News

Prime Minister of Malaysia Melbourne Scholarship announced

Media Release, Wednesday 5 January 2005

The Prime Minister of Malaysia has agreed to be Patron of a new, prestigious University of Melbourne PhD scholarship to support emerging academic talent in Malaysia in key areas of national importance.

Prime Minister YAB Dato’ Seri Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi will nominate the scholar to undertake PhD studies in the University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Engineering, the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, or the Faculty of Science.

The Prime Minister’s Melbourne Scholar will also act as an honorary representative of Malaysia with special status and responsibilities at the University.

Announcing the Scholarship in Melbourne, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Kwong Lee Dow, said the University was greatly honoured by the Prime Minister’s patronage of the initiative.

“The University is offering this scholarship to show its appreciation for the strong support it has received from the people of Malaysia, and to recognize the significant contribution Malaysian students and alumni have made to the University’s growing stature as a leading international university,” he said.

The scholarship will cover tuition fees for the successful candidate’s PhD program in one of the designated faculties for up to four years, an annual stipend and a special status allowance.

Professor Lee Dow said the scholarship is intended to support an academic in the early stages of their career at a university in Malaysia who shows outstanding promise and leadership potential. “The successful candidate will represent the Prime Minister’s choice of highest calibre candidate from among outstanding academic applicants.“

The creation of the scholarship was first discussed at the Annual Dinner of the University of Melbourne Alumni Association in Kuala Lumpur in 2004. President of the Association Dato’ Peter Tan said the University’s decision to fund the Scholarship shows how highly it values its Malaysian alumni. “It is an opportunity for the University of Melbourne to contribute to the strengthening of research and teaching at Malaysian universities.

“From my days as a student to my current role as President of the Alumni Association, the University of Melbourne has been very important to me. I’m glad that others with academic leadership potential will be able to experience all that the University of Melbourne has to offer,” he said.

The University of Melbourne is Australia’s leading research university, based on Australian Government indices of research performance. The University has also been ranked at No 1 in Australia and No 22 in the world in recent university rankings.*

Melbourne has a long history of collaboration with Malaysian universities – including a formal university level-linkage for academic cooperation and exchange with the University of Malaya - research organizations and academics.

* Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The International Standing of Australian Universities 2004;
Times Higher Education Supplement , World University Rankings 2004.

Contact:

Professor Barbara Evans
Dean, School of Graduate Studies
University of Melbourne
Tel: +61 3 8344 8479
Email: bke@unimelb.edu.au

Dato’ Peter Tan
President, University of Melbourne Malaysian Alumni Association
c/o Muhammad Ali Yusof
Tower 2 Petronas Twin Towers
Kuala Lumpur City Centre
Tel: + 60 3 2072 1800
Email: Ali@pcpp.com.my