Scholarships for NZ students

Three young New Zealanders have won scholarships to study at the National University of Singapore (NUS) for the next three years.

This year's recipients of the Asia 2000 Foundation of New Zealand scholarships are Michael Perry of Nelson, Anthony Pengelly of Masterton, and Wendy Cheung of Northcote in Auckland.

They will study at NUS, one of the top universities in Asia.

Asia 2000 deputy director/education programme manager, Pamela Barton, says the educational programme benefits both the students and New Zealand.

"New Zealand is the only country in the world that has such a programme with Singapore.

"It creates a good relationship between our governments and, over time, will create a pool of top students who know how to succeed in an Asian environment," says Pamela Barton.

"Last year's scholarship winners made it into the top ranks of students at NUS, with A grades in their first semester. All three have worked hard and done extremely well in a competitive situation.

"They're more exposed to advanced academic material than they otherwise might have been and they are gaining other experiences they would never have had in New Zealand."

This year's scholarship winners were picked from eight finalists, all within the top 5 per cent of recently graduated seventh formers who competed for the chance to study at the Singapore university.

The undergraduate scholarships are part of a scholarship and exchange programme introduced last year that yearly offers about 20 New Zealand students a chance to benefit from living and studying in Singapore.

In addition to the three undergraduate scholarships, between 10 and 15 New Zealand students spend a year at Singaporean universities through exchanges with New Zealand universities.

Carmel College student Wendy Cheung, the Auckland-based member of this year's outstanding academic trio, plans to study business administration.

In applying for a scholarship she said graduation from such a good university required well-disciplined study.

"Competition is keen at NUS and its intellectual atmosphere can develop and extend a person's potential," she said.

Secondary school students are invited to apply for the scholarships in July of each year.

Asia 2000 Foundation also supports a young people's exchange programme with Japan.

The purpose is to provide grants to able students of Japanese, aged from 15 to 19 years. Students who apply need to have studied Japanese for two years or more, have a good academic record and interpersonal skills, and clear goals for studying Japanese.

The initiative assists young people to gain first-hand experience of the culture and language of Japan, an important Asia-Pacific neighbour to New Zealand.

It is hoped that the exchange programme will foster friendship and understanding between the two countries.-Asia 2000: New Zealand Herald Supplement.