Development projects was the basis of the company when IDP
Education Pty Ltd (IDP) was first set up as the Australian-Asian
Universities Cooperation Scheme. Since 1969, IDP has managed and
implemented more than 400 international development projects in
over 40 countries.
For the first 15 years, IDP was directly funded by the
Australian International Development Assistance Bureau (AIDAB - the
forerunner of AusAID). This Australian Government funding started
at $100,000 in 1969 and peaked at $8.5 million in 1989. Initiatlly,
activities focused on developing teaching and research in
agriculture in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand.
Later, IDP offered support in the form of consultancies, curriculum
development and fellowships training in Australia.
In 1991, the existing arrangements with the Government changed,
and IDP commenced tendering for projects from AusAID. The
Philippines-Australia Science and Mathematics Project and the
Philippine-Australia Technical and Vocational Education Project
were the first major AusAID projects won by IDP in open tender.
In 1996, IDP refocussed its development activities on large,
multi-sectional projects resulting in a number of successful major
bids, including 1998’s Medical Equipment and Management Project
(MEMP) in Papua New Guinea (for AusAID), and the Social
Administration Project in Bulgaria (for the World Bank).
Scholarship, fellowship and short-term training programs have
also been important for IDP since the mid-1970s. The late 1980s
were a peak period for AIDAB-funded scholarships, with more than
100 Indonesian fellows arriving aboard one plane. IDP has managed
such programs with a wide range of countries including in Africa
and the Middle East.
Today IDP undertakes international development projects
focussed on human resource development through education on behalf
of host governments in developing countries and funding agencies
such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Australian
Agency for International Development (AusAID), the Australian
Department of Defence and the Australian Department of
Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.
We also design and manage scholarship and short-term training
programs for overseas governments and corporations to support their
education and training needs.
