Chloe
Stewart, a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) graduate who is planning to study a Master
of International Relations next year, was one of 25 students selected to tour
South East Asia as part of a unique course, run at Victoria, supported by
funding from the Prime Minister’s Scholarships for Asia (PMSA).
PMSA
is administered by Education New Zealand.
Chloe
says the Understanding South East Asia (USEA) course was an opportunity to
extend her studies, which have focussed on South East Asia or Asia.
“The value of the course
can be summed up in one word—connection. It was an opportunity to connect with
interesting topics, issues and challenges specific to the region. It also
facilitated a connection with key players in the region,” she says.
After
she returned from Asia (and completed Honours), Chloe was offered the chance to
become an intern on the Asia team for the International Development Group at
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, an opportunity she believes the USEA
course helped make a reality.
“I
honestly believe the course and the Prime Minister’s Scholarship for Asia
significantly contributed to my current position, both in terms of my
attractiveness as a potential employee and in highlighting my interest and
developing knowledge in
South East Asia—a
region of increasing importance to New Zealand,” she says.
Chloe
says while abroad she learnt a lot about the political, economic and social
dynamics of the South East Asian countries the group visited, which included
Viet Nam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Singapore and Indonesia.
She recalls
her first true taste of South East Asia was stepping out of a hotel in Ha
Noi into a mass of moving mopeds. “A combination of sleep deprivation, jetlag
and the absence of any recognisable road rules made for a somewhat
slow and dangerous first crossing!”
The
next group of 26 students taking the Understanding Southeast Asia course at
Victoria will be embarking on a five-week study tour from 10 January 2015,
after securing funding in the latest Prime Minister’s Scholarships for Asia
funding round.
For
more information visit www.enz.govt.nz/how-we-work/scholarships
