AusTrade Future Unlimited finalists hosted at Griffith

Seven international students were guests of honour at Griffith’s Gold Coast campus last week as part of the Austrade Future Unlimited Campaign.

The Griffith University-sponsored campaign has seen students from around the world invited to submit electronic postcards stating why they would like to study in Australia.

The winner of the competition will be awarded a scholarship for tertiary tuition for the 2014 Australian academic year at one of the institutions supporting the campaign. Seven finalists have been announced from The Philippines, the USA, Vietnam, Russia, India, Brazil and Indonesia.

As part of their two week study tour to Australia, Griffith hosted the students with a formal presentation where they were welcomed by Pro Vice Chancellor International Professor Sarah Todd. “It’s an honour to welcome such an inspiring group of students to Griffith,” said Professor Todd.

“I enjoyed sharing my experiences of recently moving to the Gold Coast and reassuring the finalists that there is always a smiling face at Griffith to help new international students settle into the Australian way of life.”

The visitors and members of support group Griffith Mates took a brief tour around campus before taking in the views across Southport and the campus. The visitors were then treated to an Australian-themed morning tea over informal discussion withacademicand Griffith International staff. Mark Gil Caparros, a special needs teacher from the Philippines said he was extremely excited to be one of the seven finalists.

“I have an undergraduate degree in special education from the University of The Philippines but I would really love to come and complete my post grad education in Australia,” he says. “I am an advocate for mobile special needs classrooms in my home country where there is a big accessibility problem for families. I see the multi cultural diversity in Australia as a good platform for creating this new type of learning for special needs children.”

The winner of the Austrade Future Unlimited Campaign competition will be announced tomorrow in Sydney. Theseven finalists’ postcards can be viewed online at http://futureunlimited.com.au/finalists/.