Joseph Hongoh
Joseph Hongoh
15 November 2010

Orphaned at the age of seven and one of only 10 at his school to complete year 12, Kenyan-born Joseph Hongoh has achieved some impressive goals, both academically and in the community.

Mr Hongoh, who came to UQ as a Rotary Peace Fellow and graduated with a Master of International Studies in July, recently received a 2010 Queensland Education and Training International (QETI) Award for Excellence – one of five presented to UQ.

Mr Hongoh's award was in the international student category and recognised his community engagement activities, in particular his involvement in capacity building projects with African communities in Queensland.

The QETI awards recognise outstanding students, alumni and institutions in Queensland that exhibit excellence in the areas of student welfare and services, international collaborations and work placement.

“At UQ, we strive to create an environment where international students and researchers feel welcome and are able to reach their academic potential,” Deputy Vice-Chancellor (International) Dr Anna Ciccarelli said.

“Fostering this type of environment is crucial to building strong international relationships and cultural understanding, and can lead to future opportunities for research collaboration.”

UQ Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Max Lu, who received an award in the International Alumnus of the Year category, also congratulated the UQ recipients.

Named one of the top 50 most influential Chinese people in the world, Professor Lu is a nanotechnologist who has managed more than $25.5 million in research grants, filed 18 patents and published over 400 journal articles.

As well as holding a group leader position at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, he is responsible for the enhancement of UQ’s research and research training profile and the development of research collaborations.

UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute took out Best Practice in International Collaboration in the Research category.

QBI's award recognises its collaboration with the Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Beijing.

In 2008, QBI Director Professor Perry Bartlett met with IBP Deputy Director Professor Rongqiao He and mutual research strengths were identified.

The relationship was cemented during 2009, with symposiums held at both IBP and QBI.

The collaboration brings together complementary expertise and advanced technologies in cellular and molecular systems to discover how functions like learning and memory are regulated, and aims to use these discoveries to develop new techniques to treat the avalanche of neurological and mental disease facing both countries.

The Joint Laboratory of Neuroscience and Cognition was officially opened at QBI on 26 September, 2010 and at IBP on 4 November 2010, and is the first neuroscience-specific laboratory between Australia and China.

The laboratory is focusing initially on two general areas of collaboration – one at the cellular level to study the function of brain circuits and the other to study dysfunction and repair.

The Institute of Continuing and TESOL Education’s English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS) received dual recognition, winning awards for Outstanding International Student Support and Best Practice in International Collaboration.

The Best Practice in International Collaboration (ELICOS) award recognises the positive education and training outcomes achieved by the Institute’s partnership with the Tianjin Beichen Education Bureau, Northern China.

ICTE-UQ has been delivering English & methodology training to primary and secondary teachers from the region since 2006 and is a training partner of the newly established Northern China Teachers’ Training Centre of Tianjin, a collaborative centre of teaching excellence between ICTE-UQ, the Tianjin Beichen Education Bureau, Beijing Normal University, East China Normal University, Northeast Normal University and Tianjin Normal University.

The Outstanding International Student Support (ELICOS) award recognises the achievements of the Institute’s Extension Studies International (ESI) division in providing exemplary student services and support that enhance the student experience in Queensland.

ICTE-UQ was nominated for the award by Backroads Touring Company, which has been providing transport services for ESI programs for more than five years.

Media: Penny Robinson at UQ Communications (07 3365 9723, penny.robinson@uq.edu.au)