UQ students surge into the power industry

Seven University of Queensland engineering students are set for careers in the power sector thanks to bursaries supplied by the Australia Power Institute (API).

Each student awarded an API Bursary will receive $8000 over the course of their degree in recognition of their academic excellence and strong interest in power engineering.

The new awardees bring the total number of UQ students who hold an API Bursary to 28, the highest number of any university in Australia.

Professor Tapan Saha from the School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering said that UQ was pleased to work with the API to provide support to students considering careers in the power sector.

“In addition to the $8000, each student will also have the opportunity to do vacation work and gain firsthand experience of the power industry during their degree,” he said.

With the industry facing a shortage of new graduates, the API bursaries were set up to attract and support university students who choose power engineering as their discipline and career path.

Mechanical engineering student Vlad Lecca said that he was very pleased and grateful to be awarded with the bursary and that the additional funds would help him to get the most from his degree.

“I am looking forward to starting my vacation work as I know I will learn from industry experts and establish good contacts for my future career,” he said.

API bursaries are available to full-time students undertaking a Bachelor of Engineering or equivalent, at an approved Australian university, who are able to demonstrate continuing alignment with the power industry.

For more information on the 2011 API Bursaries, visit www.api.edu.au

Media: Professor Tapan Saha (07 3365 3962, saha@itee.uq.edu.au) or Ms Izzy Koh (07 3346 7696, i.koh@uq.edu.au)