3 Seychellois awarded scholarships under the Australia Awards Africa Programme |04 July 2017

The Australian government has selected three professionals from Seychelles to take up Short Course Australia Awards scholarships at Australian universities for the 2017 intake of the Australia Awards Africa Programme.

The awardees are Lucille Brutus (Ministry of Finance, Trade and Economic Planning), Karine Rasool (Seychelles Fishing Authority) and Errol Renaud (Seychelles Energy Commission).  Awardees will follow courses in Trade policy and negotiations, Ocean governance and sustainable fisheries and Mineral and energy economics.

“The Australian government’s objective is to provide high-quality education and training to talented Seychelles professionals who will be in a position, on their return home, to make an important contribution to the development of the Seychelles,” says Susan Coles, Australia’s high commissioner to Seychelles.

Last year, two Short Course Australia Awards were awarded to Seychellois in the areas of ocean governance and sustainable fisheries and public-private infrastructure partnerships.  A specialised fellowship which focused on enhancing fishery management capacity in the Indian Ocean region was also awarded to a professional in the fisheries sector.

Since 2011, 59 Australia Awards have been awarded to Seychellois professionals (61% of these have been masters).

Australia Awards promotes equal participation by both women and men with the aim of achieving gender balance. The initiative also aims to ensure that people with disability are given a fair and equal opportunity to compete for and obtain scholarships. The Australian Government has put arrangements in place to support applicants and Awardees requiring specific assistance.

More information on Australia Awards in Africa is available on - www.australiaawardsafrica.org/african-countries/seychelles/