Wintec Media Arts students head to China with Prime Minister’s Scholarship
Six Wintec Media Arts students will head to China in September after being awarded the prestigious Prime Minister’s Scholarships for Asia.
Students Eliza Webster, Adam Edwards, Mason Holloway, Rosie Stanaway, Christopher Singh and Peter Mark Stevenson – who study a combination of fine arts (painting and sculpture) and photography at Wintec - will spend five months at Chengdu University from September where they’ll study Media Arts and Chinese Language. Credits will be transferred back to the students’ programmes of study at Wintec.
They make up part of a wider group of 124 tertiary students from across New Zealand heading to educational institutes around Asia.
The six scholarships are worth a total of $48,000 and will go towards study fees, travel, accommodation and insurance.
"I can’t wait,” says scholarship recipient, Rosie Stanaway.
“I’m counting down the days. I’m excited to meet new students and I want to open a pop-up gallery while I’m over there to exhibit my own work but also to encourage Chengdu students to show theirs.”
Recipient Mason Holloway says he hopes that by participating in the scholarship he can share parts of New Zealand culture, and learn from the people of China and its culture.
“To me this kind of cultural exchange is an integral part of the media arts and serves as a great platform for the people of both China and New Zealand to share our own world view. I am thrilled to be a part of the exchange,” says Mason.
Wintec’s chief executive Mark Flowers says: “Encouraging students to study abroad is an important part of our internationalisation strategy and we’re delighted our students have been given this opportunity. It will allow them to bring back to New Zealand a new international perspective and global connections while experiencing the Chinese culture first-hand.
“It will also strengthen Wintec’s student exchange and pathway agreements with our longstanding partners, Chengdu University who we’ve had a relationship with for nearly 10 years. During this time many of their students have come to Wintec, and we’re now starting to see our students heading over there which is great.”
The students were chosen for their academic strength and personal attributes including independence, initiative, maturity, confidence and their ability to represent New Zealand positively.
The Prime Minister’s Scholarships for Asia are funded by the New Zealand government and administered by Education New Zealand. They aim to strengthen New Zealand’s ability to engage with key Asian trading partners and build the international skills of the New Zealand workforce while helping New Zealand tertiary students study, research or undertake an internship at a top institution in Asia.
