High-achieving scholar sets sights on Asia

Arts/Law student Sarah Greenbaum will use her Prime Minister’s Australia Asia Award to study at the University of Hong Kong and focus on the engagement of global firms with China.   

Valued at up to $53,000, the award gives high-achieving undergraduate and postgraduate students the opportunity to study and undertake an internship in Asia.

Sarah, a fourth-year student who is majoring in International Relations, will travel to Thailand in July to begin an internship with the United Nations Development Programme before going to the University of Hong Kong to study private law and civil litigation.

Sarah is currently working as former High Court Judge Michael Kirby’s research assistant while he chairs the UN commission of inquiry into human rights abuses in North Korea. She says the scholarship is an opportunity to further expand her knowledge of Asia and the rule of law in the People’s Republic of China.

“My goal is to pursue my interest in intellectual property in Hong Kong, because this is an emerging area in the region.

“I would also like to gain an understanding of how international firms are engaging with China and see first-hand how that work is done,” says Sarah, who hopes to take up a second internship after her studies at an international law firm in either Hong Kong or Singapore.

“Ultimately, I would like to apply this knowledge to the non-government sector.”

Six postgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows from UNSW have also received Prime Minister’s awards to study in the USA and Hong Kong, and the University will host more than 20 international postgraduate students and researchers from Asia, Europe and the USA, who have been awarded Prime Minister’s inbound scholarships and fellowships.

Conferred annually, the awards aim to strengthen ties between Australia and its neighbours and to develop globally aware, skilled future leaders.

Visit the website to find out more about the awards.

Media contact: Cassie Chorn, UNSW Media Office, 02 9385 8107, c.chorn@unsw.edu.au