Fulbright New Zealand announces new grantees

Fulbright New Zealand announces new grantees

Fulbright New Zealand recognised 78 recipients of Fulbright exchange awards for 2010 last night, at a Parliamentary awards ceremony hosted by senior government minister Hon Dr Wayne Mapp. Fulbright awards are for New Zealanders and Americans to study, research, teach and present their work in each other’s countries.

The ceremony included the announcement of this year’s 25 recipients of Fulbright New Zealand Graduate Awards, who will undertake postgraduate study or research at an American university of their choice in the next academic year, and 12 Fulbright US Graduate Students who are currently doing the same here. Their fields of interest vary from nuclear fusion energy production to tsunami modelling, music composition, livestock conservation, journalism, child health and education equity initiatives.

Last night’s ceremony also recognised 41 more advanced academics, artists and professionals who have participated in the Fulbright Scholar Programme, with awards ranging from short term travel grants to full semester lectureships. Included in their number are second time Fulbrighters photographer Laurence Aberhart and composer Gareth Farr (who was a Fulbright New Zealand Graduate Student in 1990), and others ranging in profession from PhD candidates and university lecturers to nurse practitioners, a primary school principal and a film cataloguer.

Speaking at the event, Hon David Huebner, US Ambassador to New Zealand, noted the dramatic impact of Fulbright exchanges, not just on participants themselves but on all those they encounter abroad. “I don’t think any exchange program has had the effect that Fulbright has had on American academic life,” he said, “for by bringing young people from around the world to American universities, even Americans who never leave home have had opportunities to interact with young people from some 150 countries, to exchange ideas, to discuss, to break down stereotypes and to bring the world closer together.”

Applications for next year’s Fulbright New Zealand Graduate Awards close on 1 August 2010, and the various awards in the Fulbright Scholar Programme close at different dates throughout the year. See www.fulbright.org.nz for details of how to apply.

ENDS

© Scoop Media