Australia China Alumni Awards happening next Saturday

By Annie Wei

Recipients of the first Australia China Alumni Awards will be announced at a highly anticipated dinner next Saturday, which will gather Chinese alumni from leading Australian universities.

Over 150 alumni from various fields have been nominated for the awards, and the list of 40 finalists contains names of some of the country’s top achievers. It includes some of hina’s wealthiest and its most creative, such as Shi Zhengrong, founder and CEO of Suntech Power, a firm working to develop sustainable, clean energy.

Since the 1970s, more than 700 AusAID scholarships have been awarded to outstanding early-career Chinese government officials. The scholarships, with an average value of AU$100,000 (616,400 yuan) per student, cover all tuition fees and living costs.

One scholarship recipient, and a finalist in the Australia China awards, is Lu Xiaoping, deputy director of international cooperation at the Ministry of Agriculture and a graduate of the University of Queensland. Lu has been working on agricultural exchanges between China and Australia for more than two decades.

The awards organizer, the Australia China Alumni Association (ACAA), is a non-profit organization that helps Chinese alumni maintain ties with their Australian alma mater. Together with co-host CPA Australia, the ACAA hopes to establish an even broader alumni network and help promising Chinese students secure an opportunity to study in Australia. The Australian government and China-based Australian companies also support the awards.

For more information, check out austchinaalumni.org/awards.