PENANG, 18 December 2016 – Three Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) lecturers were among five Malaysians who were recently announced as recipients of the prestigious 2017 Endeavour Scholarships and Fellowships by the Australian Government.

The three of them – Dr. Chew Bee Lynn and Dr. Siti Khayriyyah Mohd Hanafiah, both from the School of Biological Sciences and Dr. See Kok Fong from the School of Distance Education – were awarded the 2017 Endeavour Research Fellowships which allows them to undertake short-term research studies at selected Australian universities between 4 to 6 months.

Bee Lynn will be attached at the University of Melbourne for 4 months beginning July 2017 where she will be involved in a project on plant genetics and tissue culture of Eucalyptus plant for essential oil production while Siti Khayriyyah will be doing research on tuberculosis at the Macfarlane Burnet Institute in Melbourne also for 4 months; Kok Fong will carry out his research work in air transport economics at the University of Queensland for 6 months.

The Fellowships will cover travel allowances, establishment allowances, monthly stipend, health insurance and travel insurance up to $AUD24,500.

The awards were presented to all the recipients by the Australian High Commissioner, His Excellency Rod Smith PSM at a function held recently at the Australian High Commission Kuala Lumpur.

Endeavour Scholarships and Fellowships are internationally competitive, merit-based scholarships provided by the Australian Government that support citizens of countries in the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas to undertake study, research and professional development programmes in Australia and for Australians to undertake these activities overseas.

Text: Tan Ewe Hoe / Photo: Dr. Chew Bee Lynn