News and Opportunities
Austrade update 4 April 2012
04 Apr 2012
Austrade Update provides news about recent Austrade activities of interest to the education sector.
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Austrade staged the Australian Alumni Excellence Awards 2012 in Colombo in February at the Taj Samudra Hotel.
This was the fourth consecutive year of the awards. The awards ceremony recognised and honoured alumni who have attained exemplary achievements in their field of specialisation at a national, regional or international level, as well as those who have contributed significantly to the betterment of Australian education and their institution or alumni community.
Awards were presented in the following categories:
- Australia Awards — Development
- Australia Awards — Endeavour
- Australian Alumni Achievement Award
- Outstanding Young Australian Alumni Award
- Australian Alumni Award for Community Service
- Australian Alumni Award for Education
- Australian Alumni Merit Award
The award ceremony was an ideal opportunity to showcase the quality of the Australian education sector and the global career opportunities it presents, and also to recognise Australian alumni who have applied the skills and knowledge acquired in Australia to Sri Lanka or elsewhere in both government and private sector organisations.
Ms Sonya Koppe, Acting Australian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka, was the chief guest and awarded certificates to alumni nominated by universities, Australian Education International (AEI) and AusAID. The award ceremony was also attended by officials from New Delhi and Colombo, representatives from a number of education institutions in Australia who were part of Austrade Showcase 2012, alumni, academics, industry professionals, corporate leaders and local education providers.
Sri Lanka has a strong base of Australian alumni and this event acknowledged and recognised the efforts and contributions made by alumni, thereby enhancing the reputation of their institution and alumni community.
Three Australian universities presented cutting-edge research in algae, biomass and carbon capture and storage (CCS) to a highly-targeted audience of 70, which included Canadian provincial and federal ministers, industry players and academia at Austrade’s Innovation Den held in Vancouver, Canada, in March.
The Innovation Den was established and hosted by Austrade Toronto during the bi-annual Globe Conference and trade show with a view to showcasing Australian clean energy research to a Canadian audience. Globe is the world’s largest and longest running conference and trade fair on the business of the environment and provided the ideal platform to reach an influential audience.
Environmental concerns surrounding CO2 emissions are a global priority although a stronger driver exists for some. Canada faces many similar issues as Australia, with industries that are heavy CO2 emitters, and there is heightened interest from both countries to learn about new research around clean energy.
Professor Alistar Robertson, Pro Vice Chancellor (Research), University of Western Australia (UWA), enlightened the audience on UWA’s Carbon Capture and Storage research and the environmental benefits of carbon sequestration, including the challenges of geological sequestration. Professor Jeff Laughran, Pro Vice Chancellor of the Faculty of Science and Engineering, James Cook University (JCU), spoke about JCU’s designer micro and macro algae as an innovative approach to bioremediation of waste-water, CCS, food production, energy production, and methane remediation. Professor Robert Henry, Professor of Innovation in Agriculture and Foundation Director of the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, University of Queensland (UQ), covered research that targets plant genome sequencing to capture novel genetic resources for diversification of food and energy products and the development of new biomass feedstocks for Australian and global production. A representative from AusIndustry moderated the panel discussion.
Panel participants also had the opportunity to network with more than 150 Canadian and US clean energy players at an Austrade-hosted reception following the Innovation Den.
There has been strong positive feedback so far. The Innovation Den was particularly relevant for attendees, as it focused on current research priorities and the potential for future developments as well as technologies that address current issues in relation to reducing CO2 emissions. The open and collaborative nature of the discussion was a key factor in the success of the event, when compared with other best practice and advertorial sessions presented in the course of Globe.
To find out about attending similar future events, contact Ms Fareeda Chand, Senior Business Development Manager, Austrade Toronto.
