The University of Queensland’s outstanding past and present Chinese students have been recognised at the Shanghai World Expo.
As part of Queensland Week celebrations at the 2010 World Expo, two past, and one present, UQ students were honoured with Queensland Education and Training International (QETI) Queensland-China Education and Training Awards for Excellence.
• UQ’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Max Lu was named as a joint winner of the Alumnus of the Year (Research) award.
Professor Max Lu conducted his PhD in Chemical Engineering at UQ after attending Northeastern University in China. Professor Lu is also a Federation Fellow and Director of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Functional Nanomaterials at UQ.
An active member of the Queensland China Council, Professor Lu has held the titles of Distinguished Visiting Professorial Fellow of the Shenyang Interfacial Materials Center under the Chinese Academic of Sciences and Board of Overseas Expert Assessors by the Chinese Academy of Sciences since 2003.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (International) Dr Anna Ciccarelli congratulated UQ’s award winners.
“The University of Queensland has a long association with China, both in terms of partnerships between institutions as well as helping to educate some of its people,” Dr Ciccarelli said.
“These strong links are highlighted through these awards and we hope these associations last for many years into the future.”
• UQ economics graduate Ms Mei Li, an economist with the Office of Economic & Statistical Research at Queensland Treasury, has been named as the Alumnus of the Year (Higher Education).
Ms Li’s exceptional academic achievement through her studies at UQ’s School of Economics, coupled with her now established career with the Queensland Government, is an exemplar to all international students on what can be achieved through receiving a quality Queensland education.
She is regularly invited back onto campus to address current international students on how her education at The University of Queensland has assisted her in building a strong basis for long-term career success. This success is also promoted at Shandong University to those students considering an international experience.
• Ms Jianyu (Jenny) Ma, has been named as Student of the Year (Research). Already an excellent teacher in the Shanghai Institute of Tourism/Shanghai Normal University, she is a distinguished research student with the School of Tourism. She has not only made a notable contribution to the improved management of tourism resources in Shanghai through her PhD research, but also helped to raise community and government awareness of the urgent need to implement new ways to manage tourism and to share resources for the environment. In 2009, Jenny's productive research led to the establishment of the Sino-Australia Research Centre of Environmentally Sustainable
Tourism.
• A research collaboration between the School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering and Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis and the State Key Laboratory of Powder Metallurgy at the Central South University (CSU) was a joint winner for Best Practice in Collaborative Research.
In 2004 Professor Jin Zou initiated a collaborative research project with the State Key Laboratory of Powder Metallurgy at CSU in order to develop porous intermetallics and metallic nanowires for functional applications. This fruitful collaborative research has led to 17 joint SCI journal publications.
• Professor Zou was also highly commended in the Best Practice in Collaborative Research category for his work with the State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics at Fudan University.
Other UQ awardees:
• EIC Group Ltd, won the Outstanding Education Agent. EIC's events and exhibitions are amongst the most professionally executed in China. With competition amongst education agents increasing rapidly in the Chinese market, EIC have met institutional requests that achieve quality student outcomes. This includes arranging specific events and on-line sessions, the comprehensive screening of applicants that meet UQ's objectives of acquiring students of a strong academic calibre throughout multiple disciplines, and ensuring student conversion rates are high.
• Ms Yayun Rona Zhang was Highly Commended in the Alumnus of the Year (Higher Education) category. Rona has been contributing significantly to the international education and training industry. Having graduated from UQ with Master of Arts in Chinese Interpreting and Translation, Rona has become a leader in the industry through her exemplary work as a company Director and Chief Translator and Interpreter, and also as Secretary of the Australian Institute of Translators and Interpreters Queensland. Rona's company Auschina Translation is especially dedicated to Australia-China business and cross-cultural communication. Rona continues to promote Queensland as an interpreter for the Australian Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo 2010.
Media: Andrew Dunne at UQ Communications (07 3365 2802, 0433 364 181).
Backgrounder
The Queensland-China Education and Training Awards for Excellence program has been specially convened by Queensland Education and Training International (QETI) to acknowledge the broad range of activities and achievements of international education and training partnerships between China and Queensland.
The Awards profile Queensland’s significant and successful partnerships with China; celebrate Queensland’s outstanding Chinese students and alumni; highlight the contributions made by international students to both Queensland and Chinese classrooms and communities; and showcase the strengths and capabilities of Queensland's international education and training industry.
