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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2019-10-30 Daily Xml
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StudyAdelaide International Student Awards

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (14:41): My question is for the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment. Will the minister share with the council news from the StudyAdelaide International Student Awards?

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment) (14:41): I thank the member for his ongoing interest in one of our booming export sectors. It was a pleasure that I was able to attend the StudyAdelaide international awards, hosted every year by the Governor in the gardens of Government House. It is a particularly important event, especially for the young students involved.

I often talk in this chamber about how important international education is to the South Australian economy in creating jobs, driving investment and contributing to our economy. Of course, under the Marshall Liberal government we have increased our investment in the sector. The latest year-to-date figures show that we are still growing significantly above the national average, with an increase of 14 per cent growth, which equates to 39,596 students so far this year compared to 9.5 per cent growth nationally.

International students bring so much more to our state than just jobs and a stronger economy, and StudyAdelaide's annual International Student Awards are a great reminder of that. They were held, as I said, in Government House last Friday, and I was pleased to represent the state government there. It was a little bit windy and a little bit wet, but there were 500 international students and industry representatives all there present, celebrating their success with the government.

There were a number of award categories acknowledging high performing international students in our schools, colleges and universities, and for the first time in the awards' history there were two winners taking out the StudyAdelaide International Student of the Year. They were Mr Alessandro Sereni. Coming from Italy, Alessandro has previously studied in China, South Korea and Indonesia and is able to speak each of those languages, in addition, of course, to Italian and English. Alessandro is presently studying a Masters of International Development at Flinders University and received a scholarship through the Endeavour Leadership Program. As well as receiving a number of awards for his study, Alessandro is also an extremely active volunteer and has spent many hours visiting aged-care homes across Adelaide helping to look after elderly people of Italian descent.

The other winner was Mr Richard Tran. There are not too many international students in Australia that study law, particularly students who cannot claim English as their native language. Studying at the University of South Australia, Richard is an exception and has excellent English with an IELTS score of 7.5. President of the Vietnamese students association of Adelaide, Richard also volunteers his time at the Enfield Community Centre serving lunch to people in need—and I'm sure the Hon. Tung Ngo probably knows Mr Tran—and aspires to use his talents to serve disadvantaged people with limited access to justice. In addition to all their achievements, both of these students have a GPA of seven, and I am sure all members would agree that they are outstanding and deserving winners of this year's award.

StudyAdelaide did a fantastic job putting together this year's International Student Awards and I am glad our excellent international students were recognised by showcasing some of their contributions to society. It is clear that international students offer a lot to South Australia and make a valuable contribution, not only to our economy and jobs but also to enhance our rich and diverse community. Once again, I congratulate Alessandro Sereni and Richard Tran, as well as the other award winners, for their success. I am sure that these high achievers will become great ambassadors for our state.

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