ARCHIVED MEDIA RELEASE
PA/9/2003 1 May 2003
Indian Scholars Awarded Inaugural Australian Studies Fellowships
The Australia-India Council (AIC) today named the five Indian scholars to be awarded its inaugural Australian Studies Fellowships.
Welcoming the awards, the Australian High Commissioner to India, Ms Penny Wensley AO, said that strengthening educational links between Australia and India, including links between academics and institutions, was a high priority for the Australian Government in India. The fellowships would add a significant new dimension to the education and research relationship between the two countries.
Congratulating the award winners, Mr Michael Abbott QC, Chairman of the AIC, said: "The research carried out by the awardees will help deepen India's understanding of Australia's vibrant and diverse society. The high quality of the projects augurs well for this important and innovative program."
The fellowships will be administered by Curtin University and La Trobe University for a consortium of Australian universities, including Curtin, La Trobe, Monash and Queensland.
The fellowships are aimed at both established Indian academics and postgraduate students from Indian tertiary institutions with a strong interest in Australian studies, including in areas such as Australian literature, politics and history, environment and health, tourism, film, media, performing arts, gender issues, multiculturalism and indigenous issues.
The Senior Fellowship awardees are: Dr. Tej Pal Singh, Director of the Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI) School of Advanced Studies; Dr. Priti Singh, Faculty of Political Science, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), and Dr Pankaj K. Singh, Chairperson of the Department of English, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla.
The Junior Fellowship awardees are: Ms Naga Radhika Kavoori, Department of English, University of Madras, and Ms Susan Thomas of the Centre of Linguistics and English, Jawaharlal Nehru University.
The fellowships are an extension of the Australian Studies Program of the Australia-India Council. The AIC is a bilateral council of Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Its goals are to foster the deepening and strengthening of relations between the two countries.
For further details, please contact Mr Rory Medcalf, First Secretary, or Mr Shekhar Nambiar, Manager, Public Affairs & Cultural Relations, Australian High Commission, New Delhi, on extn no.s 197 and 460 respectively.