BY STANDARD CORRESPONDENT
Twenty three Kenyans have won scholarships to study in Australia.
They are among 71 East Africans who will be fully-funded to study in Australia in 2014.
Kenyans topped the list of the awardees followed by Tanzania (22 scholarships) and Uganda (20). Two applicants from Burundi and four from Rwanda also received the Australia Awards.
The successful scholarship recipients were selected from a pool of over 6,000 applicants from across Africa.
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Australia’s High Commissioner, Geoff Tooth, expressed his delight at the success of East Africans.
“Australia Awards provide life-changing opportunities to participants from East Africa,” he said.
“The awards are designed to develop leaders who can contribute to their countries’ future when they return from Australia”.
“It is also great news for Australia’s bilateral relations with East Africa” he added.
Australia Awards are designed to develop capacity and leadership skills so that awardees are equipped to contribute to development in their home countries.
Some 248 professionals from 25 African countries are set to commence post-graduate studies after receiving the scholarships.
The Awards provide scholarships for Masters and PhD study in Australia, as well as fellowships for short-term professional development training courses both in Australia and Africa.