Nominations open for Australia China Alumni Awards

Australian ambassador Geoff Raby (center) toasting the recipients of the 2009 Australia China Alumni Awards in Beijing. Photo provided by ACAA

By Zhao Hongyi 

The Australia China Alumni Association (ACAA) and CPA Australia are now accepting nominations for the annual Australia China Alumni Awards.

The awards aim to celebrate the achievements of China-based Australian university alumni across a variety of fields, through recognitions in areas like entrepreneurship, research and innovation, new media and community service.

This year, the ACAA is giving away nine awards, including two news ones: the IELTS Alumni Award for Women in Leadership and the Telstra Alumni Award for Internet Communication Technology and New Media.

For nominations to be valid, the nominating person must obtain consent from the nominee.

Alumni are permitted to nominate themselves, but must refer someone who will second their nomination; both Chinese and English language speakers are accepted.

“Alumni” pertain to Chinese nationals who have studied in Australia, graduates of a China-based joint program with Australia and Australians who have made China their home.

This is the Australia China Alumni Awards’ second year, and the awards presentation will be held in Shanghai on July 10. There will also be a reception for finalists at the Shanghai Expo’s Australian Pavilion on May 25.

Last year’s awardees include Wng Mao Hui, chairman and executive director of Shimao Property Holdings; Lawrence Lam, vice president of finance at Mary Kay China; and Chao Zhao, deputy head of Tsinghua University’s industrial design department.

Nomination forms and additional information can be found online at austchinaalumni.org/awards. Aside from submissions online, ACAA also accepts nominations via fax and mail. The deadline for nominations is April 19. 

Nomination forms may be sent to:

Sarah Stewart

Suite 1007, OOCL Plaza, 841 Yan’an Zhong Lu, Jing’an District, Shanghai 200040

Tel: 021 6289 2557

Fax: 021 6289 2554

Email: awards@austchinaalumni.org, info@austchinaalumni.org

Inaugural awards highlight Australian university alumni

 

From Left to Right: Edward Smith, director of ACAA Geoff Raby, Australian Ambassador to China; Iain Watt, minister counselor; and Quentin Stevenson-Perks, counselor of education, Australian Embassy, at a press conference. Photo by Seppe Van Gricken

 

By Annie Wei

Last Saturday was the biggest night of the year for Chinese alumni of Australian universities. Graduates were recognized at the inaugural Australia China Alumni Awards at the Millennium Hotel Beijing. 

Eight awards were given away, including Australian Alumni of the Year, which went to Hui Wing Mau, also known as Xu Rongmao, chairman of Shimao Property and the country’s third richest man.

Thousands of Chinese students have studied in Australia since the 1970s and the Awards have brought some of their success stories to light. Among them are Media and ICT Award winner Jenny Zhu, who hosts ChinesePod’s online Chinese language-learning program; and Matthew Ng, founder and CEO of China’s third largest online travel company, who took home the Austrade Entrepreneurship Award.

Other winners include Qiao Luqiang, director of international arts cooperation at Beijing’s National Center for the Performing Arts; and Chao Zhao, deputy head of industrial design at Tsinghua University, who won the Qantas Reserch and Innovation award for achievements in his design career.

“[The awards] underline the central role being played in the development of the relationship between Australia and China, by both the alumni of Australia universities, of which we would hope to see more in the future, and by Australian alumni of Chinese universities as well,” said Rowan Callick, one of the judges and Asia Pacific editor of The Australian.

Sponsored by CPA Australia, the Awards also received support from the Australian government and business community, including ANZ Bank, Qantas Airways Limited and the Australian government agencies for development, trade and education.

Other finalists for Alumni of the Year included University of New South Wales (UNSW) graduate Shi Zhengrong, founder and chairman of Suntech Power; University of Western Australia’s Colin Giles, who, as okia China President has been credited with increasing the telecommunication giant’s market share in China to 40 percent; Asia Ray Group Founder and Chairman Vincent Lam, a graduate of both The University of Sydney and UNSW.

Vice President and Regional Compliance Officer with Siemens and Swinburne University of Technology graduate, Stefan Hoffman-Kuhnt; Macquarie (MGSM) graduate and Adidas regional head for north China Holly Li; and Kevin Wale, a graduate of The University of Melbourne and president and managing director of General Motors China Group.

Next year’s Awards ceremony will be held in the Australian Pavilion at the World Expo in Shanghai.

The Awards are an initiative of the Australia China Alumni Association (ACAA), a non-profit organization founded in 2007 and funded by 20 Australian Universities and several Australian government agencies. The ACAA, which has offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, aims to connect Australian university alumni across China with their universities and with each other. Alumni can register on the website to receive updates, event notices and news.  

The ACAA currently has 3,700 members representing about half of Australian universities. About 170 people were nominated for the awards.

The Australian government awards at least AU $40 million (254 million yuan) in scholarships to Asian students every year; a third goes to Chinese students. Australia’s education authority has also run an education program for Chinese government employees for the pst 30 years.

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.