Scholars win Australia Asia Award

JAKARTA: An Islamic scholar and a former journalist have won the Australia Asia Award 2003, which will enable them to pursue a doctoral and master's degree respectively in Australia under a full scholarship program.

Upon announcing the award winners on Wednesday, Australian Ambassador David Ritchie said Suparto, a lecturer at Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University, and Hendrarto Darudoyo, a former lecturer at the University of Indonesia and a former senior editor of Warta Ekonomi business magazine, would receive scholarship valued at over Rp 1.2 billion (US$134,800) to study in Australia.

The successful candidates were selected by a panel consisting of representatives from the Directorate General of Higher Education and the Foreign Cooperation Bureau at the Indonesian Ministry of National Education, the Indonesian Institute of Sciences and the Australian Department of Education, Science and Training. A scholarship for a doctorate and two scholarships for a master's degree are available every year. -- JP