Australia announces Endeavour Awards

Australia announces Endeavour AwardsNew Delhi, May 15: The Australian Government has announced the Prime Minister''s Australia Asia Endeavour Awards to provide scholarships for the best university students from Australia and Asia.

Australia''s High Commissioner to India, John McCarthy said: "I am sure that India will provide some of the best and deserving candidates for these scholarships. The scholarships will help strengthen the educational links between our two countries. Indian students have shown a keen interest in studying in Australia in recent years and India is now the second top-source country for Australia''s international education industry, with over97,000 Indian enrolments in Australia in 2008".

"This initiative will support a heightened relationship with future leaders in the region in years to come. The Australian governmentis committing$14.9million over four years to establish this scholarship program and I am confident that this will yield beneficial results," McCarthy added.

Australia offers a range of study and research scholarships and awards available to candidates in the Asia Pacific region, and 102 Indian students have received these awards in the past 18 months.

The Prime Minister''s Awards highlight the increasing importance of education to the Australia-India relationship. Australia is also committed to strengthening links between Australian and Indian educational institutions to further the growing bilateral relationship.

The Endeavour Awards are the Australian Government''s internationally competitive, meritbased scholarship program providing opportunities for citizens of the Asia-Pacific, Middle East, Europe and the Americas to undertake study, research and professional development in any field of study in Australia. Awards are also available for Australians to do the same abroad.

The Australian Government recently announced a new scholarship program as part of its response to the 2020 Summit. The Prime Minister''s Australia Asia Endeavour Awards will provide scholarships for the ''best and brightest'' university students from Australia and Asia. These scholarships will support a heightened relationship for future leaders which can be expected as their careers progress.

The Government is committing $14.9 million over four years to establish this scholarship program.

Commencing in 2010, forty scholarships will be awarded annually, twenty at undergraduate level and twenty at postgraduate level, to allow Australian university students to undertake up to one year of study in Asia, which can be followed by an internship or work placement in Asia. Ten scholarships will also be awarded to the top international Endeavour Awards scholars from Asia each year.

The following have been identified as priorities for both incoming and outgoing scholars: China (including Hong Kong and Macau SARs); India; Indonesia; Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Republic of Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. (ANI)