Funding available to remote students

Wrap presents for good cause

REGIONAL and remote students in North Queensland are being encouraged to apply for new science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) scholarships.

The $18,000 bursaries are designed to help students who hope to study in fields with strong employment outcomes.

Regional and remote areas are classified by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The program has been designed to support part-time and online study.

Northern-based Coalition Senator, Ian Macdonald, said rural women and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders would be prioritised.

Federal Minister for Education Simon Birmingham said the scholarships would help boost the numbers of rural and regional students in STEM courses, where they have been under-represented.

“In 2015, 25.8 per cent of 15-64 year olds lived in regional and remote areas, but represented only 19.3 per cent of STEM enrolments,” he said.

The scholarships will operate from 2017-18 to 2020-21, with the first round of 600 scholarships being awarded for the 2018 academic year.

The first round closes on January 8.

Prospective vocational education, undergraduate and postgraduate students (Certificate IV to PhD) are also eligible to apply. VOLUNTEERS from the CancerFREE Challenge have their scissors and tape ready at Mt Sheridan Plaza to wrap Christmas presents.

The work is part of Cancer Council Queensland’s annual Gift Wrapping Program.

Until Christmas Eve, volunteers will wrap gifts for a donation per item to help Queensland cancer patients.