Thirteen Vietnamese applicants have been awarded with scholarships to undertake PhDs in Australia under the prestigious Endeavour Scholarships and Fellowships programme, according to the Australian Embassy in Vietnam.

Vietnamese scholarship holders will be studying fields such as education, agriculture, engineering, health and management, in 17 Australian universities.

These scholarships will support 500 international students to study in Australia and 198 Australian students to further their skills and knowledge overseas while building on their international experience and awareness.

Around 4,000 applications are received each year from over 125 eligible countries. The applications are assessed on merit and there are no country quotas. Of the 55 countries receiving awards, Vietnam received 39 scholarships overall, the third highest number for any country.

In addition to the 13 PhD scholarships, the programme also includes five Masters scholarships, eight research fellowships, 10 executive fellowships and three vocational education and training scholarships. This is a significant achievement for Vietnam, reflecting the quality of Vietnamese applications and the high level of interest of pursuing studies in Australia.

Five Australians have received an Endeavour Scholarship or Fellowship to study in Vietnam in 2016, four for post-doctoral research in agriculture, law, injury prevention and community development and one for professional development experience at Hanoi Medical University.

The Endeavour Scholarships and Fellowships are internationally competitive scholarships which promote knowledge, education links and enduring ties between Australia and its neighbours. Categories include vocational education and training, professional development, research fellowships and postgraduate Masters and PHD scholarships.

Nhan Dan