NSW’s most outstanding international students, education providers, businesses and community groups have this week been named and celebrated at the state’s most prestigious international education awards.
Investment NSW CEO Katie Knight said the NSW International Education Awards, now in their 10th year celebrate excellence across the sector and the contribution of international education to communities across the state.
“NSW is Australia’s most popular study destination for international students with more than 270,000 students from 190 countries choosing to live and further their education here,” Ms Knight said.
“Not only do international students enrich our communities and strengthen our multicultural society, they also create jobs, volunteer and play a key role in enhancing the NSW workforce across a number of industries.
“The NSW International Education Awards are all about recognising and celebrating the individuals and organisations that go above and beyond to make our communities so vibrant and unique.”
University of Sydney medicine and health PhD student Olaitan Temitope Ogunbodede from Nigeria was announced as winner in the Higher Education category for his dedication as a frontline health worker at Blacktown Hospital’s Emergency Department as well as his volunteer work for the Great Lakes Agency for Peace and Development in Merrylands supporting refugee communities.
“Studying in NSW has given me the opportunity to gain firsthand experience in the health sector which has brought me a lot of insight and fulfillment by being able to give back and support the community. Being recognised in these Awards is a great honour,” Dr Ogunbodede said.
Winners were announced on Wednesday night at an awards ceremony held at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney.
The event crowned five individuals and two organisations across seven categories:
• Higher Education – Olaitan Temitope Ogunbodede, a student from Nigeria studying at The University of Sydney
• Vocational Education and Training (VET) – Maksim Veselovskii, a student from Russia studying at TAFE NSW
• English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Student (ELICOS) – Narayan Gautam, a student from Nepal studying at Kingston Institute Australia
• Schools – Yuet Ting Wong, a student from Hong Kong (SAR of China) studying at Cumberland High School
• Business and Community Organisations – SEEK for its NSW Jobs Connect for International Students program
• Education Providers – The University of Sydney Business School for its Job Smart Program
• Outstanding Contribution to the International Education Sector – David Riordan, CEO Public Education Foundation.
To learn more about the winners, go to NSW International Education Awards.
