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Three UC graduates win Fulbright scholarships to study in US

17 June 2019

Three exceptional University of Canterbury graduates have received prestigious 2019 Fulbright Awards to study postgraduate degrees in the United States in an awards presentation ceremony in Wellington.

UC graduate Abbas Nazari (centre) is pictured above at the Fulbright scholarships presentation in Wellington with United States Ambassador Scott Brown (left) and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters.

UC Engineering graduates Ribu Dhakal and Nicholas Goodson are both traveling to California in 2019 as Fulbright New Zealand Science and Innovation Award recipients.

Three exceptional University of Canterbury graduates are receiving prestigious 2019 Fulbright Awards to study postgraduate degrees in the United States in an awards presentation ceremony in Wellington tonight. The 2019 Fulbright Grantees will be honoured at the annual Fulbright New Zealand Awards Ceremony at Parliament tonight (Monday 17 June), hosted by Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters.

Fulbright New Zealand Graduate Award:

Abbas Nazari

Abbas Nazari, from Christchurch, has accepted a place at Georgetown University, to complete a Master's of Security Studies at Georgetown University in Washington, DC.

“This award is special. When I look at leaders in sports, culture, academia and business, I don’t see many that look like me. I hope that my story inspires others with similar backgrounds to know that it’s possible to just put your name in and see what happens,” he says.

Abbas, who attended Burnside High School in Christchurch, graduated with a BA (Hons First Class) in International Relations and Diplomacy from the University of Canterbury (UC) in 2016.

Abbas was only seven when he became one of 438 Afghan refugees at the centre of an international incident when the captain of the Norwegian freighter MV Tampa rescued them from a small distressed fishing vessel off the Australian coast.

He is one of the 11 exceptional New Zealand graduates from across Aotearoa who have been granted a 2019 Fulbright Graduate Award.

Fulbright New Zealand Science and Innovation Awards:

Two UC Engineering graduates are among the eight New Zealand graduates heading to the United States in a couple of months to pursue further study and research in areas of innovation, science and technology.

Ribu Dhakal and Nicholas Goodson are both traveling to California in 2019 as Fulbright New Zealand Science and Innovation Award recipients.

Ribu Dhakal

Ribu Dhakal will research liquefaction of reclaimed soils at the University of California Berkeley, in Berkeley California, towards his PhD at UC.

Ribu, who attended Christchurch Boys' High School, graduated with a BE (Hons First Class) in Civil Engineering from UC in 2017 and began his doctoral studies in Civil Engineering at UC in 2018.

Nicholas Goodson

Nicholas Goodson is from Wellington, and will complete a Master of Science degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.

From Onslow College, Nicholas graduated with a BE (Hons First Class) in Mechanical Engineering from UC in April 2019.

About the Fulbright awards:

Fulbright New Zealand Graduate Awards are for promising New Zealand graduate students to undertake postgraduate study or research at US institutions in any field. Approximately eight awards are granted annually, valued at up to US$40,000 (plus NZ$4,000 travel funding) for up to one year of study or research in the US. Students undertaking multi-year Master’s or PhD degrees have the opportunity to apply for additional funding of up to US$30,000 towards their second year of study.

The annual Science and Innovation graduate awards are offered in partnership with the Science and Innovation group at MBIE and are valued at up to US$40,000 (plus NZ$4,000 travel funding) for up to one year of study or research in the US. Students undertaking multi-year Masters or PhD degrees have the opportunity to apply for additional funding of up to US$30,000 towards their second year of study.

Applications for the Fulbright New Zealand Graduate Awards and the Science and Innovation Awards close on 1 August annually.

For further information please contact:

UC Communications

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