Australian Minister awards AU$ 1.1 million research scholarships to Indian students

Senator Simon Birmingham, Education and Training Minister, Australian Government, awarded a three-year tuition fee waiver scholarship to 11 Indian students, worth AU $ 1.1 million, on Tuesday, while leading a high-level delegation visit to the TERI-Deakin Nanobiotechnology Centre (TDNBC) in Gurgaon. The visit marked the celebration of the Indo-Australian academic and research alliance. The TERI Deakin Nanobiotechnology Centre, the most advanced in the world, was inaugurated by the Indian and Australian Prime Ministers, on Monday.

The scholarships are awarded to the PhD students engaged in research programmes at the TERI-Deakin Nanobiotechnology Centre in Gurgaon. These students are currently enrolled at Deakin University under the Deakin India Research Initiative (DIRI), which was launched in India in 2009. DIRI builds on Deakin University's world-leading expertise in material sciences, nanotechnology and biotechnology.

While addressing the gathering, Hon Simon Birmingham said, "The TERI Deakin Nano Biotechnology Centre facility is not incredible because we are commissioning bricks and mortar, it's incredible because of the brains, the students, the knowledge that is embedded within the facility, and the potential that they (students) are going to realise in so many different ways."