Waikato students off to Asia on PM's scholarships

28 February, 2017
Waikato students off to Asia on PM's scholarships

Caption: Mark Will is one of four University of Waikato to be awarded a Prime Minister’s Scholarship for Asia.

Four University of Waikato students have been awarded a combined total of more than $32,000 through the Prime Minister’s Scholarship for Asia (PMSA).

Davis Palmer (21), Emma Carroll (21) and Liam Wright (23) have won scholarships to study abroad while Mark Will (26) is doing a research internship with the INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation (IGCI).

The scholarships are from the first 2016/17 PMSA round, and cover the students' study or work fees, travel and accommodation costs.

Thanks to a research agreement between the University’s cyber security lab and IGCI in Singapore, Mark will spend the next three months interning there as part of his PhD study.

“This is an opportunity for me to experience working overseas, make new networks and learn about international cyber law enforcement,” says Mark.

Fourth-year management student Davis is studying for a semester at Chinese University of Hong Kong. The former Hamilton Boys’ High School student chose Hong Kong because it’s a major global business hub.

“I’d love to work in Asia after I graduate,” says Davis. “This exchange is the perfect opportunity to establish business connections, experience the Hong Kong culture and travel with new friends.”

Emma is in her third year of a Bachelor of Science (Technology) and doing a five-month exchange at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Originally from Whanganui, Emma says the culture in Singapore is incredible.

“Living in a hyper city is crazy,” says Emma. “There are 5.6 million people living in a country the size of Lake Taupo. Needless to say it’s very different to what I’m used to back home.”

Bachelor of Arts student Liam is completing an Asian Studies Program at Kansai Gaidai University in Japan.

“Kansai Gaidai is a bi-lingual university so while many of my papers are taught in English it’s a great opportunity to improve my Japanese skills,” says Liam.
Applications for round two of the 2017 PMSA close 30 March 2017. The PMSA programme is funded by the New Zealand government and administered by Education New Zealand.

ENDS

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