Twenty Indonesians Receive 2010 Australian Endeavour Awards

Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Bill Farmer, will honour tonight 20 high-achieving Indonesian recipients of the Australian Government Endeavour Awards for 2010, including the two winners of The Prime Minister's Australia Asia Endeavour Award, a prestigious scholarship newly announced by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

“Australia is very proud of these high-achieving Endeavour Awardees,” said Mr Farmer.

“The recipients of these prestigious Awards will continue to strengthen research and professional linkages between Australia and Indonesia and enhance their professional careers in their chosen field,” he said.

A recipient of the Prime Minister's Australia Asia Endeavour Award, Agustian Sutrisno, National Program Officer for UNESCO, said that furthering studies at a PhD level in Australia will refine his educational management skills by conducting research based on actual educational management practices.

“Qualified researchers in the field of education are very rare in Indonesia and, by completing my PhD, I will be a researcher and an academic who is able to provide evidence-based inputs and advice on the development of our educational sector,” Mr Sutrisno said.

Ms Agnes Sumargi, a senior lecturer at Widya Mandala Catholic University in Surabaya, is also a recipient of The Prime Minister’s Australia Asia Endeavour Award and plans to research the effect of parenting education programs on parenting skills in Indonesia.

Australia has been providing scholarships to Indonesia for almost 60 years. The Endeavour Awards are an internationally competitive, merit-based scholarship program providing opportunities for leading researchers and professionals to undertake short or long term study, research and professional development in a broad range of disciplines.

This year six Australians also won Endeavour Awards to conduct research in Indonesia.

For more information on the Endeavour Awards, please visit: www.endeavour.deewr.gov.au or www.australiaawards.gov.au

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Jenny Dee, Counsellor (Public Affairs) Ph. (021) 2550 5290 Mob. 0811 187 3175