Press Enter to Center block
:::

Young Australian Talent Shines at the 2013 Huayu Enrichment Scholar Awards

Date:
font-size:
The Ministry of Education in Taiwan continues to award the Huayu Enrichment Scholarship (HES) to deserving Australian students. Currently, 128 Australians study Mandarin Chinese in Taiwan. This year the entries hit a new high of 61 applicants. More and more young Australians are recognizing that having proficiency in Mandarin Chinese will be beneficial for them and for their futures.

Winners of the HES were full of praise for their selected Taipei schools. Peter Dunstan, 29, added his experience about his choice to study in the city of Taichung. “Taipei is an international amd modern city; however, Taichung will give me the greatest opportunity to become immersed in a Mandarin Chinese language environment.” His interest in Taiwan began when he was traveling throughout Taiwan as a backpacker. One of his most memorable experiences of that time was when he climbed Yushan Mountain. Peter won a three-month scholarship and is proud to represent his homeland of Queensland, Australia. He and the other 22 successful Australian candidates are excited about studying in Taiwan.

“My experiences studying abroad in the Asia Pacific region have changed my outlook on life and what I desire to do with my future,” said Noah Edberg, 22. As one of nine winners from the Australian National University, Noah was awarded a nine months scholarship and he confidently chose Tainan as his study destination. In 2011 and 2012, Noah attended language courses in Taiwan, where he learned about Taiwanese society and made lifelong friends. His interest in boarder security led him to conduct research and to work along the Thailand Myanmar border with local government officials, NGOs, and security forces. He stated “Quite simply the nature of my degree in Asia Pacific security demands that I have a fluent grasp of the language in order for me to succeed in my field.”

As a young man working for the Department of Defence of Australia, Daniel Bourke, 28, developed a strong affinity for the Taiwanese people during a journey he made earlier this year. “I had the pleasure of traveling throughout Taiwan on a whirlwind two week tour, during which I fell in love the generous nature of the Taiwanese people, their delicious cuisine and the Taiwanese way of life.”. He is about to spend his nine month scholarship getting to know “the rich history, strong and robust democratic government and its dynamic modern economy.”

Top