Premier Anna Bligh has announced that the Queensland Government and The University of Queensland (UQ) will renew the state’s first scholarship program for university-level Russian language study.
The announcement was made during a lecture at Moscow State University on Wednesday, October 14, which was video-linked to UQ.
In Moscow on a trade mission, Ms Bligh said students would be eligible for the renewed scholarship program, valued at $10,000 over five years, from 2010.
“In 2006 the Queensland Government and UQ established the Russian Language Scholarship as a means of encouraging and strengthening interest in Russian language and culture at The University of Queensland,” Ms Bligh said.
“This scholarship has contributed to enrolments in Russian rising from 55 in 2006 to 99 in 2009.
“The scholarship program emerged from a similar Queensland Government trade mission to Russia four years ago.
“Since that time, trade and cultural ties between Queensland and Russia have grown and developed significantly.
“My visit here has confirmed that Russia is on the way to becoming a key economic partner for Queensland, and to most effectively participate in this relationship we need more graduates who not only speak Russian, but have an understanding of Russian culture and society.”
The Premier said learning additional languages fostered internationalisation in Queensland’s education institutions and improves employment outcomes for graduates.
“Research shows that employers value language ability and international study experience in graduates. In addition, the contribution to Queensland’s cultural, social and economic life is immeasurable,” Ms Bligh said.
“As the global community becomes closer and more interdependent, language and cultural expertise also serve as valuable currency in diplomatic and trade relations.
“Initiatives such as this scholarship for Russian language studies at university level will increase the profile of language study for all students from school age onwards.”
Professor Richard Fotheringham, Executive Dean of the UQ Faculty of Arts, said the university strongly promoted learning languages other than English amongst its students which also strengthened these ties.
“The University of Queensland is committed to the teaching of Russian language and literature and sees this as the essential element in building and expanding our engagement with Russia,” Professor Fotheringham said.
“Learning a second language is an essential element that enables our graduates to operate effectively on the world stage.
UQ has recently formed the collaborative Brisbane Universities Language Hub with Griffith University and Queensland University of Technology (QUT) allowing students across all of the three institutions to take degree level programs in Chinese, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian and Spanish.
In addition, from 2010, UQ is introducing a Diploma in Languages for its students who will study the program concurrently with another degree of their choice.
Students can also enrol in a Bachelor of International Studies which includes a language major and a semester of overseas study.
Media: Dania Lawrence (07 3346 7898, d.lawrence@uq.edu.au) or Patricia Robinson (07 3365 3073, patricia.robinson@uq.edu.au) at the Faculty of Arts.
