Australia's Deputy High Commissioner to India, Bernard Philip, underlined the importance of enhancing bilateral cooperation between his country and India in the education sector, by urging both students and higher education faculty to be aware of and to take advantage of Australia's prestigious "Endeavour Scholarships and Fellowships".
Interacting with students, senior faculty and media at the Australian High Commission on Tuesday night, Philip said it has always been Australia's objective to "build the profile of these Endeavour Scholarships, Fellowships and Awards," and it was important to understand the "tremendous opportunities these degrees provide."
Going a step further, the deputy high commissioner underpinned the importance of education links in the Australia-Asia context, including in relation to India, which has been sending a sizeable student population to Australia for higher studies for more than sixty years.
Philip said it was a matter of huge pride for Australians and the Australian Government that given its relatively small population, seven of its 39 universities featured in the top 100 of the world, and half of these 39, ranked in the top 500 of the world, as also the fact that Australia has 15 Nobel Laureates.
A special mention was made of the "New Colombo Plan",which offers Australian undergraduates new opportunities for prestigious scholarships and grants for study and internships/ mentorships in the Indo-Pacific region.
Philip described it as a signature policy initiative of the Australian Government, whose very basic objective was to increase the number of Australian undergraduate students studying in the Indo-Pacific region.
He revealed that under the guidance of Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Foreign Secretary Peter N. Varghese, the pilot phase of the New Colombo Plan had been launched last December.
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It presently facilitates Australian students to obtain new study and internship experiences in the four pilot destinations of Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan.
Philip said that from 2014 onwards,the New Colombo Plan would be rolled out more broadly across the Indo-Pacific region. It would be rolled out in India in 2015, he added.
"The New Colombo Plan is about providing Australian university students with dynamic new opportunities to gain study and work experience in our region that will be relevant to their future careers, as well as to understand the cultures of our neighbours and to build new friendships and contacts," he said.
According to Philip, Australia hopes that by achieving these outcomes at the individual level, it would be laying the groundwork to lift knowledge of the Indo-Pacific more broadly in Australia, strengthen people-to-people and institutional linkages, and to create strong and enduring relationships with neighbours.
He said that India provides a competitive field for Australia on the education front, and added that of the 3306 scholarships and fellowships accepted by non-Australians since 2007, ten per cent of them have gone to Indians.
Philip said that higher education is a key policy of Prime Minister Tony Abbot's government, and its focus would be on continuing to be globally competitive and remained ranked in top 100 academic institutions of the world.
An Australian High Commission official detailed the various scholarship and fellowship categories that form a part of the Endeavour Awards.
He said these awards were internationally competitive and merit-based scholarships, and comparable to the Rhodes and Chevening Scholarships of England.
For non-Australians, they include three post-graduate and post-doctoral scholarships and fellowships ranging from four months to five years, a vocational education and training scholarship or advanced diploma ranging one to two-and-a-half-years, an Endeavour Executive Fellowship for professional development ranging one month to four months.
For outgoing Australians, there are four post-graduate and post-doctoral scholarships and fellowships ranging from four months to two years, undergraduate scholarships of upto two years and executive fellowships upto four months.
All scholarships and fellowships encourage study and research towards a Australian bachelor's degree or a masters degree or a PhD.
He further revealed that every effort is made to make an applicant's stay in Australia financially comfortable, so that he can concentrate on his studies and achieve the objective of the scholarship/fellowship.
He said that a Endeavour Scholar is entitled to Rs.2.54 lakhs as travel allowance (approximate); 2.26 lakhs as establishment allowance (approximate); 1.41 lakhs as month stipend (approximate), besides Australian contribution to tuition fees; health and travel insurance, and an individual case manager/trusted mentor with whom he can interact during and after the period of the scholarship.
He said that each applicant needed to be over 18, satisfy all visa requirements, English language requirements, and should not have been a previous holder of an Endeavour Scholarship.
A new video promoting the awards, which featured interviews with Indian academics, students and researchers who have won an Endeavour and studied in Australia was launched on the occasion.
Following the video presentation, post-graduate students, researchers and faculty members from different colleges and media particpated in an active question and answer session. (ANI)
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