2010 Australian Endeavor Awards Presented to 20 Indonesians

Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Bill Farmer on Thursday night honored 20 high-achieving Indonesian recipients of the Australian Government Endeavor Awards for 2010. According to Australian Embassy media release, the recipients included two winners of The Prime Minister’s Australia Asia Endeavor Award, a prestigious scholarship newly announced by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

"Australia is very proud of these high-achieving Endeavor Awardees," Farmer said, adding that the recipients of these prestigious Awards would continue to strengthen research and professional linkages between Australia and Indonesia and enhance their professional careers in their chosen field.

A recipient of the Prime Minister’s Australia Asia Endeavor Award, Agustian Sutrisno, National Program Officer for UNESCO, said that furthering studies at a PhD level in Australia will refine his educational management skills by conducting research based on actual educational management practices.

"Qualified researchers in the field of education are very rare in Indonesia and, by completing my PhD, I will be a researcher and an academic who is able to provide evidence-based inputs and advice on the development of our educational sector," Sutrisno said.

Ms Agnes Sumargi, a senior lecturer at Widya Mandala Catholic University in Surabaya, is also a recipient of The Prime Minister’s Australia Asia Endeavour Award and plans to research the effect of parenting education programs on parenting skills in Indonesia.

Australia has been providing scholarships to Indonesia for almost 60 years. The Endeavor Awards are an internationally competitive, merit-based scholarship program providing opportunities for leading researchers and professionals to undertake short or long term study, research and professional development in a broad range of disciplines.

This year six Australians also won Endeavor Awards to conduct research in Indonesia. For more information on the Endeavour Awards, please visit: www.endeavour.deewr.gov.au or www.australianscholarships.gov.au