When a Bhutanese road professional returned home from a SARIC training course in Australia, the experience did not end with a certificate. Instead, he began applying Australian road asset management strategies to live projects, sharing new approaches with colleagues and building connections with peers from seven South Asian countries. On a personal level, the course created something less easily captured in a log frame: friendships, access to researchers, and a professional network that continued long after the training ended.

That combination of technical skill and regional connection sits at the heart of the South Asia Regional Infrastructure Connectivity Training and Networking Services programme, known as SARIC TNS. Funded by the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and managed by Palladium, SARIC TNS ran from December 2021 to July 2026 with the goal of strengthening the people and institutions behind South Asia’s energy, transport and connectivity infrastructure.

The programme was designed around a simple idea: better regional infrastructure depends not only on finance and policy, but on the professionals who plan, regulate, design and operate it. SARIC TNS worked with mid- to senior-level decision-makers across Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, bringing together officials, private sector professionals, academics and civil society actors around practical training and sustained networking.

Its goals were tied to two broader outcomes: supporting a pipeline of quality energy and transport connectivity investments and enabling individuals and institutions connected to SARIC to contribute to cross-border exchange and connectivity projects. The evidence in the end-of-project report shows that SARIC TNS met, and in several areas exceeded, its direct training and networking targets. It also made a credible contribution to the wider investment outcomes SARIC was designed to support, particularly by strengthening the skills, relationships and regional habits of collaboration needed for quality infrastructure planning.

Practical Training

Over four years, SARIC TNS delivered 17 short courses against a target of 10, reaching 483 professionals across South Asia. Courses covered technical and emerging priorities including road safety, dam safety, regional power markets, renewable energy, green hydrogen, digitalised supply chains, disaster-resilient infrastructure, building codes and women’s leadership in transport and logistics. Participants rated courses an average of 4.3 out of 5, reflecting consistently high satisfaction across a diverse and technically demanding portfolio.

The practical nature of the training was a defining feature. Across the 17 courses, participants took part in 61 site visits, far exceeding the target of 20, with field visits rated 4.3 out of 5 on average. For many, these visits turned infrastructure concepts into practical reference points, whether through exposure to Australian road safety systems, renewable energy integration, port operations, dam safety practices or tunnel boring machinery used in hydropower projects.

The results suggest that participants did not simply attend; they learned. Post-training surveys showed a 72% increase in self-reported knowledge across cohorts. Through the SARIC in Workplace component, 96.2% of participants contributed to presentations that translated course learning into country-specific plans, allowing them to identify local challenges and propose practical ways to apply new knowledge at home.

That translation from classroom to workplace is where SARIC’s human impact becomes visible. A participant in the Digitalization of Supply Chains and Logistics course reported beginning discussions with sustainability teams on how artificial intelligence could support energy efficiency and waste reduction at ports. A Road Safety Management alumnus described routinely applying a gender lens to new projects, including around street lighting and police vigilance. A Green Hydrogen Study Tour participant from Nepal pointed to the potential of regional integration to make green hydrogen products more commercially viable, linking Nepal’s resources with Australian innovation.
SARIC TNS also placed inclusion at the centre of its design.

Of the 483 alumni, 303 were women, representing 62.7% of the network and significantly exceeding the programme’s 30% target for women and third-gender participation. GEDSI considerations were integrated into all courses, and women-only programmes, including SAR100, SAR100 2.0 and Women Trailblazers, trained 230 women professionals, building technical capability, leadership confidence and peer support across the region.

Building a Better Network

For one SAR100 2.0 participant, the value was both professional and personal. “The training provided me with a unique opportunity to network with women professionals from South Asia,” she said. “I now feel confident in knowing I have friends from different countries who will support me whenever I need advice personally or professionally.”

Networking was not treated as an add-on. SARIC TNS built an alumni network, including a WhatsApp community of 419 alumni, and convened in-person and virtual events across the region. Sixty-six per cent of alumni attended virtual or in-person events, exceeding the target of 60%, while the overall quality of the alumni community and engagement was rated 4.3 out of 5.

Those networks connected South Asian professionals to each other and to their Australian counterparts. The programme established 363 Australian public and private sector contacts across courses, against a target of 100. Participants rated the usefulness of Australian public sector contacts at 4.2 out of 5 and private sector contacts at 4.1 out of 5. The report notes examples of alumni continuing to engage with Australian experts after training, including for research, technical advice and regional events.

The programme also aligned with a changing regional context. During its implementation, South Asia saw renewed momentum around cross-border energy trade, transport connectivity, climate resilience and digital infrastructure, alongside periods of political disruption. SARIC TNS responded by keeping courses demand-driven and closely aligned with priorities identified by DFAT, the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation.

As SARIC TNS closes, its strongest legacy may be the community it leaves behind: nearly 500 infrastructure professionals connected across borders, sectors and institutions, with a shared vocabulary around quality, resilience, inclusion and regional cooperation. The programme’s direct targets were met and most were surpassed. The deeper test — whether alumni continue to turn knowledge and relationships into better infrastructure decisions — will play out over time.

But SARIC TNS closes with the foundations in place and evidence that capacity building can move beyond the classroom into the systems that shape people’s lives.