Australia has granted 48 scholarships worth AUD6.7 million ($6.2 million) to Vietnamese scholars and professionals on Jan 13 to help them study, research and join professional training courses in the foreign country in 2010, the Australian Embassy said. The Australian Endeavour Awards are selected on merits through an international competition, the Thanh Nien newspaper reported Jan. 14, citing the embassy. Vietnamese candidates had won three prestigious Prime Minister’s Australia Asia Endeavour Awards, from a total of only ten in the world, it added. The Endeavour Awards also provide opportunities for Australian to undertake research and professional development with Vietnamese organizations and institutions. Later this year seven Australians will take up Endeavour Awards for research and collaboration in Vietnam. So far, Australia has helped train over 17,000 Vietnamese students besides some 14,000 attending Vietnam-based Australian universities.
