150 University of Queensland students attended a student forum on “Making a Difference” this month as part of the fifth UQ Latin America colloquium.
This was the first time a student forum has been held in association with the colloquium.
The audience included Latin American students and alumni, local students studying Spanish or Portuguese and UQ staff with an interest in Latin America.
Mr David Nelson, co-chair of the UQ-Latin American Strategy Group and forum master of ceremony said that for Latin American students, the forum related both to their studies at UQ and the opportunity to contribute to their home countries' development on their return.
“For Australian students, it was about meeting and studying with their Latin American student counterparts and the opportunity to study and travel in Latin America,” Mr Nelson said.
Ambassadors and consular staff from nine Latin American Embassies participated in the forum, which included the sharing of student experiences.
Speakers included Ms Anna Hetherton, Acting Policy and Projects Manager of the International Education & Training Unit at Trade & Investment Queensland Government.
Ms Hetherton outlined the language scholarships and travel grants available to Australian students wishing to travel to the region to improve their Spanish skills and to enhance the region’s English capacity by working as language assistants.
The forum included an AusAID presentation about scholarships available for Latin American students and an outline of the BHP Billiton graduate entry program.
The event provided an overview of human capital resource development and priorities.
Areas discussed included nation building scholarship programs, the value of education and work experience in Queensland and the importance of studying foreign languages.
International students were challenged to make a difference when they returned home by taking a leadership role in future Australia-Latin America relations.
The President of the UQ Latin America Students Association, Ms Alexandra Rose, Said: “I received great feedback from all our members who found it very interesting.
“I wanted to express my gratitude for inviting LASA and your efforts to involve the association.”
Dr Anna Ciccarelli, Deputy-Vice-Chancellor (International) commented that the success of the forum clearly demonstrated the value to UQ of engaging with the student body and a repeat event is already firmly on the agenda for next year.
View the presentations (PDF) and image gallery of the first Latin American Student Forum http://www.uq.edu.au/global/past-events
More information:
Ms Aleyda Perez
T: 33651906
a.perezsoler@uq.edu.au
