The Australian Government has announced the Prime Minister's Australia-Asia Endeavour Awards of scholarships for the best and brightest university students. These awards are part of the Australian Government's internationally competitive merit-based scholarship programme providing opportunities for citizens of the Asia-Pacific, West Asia, Europe and America to undertake study, research and professional development in any field of study in Australia. The awards are also available for Australians to do the same abroad.
The awards underline the importance of education in Australia-India relationship. '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 the two countries,' said Australian High Commissioner to India, John McCarthy. He added, '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 over 97,000 Indian enrollments in Australia in 2008.' The Australian Government is committing 14.9 million dollars over four years to establish this scholarship programme. Australia offers a range of study and research scholarships and awards available to candidates in the Asia-Pacific region. As many as 102 Indian students have received these awards in the past 18 months.
