Australia and Russia: Closer education ties

Russian and Australian students will now have access to a range of scholarships and assistance that will deepen education exchange between our two countries.

From this month, Russians students can apply for the full suite of Endeavour Award scholarships available to Europe under the Australia Awards.

These scholarships provide significant financial support and enable high-achieving students to undertake study or research in Australia.

The Endeavour Europe Award will assist Russian Masters and PhD students to undertake postgraduate study in Australia, while the Endeavour Research Fellowship will support Russian postgraduates and postdoctoral fellows to carry out short-term research in Australia.

Russian students can also apply for the Endeavour Vocational Education and Training (VET) Award, which provides financial support for up to 30 months to undertake vocational education at a Diploma, Advanced Diploma or Associate Degree level in any field of study in Australia.

Students are not the only ones to benefit from these developments.

High achievers in Russian business, industry, education or government can apply for the Endeavour Executive Award, which places successful applicants in an Australian host work environment.

Australian students and professionals will also benefit.

They can now apply for an Endeavour Research Fellowship or Executive Award to support short-term research or development in Russia.

The Australian Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) will enhance its support for Australian universities and institutions which create partnerships with Russian institutions, through undergraduate exchange programs.

Our current education relationship with Russia is small, but growing.

There were 1200 enrolments by Russian students in Australia in 2009, an increase of 21 percent on 2008 figures.

I trust that Russian and Australian students will take advantage of these new study and work experience opportunities and that, over time, we will see a new generation of leaders in Russia with strong ties to Australia and our shared Asia-Pacific region.