as such do not incur the normal associated on-costs and overheads such as Workers Compensation, Sick Leave, Superannuation and Health Cover.  Those that are appropriate are covered by the University, and blanket policies they hold.

Benefits to the Donor, ACS Foundation and the Graduates

The Donor/Partner

The Donor has the benefit of being able to evaluate their students over an extended period (“try before they buy”), and to make a decision on which students they feel would be most suited to offering a position in their graduate programme.  As such and on the basis of past experience and research, it is felt that this will result in employees with a much higher level of loyalty to the Donor/Partner, and that loyalty will translate into better staff retention and less turn-over of employees and a reduction in the significant costs associated with staff recruitment and turn-over.

ACS Foundation

The benefits to the ACS Foundation are that it continues to grow and increase its relevancy to the IT industry and the professionals within that industry.  Growing an ever increasing base of highly skilled IT individuals will be a benefit to the industry and the whole economy.

The Graduates

The benefits to the graduates include ensuring they graduate not only with their degree qualifications, but with one year’s relevant valuable industry experience.  Research shows they gain better grades in their final year, and they have a better and more appreciated understanding of what is valued and required by their donor organisation and the industry.

Conclusion

The ACSF is a “value-adding” entity, seeking to ensure a high level of service and satisfaction to our partners.  We work closely with our industry partners to meet their requirements and to develop and deliver graduates who are work ready and with industry relevant skills.

Many of our partners are front-ending their graduate programme with our WIL scholarship programme, so ensuring that the graduates who are offered positions within the organisation are fully familiar with the organisation, and are happy to be offered employment in the organisation.

The ACS Foundation is a very flexible organisation, and it is important that while these programmes are generic by nature, the actual version implemented in a particular donor’s case belongs to them, and has been customised to meet their exact requirements.