14 March 2013

University of Queensland students Michael Bergin and Regan Forrest will visit China in April as part of a Student Leadership in International Cooperation program.

Thirteen higher degree research students from leading Australian universities will be involved in the two-week program aimed at promoting opportunities for collaboration between Chinese and Australian universities.

Participants will meet with student representatives and professional staff while in China to develop proposals and ideas for cooperation between countries.

UQ School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences PhD student Michael Bergin, based in Brisbane, said he was keenly interested in research and higher education policy.

“This visit to China will be a fantastic opportunity to explore new ways of facilitating student mobility between Australia and China and strengthening the research collaborations that exist between the two countries,” he said.

“I'm looking forward to interacting with staff and students from the Chinese universities, discussing with them the benefits of studying in Australia, and seeing first-hand the cutting-edge research that is conducted in China.”

Michael will visit Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Fudan University, Xi’an Jiaotong University, the University of Science and Technology China and Nanjing University.

UQ School of Tourism researcher Regan Forrest will lead a second group of students, visiting Peking University, Tsinghua University, Harbin Institute of Technology and Zhejiang University.

“As a researcher based in Adelaide in the School of Tourism, I appreciate the essential role of travel as an educative experience and as a way of sharing knowledge and understanding between cultures,” she said.

“I think the trip will be a chance for personal growth as well as giving a different perspective on my research area.”

UQ is a founding member of the national Group of Eight (Go8), a coalition of leading Australian universities that has made the Student Leadership in Internal Cooperation program possible by providing students up to $5000 to cover travel costs to China.

Media: Carolyn Varley, Office of Marketing and Communications, c.varley@uq.edu.au or 3365 1120