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Fulbright New Zealand last night announced the recipients of over 50 Fulbright awards for 2006.
Around 160 people, including friends and families of the Fulbright grantees, government ministers, Fulbright alumni, sponsors and supporters of the Fulbright programme gathered at the annual Fulbright Awards presentation ceremony at the Beehive’s Banquet Hall to celebrate the granting of awards. This year’s group of 22 New Zealand graduate students receiving awards to study and conduct research in the US is the largest in the history of New Zealand’s Fulbright programme since it began in 1948. They include recipients of four kinds of graduate awards – the prestigious Fulbright-Platinum Triangle Scholarship in Entrepreneurship (awarded to Aucklander Privahini Bradoo), the Fulbright-EQC Graduate Award in Natural Disaster Research (awarded to Clinton Mexted-Freeman from Porirua), twelve Fulbright-Ministry of Research, Science and Technology Graduate Awards and eight Fulbright New Zealand General Graduate Awards. Other awards presented on the night include nine Fulbright US Graduate Awards, the recipients of which have been based at New Zealand tertiary institutions since the beginning of the academic year, and a range of awards for New Zealand and American scholars and professionals, all of which offer the opportunity for recipients to study, research and gain practical experience in each other’s countries. Rt Hon Winston Peters, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Honorary Chair of Fulbright New Zealand and host of the evening’s celebrations, acknowledged the contribution of the Fulbright programme to strengthening contacts and bilateral relations between New Zealand and the United States. “Without doubt, the Fulbright award winners here tonight will play a role in deepening our friendship with the United States,” said Mr Peters. “The significant contribution of the Fulbright program, combined with the strong and reciprocated support and commitment of the two governments, has added an important dimension to our relationship since the program began almost sixty years ago… The people to people exchanges, education exchanges and exchanges of know-how, all aimed at building the future, have provided immeasurable value for both recipients and our nations.” Hon Steve Maharey, Minister of Research, Science and Technology, was on hand to present the inaugural twelve Fulbright-Ministry of Research, Science and Technology Graduate Awards. These new awards were funded by an additional New Zealand government commitment of $2.7 million to the Fulbright programme announced in the 2005 budget. The awards are targeted at developing fields deemed important to New Zealand’s economic future, with the first year’s grantees covering a range of specialisations including agribusiness, immunology, energy policy, telecommunications and health management. Mele Wendt, Executive Director of Fulbright New Zealand, was delighted
to announce the new awards and acknowledges the diversity amongst recipients
of this year’s Fulbright Awards. “It is pleasing to increase
the number of awards we offer, and also to see a continued growth in the
number, diversity and quality of applications we receive each year from
both New Zealand and America,” she says. “Our current cohort
of grantees are a very talented, intelligent, diverse group of people
who are great ambassadors for their countries abroad.” ENDS
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