FreeWee Ling is perhaps best known for her tireless work on behalf of the University of Western Australia (UWA), and co-organiser and curator of the UWA’s art-related projects, activities and galleries within Second Life.

At the end of 2014, she rightly gained recognition from the Australian Department of Education for this work, and was awarded an Endeavour Executive Fellowship that allowed her to travel from her home in the eastern United States to spend four months at the UWA in Perth, Australia, where she was based with the UWA’s Department of Physics.

FreeWee was encouraged to apply for an Endeavour Executive Fellowship by colleague Jayjay Zifanwe (Jay Jay Jegatheva in the physical world, Manager of the School of Physics at UWA) and her application was supported by a letter of recommendation from UWA.

Now, JayJay, FreeWee and the UWA are encouraging other Second Life residents to take the opportunity to follow in FreeWee’s footsteps, and applying for a 2016 Endeavour Executive Fellowship and, if selected by the Australian Department of Education, travel to UWA.

News of this was passed to me by Carmsie Melodie, who Tweeted me to point to a write-up on her blog. The same write-up is also available on the UWAinSL blog, where FreeWee has also written about her experience as a Fellowship awardee – so if you are interested in applying, do make sure you read FreeWee’s article.

What is the Endeavour Executive Fellowship?

The Endeavour Executive Fellowship is one of a number of Endeavour Scholarships and Fellowships offered by the Australian government to international applicants from participating countries who are considered high achievers in business, industry, education or government.

The Endeavour Executive Fellowship is a 4-month study period in Australia, focusing on learning and building skills and knowledge through a host work environment in the applicant’s field or area of expertise, rather than through formal enrolment in a study programme. It offers financial support (up to Australian $18,500) towards professional development opportunities for the successful applicant, and an opportunity to study at UWA for four months.

Commenting on her experience in applying, FreeWee said:

The Endeavour application process was fairly easy, all done online. You need to describe what you want to do, get a couple of people to write recommendations, get certified copies of transcripts, etc. But it’s all carefully laid out in the online application. I’m happy to answer any questions you might have about it. You can’t win if you don’t enter!

Once I was notified that my application was approved, the program turned me over to a caseworker who supported me from leaving for Perth to arriving back home. My caseworker was great, always responded quickly to any concerns I had and monitored my progress throughout my stay.

To find out more, please read the Endeavour Scholarship and Fellowship lead-in from the Australian Government, which also includes a link to the applications forms.

Should you decide to apply for the Executive Fellowship, please be sure to contact Jayjay (in-world via IM or note card or via e-mail to: jay.jay-at-uwa.edu.au) and / or FreeWee (in-world via note card) for advice and support on how the UWAinSL can assist you in your application.

Do note as well that submissions for Fellowship applications close on Tuesday 30th June, 2016.

With thanks to Carmsie Melodie for the pointer via Twitter.