Philippa Woolf Scholarships

Applications opening soon!

About the Scholarship

Overview

We’re thrilled to announce that applications for Philippa Woolf Scholarships for 2025 are opening on 1 April!

This scholarship program, in partnership with ACIM Solutions, will support 14 women in emergency management to complete the Incident Response Leader skill set.

What’s included?

Two accredited units:

  • PUAOPE012 – Control a Level 1 Incident
  • PUAOPE015 – Conduct Briefings and Debriefings

These units can contribute towards a Diploma of Public Safety (Emergency Management).

Participants will study as a cohort online in June-July 2025 over five half-day sessions, creating new networks and peer relationships.

This Scholarship is designed for women newer to leadership roles, helping them develop key skills, confidence, and networks in emergency management.

Key Dates

  • 1 April – Applications Open
  • 30 April – Applications Close
  • June-July – Study Period (5 x ½ day sessions – 4 to 7:30pm AEST on 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th June and 1st July 2025)

Who Can Apply?

To be eligible, applicants must be:

  • A member of AWE Network
  • A paid or volunteer professional in emergency management or a supporting organisation
  • An Australian citizen with a Unique Student Identifier (USI), or have an appropriate study visa to train in Australia
  • Committed to attending all five study sessions

Applications will be reviewed based on location diversity and responses to the nomination statement.

Questions? Contact [email protected] or [email protected].

About Philippa Woolf

Philippa Woolf has a strong background in emergency management at both an operational and senior level, including 26 years at NSW Police. Philippa also has international experience working with agencies such as Scotland Yard, London Metropolitan Police, Essex Police and Bramshill Police College on a number of employee management and leadership related projects.

Philippa generously provides scholarships through ACIM Solutions and AWE Network to provide women in the emergency management sector with opportunities to develop their leadership skills.

 

Hear from previous recipients

I’d like to thank Philippa and the team at AWE for my scholarship opportunity to complete my Diploma of Public Safety and Emergency Management.  With my current role in Disaster Management at Local Government, the Diploma was and will be imperative for coordinating and facilitating disaster events in our region. I work closely with emergency services and believe the skills I have  gained will ensure we assist our community and environment in the best way possible. Being a working parent it can be hard to fit in extra study, but I was very excited to finish the Diploma with the assistance of the AWE team. I strongly encourage anyone who is thinking of applying for a scholarship to go ahead!

Donna

I received the Philippa Wolfe Scholarship to complete my Diploma in Public Safety during 2020. I have struggled in the past to stay committed to studies, but this opportunity was completely different. I felt incredibly supported to complete each subject and Philippa was very understanding when work, life got in the way (working in Emergency Management during 2020 that happened a lot!). It aligned perfectly with what I had going on at work so majority of the assessments and what I learnt in each subject has been used in practice. I would like to thank AWE and Philippa for this opportunity to get my head down and finally finish my diploma. I have learnt so much and inspired to use my new skills to improve our overall preparedness, prevention, response, and recovery.  Can’t wait to continue with my studies and further develop my knowledge in Emergency Management.                 

Alicia 

Studying with ACIM Solutions through the Philippa Woolf scholarship has been great – the team are very flexible and supportive to make sure you can work and study at the same time. Philippa has a wealth of knowledge stretching across the Emergency Management sector which is captured in the learning resources and shared during tutorials. I would encourage others to apply for this scholarship and/or studying with ACIM Solutions. It is a great way to deepen your knowledge of the Emergency Management sector. A great part of studying with them is that the teaching and assessments are tailored to your State, Agency and Role. As a result, you get useful knowledge that you can apply straight away to your work/ volunteer role. The one-on-one tutorials are a great chance to absorb the subject matter, but also get some tailored professional development advice from someone with expertise in the sector. Really enjoying the opportunity to study with ACIM and looking forward to working through more of the Advanced Diploma subjects this year.                   

Christina