Thirty-three of Great China’s brightest international students from universities across the nation will gain a unique insight into Australia’s political, legal, and cultural foundations.

The select class are the second cohort of the Stephen FitzGerald Scholars Program — a prestigious program that deepens their engagement with Australia and fosters durable people-to-people relations between Australia and China.

Funded by a $350,000 grant from Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s National Foundation for Australia China Relations, the second Stephen FitzGerald Scholars Program will take place in late November 2024, bringing star Honours and Masters students to the capital over three exciting days.

Led by the ANU Australian Studies Institute, the program of events grants uncommon access to Parliament House, the High Court of Australia, the National Press Club and national cultural institutions.

Fittingly, it has been named in honour of Dr Stephen FitzGerald AO, who was Australia’s first ambassador to the People’s Republic of China in 1973. Dr FitzGerald, who is an alumnus of ANU, will address the students who will also hear from some of the country’s most senior politicians, academics, and jurists.

Yujie Qi, who is completing a Master of Cultural and Creative Industries at Monash University believes that the Program provides invaluable opportunities and essential foundations for future collaborations between Australia and China.

“As someone studying in cultural and creative industries, I believe cultural exchange plays a vital role in connecting countries with different systems, especially Australia and China. The Stephen FitzGerald Scholars Program provides invaluable opportunities for us to foster shared values, mutual respect, and deeper understanding. These are essential foundations for future collaboration, not only in cultural sectors but also across broader societal contexts.”

Master of Data Science student, Yuchen Liu, from the University of Adelaide said she was excited for the Program and eager to gain access to some of Australia’s key institutions and learn how they contribute to shaping Australia’s role in the world.

“I’m really excited about the 2024 Stephen FitzGerald Scholars Program. What attracted me most is the chance to get inside access to major institutions like Parliament House, the High Court of Australia, and CSIRO. I’m eager to learn how these key institutions operate and, more importantly, how they contribute to shaping Australia’s role in the world. I’m also really looking forward to hearing from leaders in these fields and exploring how we can work towards building stronger ties between Australia and China."

Academic Convenor, Professor Mark Kenny, said students would gain a deeper understanding of what makes Australia the country it is.

“Our two nations are bound together by geography, history, trade, and by fantastic intergenerational people-to-people ties. Yet for all that, we are two very different cultures with two very different political systems. So much is to be gained by building our shared literacy in each other, and in taking the strengths of each to build our parallel futures,” he said.

“China sends its best and brightest to study in Australia and this program seeks to enrich that intellectual and inter-cultural trade by explaining how this system works, and why.

“Many nations provide cultural familiarisation tours and exchanges for journalists and politicians but where this differs is that it builds on the overseas student experience for those already in this country to give them a fuller picture of Australian culture, democratic institutions, courts, art, and science.

“It is a thoroughly enjoyable program designed to honour the best Chinese students undertaking higher-degree education each year and through that to strengthen the two-country relationship for generations into the future.”

Eighteen Australian universities are represented in the 2024 intake of the program. Congratulations to the 2024 Stephen FitzGerald Scholars:

• Siming Chen, The Australian National University
• Yaqi Chen, University of Wollongong
• Chen Yun Cheung, Flinders University
• King Hei Chiu, UNSW Sydney
• Jialei Ding, Swinburne University of Technology
• Ruolin Fang, The University of Queensland
• Yijia Ji, Monash University
• Wenqiang Jin, Flinders University
• Yan Kiu Ko, University of South Australia
• Suet Ying Lau, University of South Australia
• Jieyi Liang, UNSW Sydney
• Yuchen Liu, The University of Adelaide
• Siwei Luo, Deakin University
• Yingran Mai, University of Tasmania
• Ka Chun Ng, University of Technology Sydney
• Yujie Qi, Monash University
• Jinjian Qiu, Griffith University
• Zhenzhen Qu, Curtin University
• Mat Hay Tao, Curtin University
• Ting Wang, Macquarie University
• Jingyi Wang, Griffith University
• Yifei Xu, The University of Adelaide
• Qiujie Ye, The University of Newcastle
• Hei Nok Yeung, Murdoch University
• Zhiji Yu, University of Wollongong
• Tsun Ming Yu, Murdoch University
• Shifan Zhang, The Australian National University
• Yancheng Zhang, Macquarie University
• Piao Zhang, Swinburne University of Technology
• Yuxin Zhang, University of Technology Sydney
• Tianchen Zhang, The University of Western Australia
• Xin Zhou, Deakin University
• Ziwen Zhou, University of Technology Sydney

The Stephen FitzGerald Scholars Program is supported by the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations. The ANU Australian Studies Institute is proud to be a National Foundation for Australia-China Relations grant recipient.

More information on the 2024 Stephen FitzGerald Scholars can be found here: Stephen FitzGerald Scholars Program | Australian Studies Institute