News Release:
UNE starts new exchange link with Europe
| Date 25/2/04 No 037/04 Three of the first students from Europe to be chosen for a new exchange program funded by the Australian Government and the European Union have arrived at the University of New England. The three postgraduate students, from universities in Denmark and The Netherlands, will be undertaking studies in agriculture, ecology, and wildlife management. These are some of the fields in which UNE has an international reputation. Under the program, titled "Learning through Exchange: Agriculture, Food Systems and Environment" (LEAFSE), five students from UNE have already arrived at their host universities in Europe. A total of 34 students (18 from Australia and 16 from Europe) are involved in this first exchange, which will keep them at their host universities for the first half of this year. The exchange program is a collaboration between four Australian universities (the Universities of Western Sydney, New England, Queensland and Western Australia) and four European universities (the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University in Denmark, the University of Wageningen in The Netherlands, the University of Kassel in Germany, and the University of Wales). Two of the visiting students at UNE, Hanne Gundersen and Kasper Rossing, are from Denmark's Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University. Hanne will be taking courses in plant production, agricultural extension, and agribusiness, while Kasper will be attending classes in natural resources management. (Kasper's particular interest is the management of feral pests.)
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Louise de Raad, from the University of Wageningen in The Netherlands, will be living at UNE's Newholme Research Station (at the foot of Mount Duval) studying nocturnal mammals. She will be producing a distribution map for possums and gliders in the Newholme area. This will help wildlife managers understand the impact of environmental factors on populations of these animals. All three students are excited about the opportunity to visit Australia and study at UNE. "At first, when I heard I'd won a scholarship, I didn't really believe it," Hanne said. As a joint project with the European LEAFSE students at the other participating universities, they will be preparing a report on organic agriculture in Australia. As part of this project they will be visiting organic farming enterprises in the New England region. The facilitators of the LEAFSE program at UNE are Professor Acram Taji, Dr Heiko Daniel and Paul Kristiansen, all from UNE's School of Rural Science and Agriculture. "These students will enrich our lives while gaining valuable experience in agricultural and environmental research at UNE," Professor Taji said. Media contact: Professor Acram Taji on (02) 6773 2869 or Dr Heiko
Daniel on (02) 6773 2080 (both in UNE's School of Rural Science
and Agriculture), or Jim Scanlan on (02) 6773 3049 (UNE Public Relations). |
