La Trobe student wins Prime Minister's Pacific-Australia Award (Issue 19, 2011)
Papua New Guinean Simaima Tavil-Melachon has been awarded with a Prime Minister’s Pacific-Australia Award, a prestigious Award offered to recipients of long-term development awards (Australian Development Scholarships and Australian Leadership Award Scholarships) from the Pacific, Papua New Guinea and East Timor, who are leaders or potential leaders in their country.
The awards provide a combination of work placements and leadership training to build on awardees' academic experience and aim to assist nation building through strengthening institutional capacity and leadership in the Pacific and East Timor and build strong and abiding links between people in Australia and countries in the Pacific.
Simaima started studying a Master of Science and Technology Education at La Trobe in 2010 and finds the course extremely rewarding, taking every opportunity to learn and add to her knowledge base.
‘The most memorable thing that I will take with me is the volunteering opportunity I had with the In2science Peer Mentoring in Schools Program, where I was involved in helping students to enjoy learning science. La Trobe University has provided me with infinite possibilities to increase my knowledge and experiences during my time in Australia.’
‘This semester I have been on two field trips for my agriculture subject. On one of the trips we visited a dairy farm and I observed what was involved in its operations. This was an eye-opener for me because where I come from there are no dairy farms.’
‘I have had the opportunity to work with the La Trobe University international office as a registration officer, helping new students register on their arrival.’
‘I also interned with the Global Poverty Project (GPP) last summer. All of these learning experiences have broadened my knowledge and I have learnt much from working with the many people I have come across.’
Simaima is confident that her qualification from La Trobe will help her to find employment in the industry.
‘My qualification from La Trobe University will surely open doors in the appropriate industries or workplaces.’
The Prime Minister’s Pacific-Australia Awards are part of the Australia Awards, an Australian Government initiative designed to promote knowledge, education links and enduring ties between Australia, our neighbours and the global community. The PMPA Awards are fully funded by AusAID (Australian Agency for International Development)).
For further information on the PMPA Awards, please visit www.pmpa.austraining.com.au.