5 October 2011
Lao Students to Study in Australia
50 Lao nationals will have the opportunity to study in Australia after successfully competing for Australia Awards recently. Four of the awardees will receive the supplementary Leadership Award.
The Australian Government has been providing scholarships for tertiary education in Australia since 1963 to assist Lao PDR to meet its goals in education, economic and social development and human resource needs.
Since the inception of the Australia Awards more than 1,000 awardees have successfully gained tertiary qualifications in Australia and returned to apply their new skills in Lao PDR.
This year 26 Scholarships were given to Lao Government employees and 24 scholarships were awarded to non-government employees. An additional 4 places were offered to Lao Government employees as Trainees, studying English for academic purposes full time at Vientiane College for one year.
Ten of the scholarship awardees have met the Australian institution’s entry requirements to commence study in Australia in 2012. The remaining awardees will undertake a one-year preparation course at Vientiane College before commencing study in Australia in January 2013.
At the congratulatory ceremony held at Vientiane College on Wednesday 12th October, HE Mrs Lynda Worthaisong, Australian Ambassador to Laos, said “Education is a flagship of our development cooperation program with Laos; and Australia Awards are an integral element of this program – helping us to promote education cooperation and development across the Asia-Pacific region.”
H.E. Mrs Worthaisong wished all scholarship recipients good luck with their studies and urged the new awardees to embrace the challenges ahead as they commence their studies in Australia.
Media contact: Kongthanou Khanthavixay
Public Diplomacy Officer
AusAID, Australian Embassy
Tel: 353800 Ext. 105