UNE celebrates research-education link with India

June 15, 2007

The University of New England has celebrated a vital connection with India at a function to mark the near-completion of research projects conducted by the first holders of UNE scholarships specifically designed for Indian postgraduate students.

Eight students – and their UNE supervisors – attended the lunch-time function last week with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Alan Pettigrew, and other senior managers of the University.

The students arrived at UNE in 2004; four of them are submitting their PhD theses this month, and four will submit theses towards the end of the year. The ninth scholarship recipient has already completed his PhD program and has taken up a postdoctoral research position at Harvard Medical School in the United States.

Speaking at the function, UNE's Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Peter Flood, said these inaugural scholarships under the new research training scheme for Indian students represented a $1 million investment by UNE in an active research-education relationship with India.

The eight students all spoke highly of their UNE experience – particularly of the quality and accessibility of their supervisors. One of them, Subhadip Gosh from West Bengal, explained that UNE, in enabling him "to become a researcher", had helped to establish the course of his future life.

The students undertook their research within UNE's Faculty of The Sciences and Faculty of Economics, Business and Law. Their projects, having either an
agricultural or a biomedical focus, are on subjects ranging from soil fertility and weed management, through diseases in wheat and sheep, to reproductive physiology.

One of the researchers – Suresh Mohankumar, who comes from the south of India – has been studying a traditional, plant-based treatment for diabetes in a project aimed at uncovering the molecular basis of its effectiveness. Mr Mohankumar, who is a qualified pharmacist, described his UNE experience as "fantastic", and said he would like to continue work on the medicinal use of natural products after completing his PhD program.

Another of the students – Suresh Athiappan, also from south India – said he believed that UNE's investment in the scholarship scheme would pay dividends through an increased awareness in India of the opportunities offered by UNE and its supportive research environment.

The UNE scholarships include a living stipend as well as covering course fees. Some of the students also received funding from industry research organisations such as the Cooperative Research Centre for Australian Weed Management and the Cotton Research and Development Corporation. They said the opportunities offered by UNE's close relationship with these national organisations had been an important part of their learning experience.

THE PHOTOGRAPH displayed here, taken at the celebratory function, shows Indian research student Amar Pandey with Dr David Backhouse, a Senior Lecturer in UNE's School of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resources Management. It expands to include another of the Indian students, Dalvinder Singh.

Posted by Jim Scanlan at June 15, 2007 05:22 PM