International students study APEC postgraduate degree at UQ

International students study APEC postgraduate degree at UQ

While APEC leaders met in New Zealand this month, a completely different APEC exercise was underway on the Great Barrier Reef and Wet Tropics in North Queensland.

Four postgraduate students were undertaking a new and unique postgraduate degree with staff from the University of Queensland and the University of Sydney.

The students were on an extended field trip as a part of their APEC Master of Sustainable Development program. This is the first international degree of its kind in the world.

UQ Professor of Environmental Management Professor Tor Hundloe said the one year degree was an international education initiative endorsed by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

"It has been designed to meet the urgent needs of the region, to foster ecologically sound development in tune with local social and cultural mores," he said. "The degree has been planned for four years, with curriculum development meetings in Brunei and Australia."

"Given the global dimension of environmental issues such as potential climate change through the Greenhouse effect, the indiscriminate destruction of rainforests, over-fishing and transboundary pollution, the Masters degree is as relevant to students from industrialised APEC countries (such as Australia) as developing ones," he said. "The curriculum is underpinned by a sharing of ideas, experiences and solutions to environmental problems."

Four students from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand are in Australia for the pilot program. In future, the degree will be available throughout the region.

Since July this year the students have been at the University of Sydney studying environmental law and policy, economics and decision-making. The Queensland complement of their degree program includes environmental auditing and management systems and the application of sustainable development principles to major industries.

The next program component will be undertaken in Malaysia at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur. Students will examine urban environmental issues and land use management. They will then return to their home countries to prepare their theses. Supervision will be online as well as by staff from the participating universities.

The APEC degree is a con-joint program with the University of Queensland, the University of Sydney, the University of Malaya and the Asian Institute of Management (The Philippines). Other partner universities in the APEC forum region are expected to join in the future. All APEC members are entitled to become partners.

Media: Further information: Professor Tor Hundloe telephone 07 3365 6086.