media release

Issued 16 February 2010

Northern Territory establishes new Fulbright Scholarship for study in the US

 

A new Fulbright Northern Territory Scholarship has been established to enable talented NT professionals, researchers and students, to study in the US for up to 12 months.

 

The Scholarship will be funded jointly for three years by the Northern Territory Government, Charles Darwin University (CDU) and a corporate sponsor, Blackboard Asia Pacific, and the inaugural Fulbright NT Scholar will be announced in March 2011.

 

The Fulbright Northern Territory Scholarship was launched at a reception at CDU on 16 February 2010, hosted by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Barney Glover.  Attendees included US Consul-General Michael Thurston; and Mr Zach Johnson, Regional Vice President, Blackboard Asia Pacific.

 

U.S. Consul General Michael Thurston, a Member of the Australian-American Fulbright Commission Board, congratulated the sponsors for their support saying, “the new scholarship will foster broader educational and cultural exchanges between the people of the Northern Territory and the United States.”

 

Vice-Chancellor Professor Barney Glover said that the scholarship would benefit the University and represented an opportunity to focus support for projects which meet the particular needs of the Northern Territory.

 

“The NT has unique Indigenous studies, art and culture, tropical and desert knowledge and environmental management through education, research and professional sectors which would be of interest to the US,” he said.

 

Blackboard Asia Pacific is part of Blackboard Inc, which is a leading global provider of enterprise software applications and related services to the education industry.  Zach Johnson, Regional Vice President, Blackboard Asia Pacific commented that, “Blackboard is very pleased to co-sponsor this scholarship and to increase study opportunities for NT scholars in the United States.”

 

“The annual Fulbright Northern Territory Scholarship will give NT residents a specific opportunity to apply for a Fulbright Scholarship,” said Dr Joe Hlubucek, Executive Director of the Australian-American Fulbright Commission, “and applications will be invited from Postgraduate, Postdoctoral, Senior and Professional Scholars, resident in the NT.”

 

“It will also foster closer working relations between the Fulbright Commission and the NT and make NT scholars more aware of the other Fulbright Scholarships which are available to all Australians for study in the US, as well as scholarship opportunities for Charles Darwin University to host US Scholars.”

 

The annual scholarship is valued at up to $46,000, with the first applications to be invited in June this year. The successful candidate will be selected on the basis of merit and the significance of the project to the Northern Territory.

 

The Fulbright Program is the world’s largest bi-national education exchange program, operating in over 150 countries. More than 2,600 Australians and 2000 U.S. Scholars have already benefited from the Australian-American program.

Chief Executive of the Department of Education and Training, Mr Gary Barnes; Mr Zach Johnston, Regional Vice President, Blackboard Asia Pacific;U.S. Consul General Michael Thurston, a member of the Australian-American Fulbright Commission Board; and CDU Vice-Chancellor Professor Barney Glover at the launch.