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European adventure for UNE exchange students

December 06, 2004

Thumbs LEAFSE.jpgSix Master’s students from the University of New England are preparing to spend the first six months of next year getting a European perspective on agriculture and environmental issues at universities in The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Wales.

They are the winners of the 2005 LEAFSE (“Learning through Exchange: Agriculture, Food Systems and Environment”) exchange scholarships.

Peta Blake, Renae Moss and Klara Schulze will go to the University of Kassel in Germany, Rebecca Bruce will go to the University of Wales (in Aberystwyth), Maria Butler will go to the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University in Denmark, and Kimberly Tink will go to the University of Wageningen in The Netherlands. (Pictured here, from left: Rebecca Bruce, Kimberly Tink, Professor Acram Taji, Maria Butler and Peta Blake.)

Four Australian universities (the Universities of Western Sydney, New England, Queensland and Western Australia) are involved with the four in Europe in the LEAFSE program, funded by the Australian Government and the European Union. 2004, the program’s first year, saw the first five UNE scholarship-holders travel to Europe.

While the study programs of the students will differ according to their aims and interests, they will all investigate European approaches to organic agriculture.

Renae Moss said she was “looking forward to learning about sustainable food production methods in Europe”. “I am also very excited about experiencing life in Germany,” she added.

“This is a fantastic opportunity to expand our knowledge and experience of agriculture in different countries,” said Rebecca Bruce. “There’s a lot we could all gain from other countries’ experiences.”

Professor Acram Taji, the LEAFSE coordinator for UNE, pointed out that the exchange program benefited not only the students undertaking the exchange but also the host institutions. “The horizons of the staff and students who come in contact with our exchange students broaden as a result of the formal and informal interactions,” she said. “In 2005 we are looking forward to five young students from Europe participating in a number of units in the Faculty of The Sciences.”


Media contact: Professor Acram Taji, School of Rural Science and Agriculture, UNE (02) 6773 2869 or Jim Scanlan, Public Relations, UNE (02) 6773 3049.

Posted by Jim Scanlan at December 6, 2004 03:09 PM