Alumni Disability Advisory Group
With the aim to support and improve disability inclusion practices across the Australia Awards – South Asia & Mongolia program, an Alumni Disability Advisory Group has been established, consisting of Australia Awards alumni from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. In addition to highlighting their own contributions and leadership stories, the Group provides a platform for discussions surrounding key issues on disability inclusion and build on these synergies to seek innovative solutions to eliminate barriers.
The Group works in collaboration with the Australia Awards – South Asia & Mongolia program during the Scholarship cycle to provide support to people with disability and create a network that helps build the confidence of people with disability to apply for Australia Awards Scholarships.
Members of the Alumni Disability Advisory Group
Alumna Nurun Nahar Nupur is a Bangladeshi educator and disability inclusion practitioner, with over a decade of experience working in the field of special education. She is the Founder and Managing Director of Positive Thinking, a school and training centre in Bangladesh that supports children with autism and other neurodevelopmental disabilities to develop communication, learning and life skills. With the assistance of an Australia Awards Alumni Support Grant, Nupur led the development of an innovative audio‑visual learning curriculum in Bangla and English, designed specifically for children who are visual learners. The curriculum integrates audio, visual and sign language components and is accessible via computers and smartphones. It includes 34 Bengali and English chapters featuring letters, numbers, vocabulary, and everyday concepts such as animals, food, colours and places. The primary objective of this initiative is to strengthen communication skills and support the integration of children with disability into mainstream education.
Alumnus Cheten Tshering is a Teacher at Wangsel Institute for the Deaf. He completed a Master of Education (Special Education) at Flinders University in 2020. He also received an Australia Awards Alumni Engagement Grant in 2024 to implement activities to empower deaf people and conduct awareness programs about deaf culture and deafness to educate communities.
Alumna Byamba Enkhtur completed a Master of Education (Special Education) at Flinders University in 2019 with the support of an Australia Awards Scholarship. She credits her Australian education and alumni experience with strengthening her capabilities in pedagogic and psycho‑neurolinguistic approaches, particularly in using assistive technology to build confidence, communication and self‑esteem among children with disability.
Alumnus Manil Raj Maharjan is a mental health and rehabilitation professional from Nepal. He is an Australian Counselling Association certified counsellor, with extensive experience in psychosocial support, suicide prevention, mental health advocacy and psychology education, having worked with organisations including the Transcultural Psychosocial Organization Nepal, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Nepal and Saraswati Multiple Campus. Manil is passionate about advancing inclusive mental health services, particularly for people with disability, drawing on both his professional expertise and his lived experience as a person with visual impairment. He recently completed a Master of Counselling, Rehabilitation and Mental Health at La Trobe University, and is committed to promoting equitable access to mental health and disability support services across Nepal and the region.
A strong advocate for the inclusion of people with disability in the development process, Pallav’s efforts have resulted in the implementation of accessible public toilets in safe spaces. He has also conducted a series of discussions related to Disability Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction and organised various drills and first aid programs involving first responders to spread awareness about the issues people with disability face during disasters.
Alumnus Tuan Cassim is currently employed at ImpactEra as a Global Disability Inclusion and AI Productivity Specialist. He completed a Master of Disability Policy and Practice at Flinders University in 2024. The knowledge, skills and experience he gained during his Australia Awards Scholarship have been instrumental in shaping his approach to his work. His education and professional exposure in Australia have provided him with the tools to implement his Development Impact and Linkages Plan effectively, enabling him to contribute meaningfully to inclusive employment and social change in Sri Lanka.
Previous Alumni Disability Advisory Group Webinar material
In March 2022, the Alumni Disability Advisory Group held its first webinar to discuss their post Australia Awards Scholarship experience and shared their recommendations with the Australia Awards – South Asia & Mongolia Program on supporting scholars and alumni with disability. The COVID-19 pandemic brought not just unprecedented challenges for them but also highlighted their strengths and resilience to adapt and overcome these challenges, which they share during the discussion. The members spoke about their lives after completing their Scholarships, their contributions to their countries upon return and leadership stories, with an aim to inspire Australia Awards alumni, scholars and future applicants.
The recording and transcript of the webinar have been made available in the below link for Australia Awards alumni, scholars and future applicants looking to learn more about support available for people with disability.