Scholarships help students gain experience in Asia

Scholarships help University of Auckland students gain experience in Asia

Twenty-one students from the University of Auckland have secured $132,263 towards exchange and study programmes in Asian nations, in the latest round of Prime Minister’s Scholarships for Asia (PMSA), announced this week.

The University of Auckland received the largest share of funding both for individual student applications and for group applications. Overall, 140 awardees across New Zealand received over $850,000 in this round of scholarships.

Funded by the New Zealand government, the PMSA scholarship programme gives New Zealand students the opportunity to experience life in a different country and culture. Launched in 2013, the scheme aims to improve the internationalisation of tertiary intuitions and, by extension, the international skills of the New Zealand workforce.

The University’s International Office coordinated the scholarship applications. Director Brett Berquist says that it is a priority for the University to see as many students as possible gain international experience. “These scholarships go a long way towards helping students access overseas study opportunities that will prove invaluable as they progress their careers. Experience in Asia is particularly beneficial as it is such an important trading region for New Zealand.”

A group of ten University of Auckland students was awarded $65,000 for a six-week programme led by the Director of the Development Studies programme, Professor Andreas Neef: Post-Disaster Recovery Processes and Disaster Risk Management in Southeast Asia. The group departs on Sunday and will travel to Indonesia and Thailand.

A further 11 students were awarded funding for exchange or independent programmes with an average scholarship of nearly $6,000. Of these, seven students are completing their overseas study through the University’s 360° Auckland Abroad exchange programme, and will earn credit towards their University of Auckland degree while studying for a semester at the University’s partner institutions in Singapore, Hong Kong and China.

Going through the University’s official exchange programme paid off for students, with 88 percent of scholarship applicants from 360° Auckland Abroad receiving funding, compared to 27 percent of independent programme applicants. Four scholarships were awarded to University of Auckland students for independent (non-exchange) programmes. Of these, two awards were for Chinese language study in China and Taiwan.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor Jenny Dixon says that the scholarships will help the University of Auckland to strengthen strategic relationships in the Asian region. Professor Dixon visited China with Vice-Chancellor Stuart McCutcheon in April, where they met with a number of partner universities and alumni across the country.

“We have been discussing ways in which we can strengthen our relationships with our partners in Asia, and have been working closely with Education New Zealand to create more opportunities there for our students,” she said. Following on from contacts made during this visit, plans are underway to arrange meetings between scholarship recipients and alumni living in Beijing, Hong Kong and Singapore.

University of Auckland PMSA scholarship recipients:

Faculty of Arts (Development Studies, School of Social Sciences) – Group award for ten students to undertake six-week programme: Post-Disaster Recovery Processes and Disaster Risk Management in Southeast Asia.
Grace Hyosun Lee; exchange programme – Law (Singapore)
Amarjit Pual Ratual; exchange programme – Business (Singapore)
Jessica Joy Daniel; exchange programme – Engineering (Singapore)
Yuqing Zhang; exchange programme – Law (Singapore)
Yu Han Soh; exchange programme (Hong Kong)
Michelle Kim; exchange programme (Hong Kong)
Kun Qian; exchange programme (China)
Rachel Suzanne Kubala; Chinese language + internship programme (China)
Shangyin Yuan; Summer School (Hong Kong)
Wesley Ben Harfield; Chinese language course (Taiwan)
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