Media Release

A large number of Australian students will have the opportunity to study at an Asia-Pacific region university in 1999 with the announcement today of university mobility grants by the Minister for Education, Training and Youth Affairs, Dr David Kemp.

"Funding will be provided for 266 Australian students to study overseas this year," said Dr Kemp.

The 1999 grants total $1.2 million under the University Mobility in Asia and the Pacific (UMAP) Programme, which provides financial support to Australian universities for developing international student exchange programmes.

"UMAP is a large-scale programme of two-way student exchanges and primarily allows undergraduates to do one or more semesters of study for their degree at a university in the Asia-Pacific region," said Dr Kemp.

"In the longer term, the UMAP programme gives Australian students the chance to develop career opportunities in the Asia/Pacific region by providing the opportunity to live and study in the region. This way they gain valuable experience, including developing personal and professional contacts."

The grants are for student exchanges which include tuition fee waivers and full academic recognition for successful study overseas.

Some examples of exchanges possible under UMAP include:

• six undergraduate accounting students from the University of New England will be able to study at Suzhou University, China; and
• 10 undergraduate architecture students from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology can study at the Tokyo Institute of Technology.

The fields of study in the programme are diverse and include architecture, economics, commerce, law, business studies, education, visual arts and crafts, communication, social sciences, nursing, engineering, resource and environmental management, art, computing, language studies, Asian studies, urban planning and design, medicine, accounting, surveying, museum studies, applied science, tourism, music, creative arts, human movement and community development.

The UMAP programme is a joint initiative of the Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs, the Australian Vice-Chancellors’ Committee and the education authorities of countries in the region.

UMAP has also been endorsed by APEC as a valuable vehicle for human resource development in the region.

In 1999 student placements include:

Full details of the UMAP grants are attached.

For further information: Samantha Herron or Peta Lane 02 6277 7460 or 0412 639 754

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