A group of 26 young New Zealanders will start 2015 learning first-hand about the Asian region after the University’s success in the latest Prime Minister’s Scholarships for Asia (PMSA) funding round.
They are among 41 Victoria students to have received scholarship funding which supports young New Zealanders to build lasting connections between New Zealand and Asia. In the latest round, Victoria has the most scholarship recipients of all New Zealand universities and received the most funding.
“We are delighted with our success and excited about what it will allow our students to achieve,” says Cara Jacoby, Senior Coordinator of International Programmes. “The funding will allow our students to build global connections and learn about a region which is critically important to New Zealand’s future.”
The funding awarded by Education New Zealand, which administers the Prime Minister’s Scholarships for Asia, will allow 26 of the students to complete Victoria’s Understanding Southeast Asia course, which is being offered for the second consecutive year. This includes one student from the University of Auckland and one from the University of Canterbury who will enrol at Victoria for the summer.
The students will carry out two weeks of intensive course work at Victoria in November before taking part in a five-week study tour of Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia and Indonesia, leaving New Zealand on 10 January. Myanmar is included in the itinerary for the first time.
The students will attend seminars at partner universities, receive expert briefings, visit local businesses, development projects and places of cultural significance as well as taking part in a range of workshops.
Other Victoria recipients of the PMSA funding will be studying at Victoria’s Exchange partners in China, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore, as well as conducting research and undertaking an internship.
