Yan Zhen Chua

Having completed a Bachelors degree in Aerospace Engineering (Honours) from Monash University, Yan will pursue his passion in astronautics through the European Masters in Aeronautics and Space Technology. The program provides him the opportunity to study at two leading aerospace institutions, the Technische Universität München, Germany and Cranfield University , U.K. Yan is excited to not only further his academic pursuits but to also broaden his global perspective through embracing a new culture and environment. Having been an exchange student to the United States during his undergraduate degree, he understands the tremendous benefit and extra dimension international experience brings to an education. Yan says " Studying alongside like-minded individuals from countries around the globe with a shared passion will be a tremendous experience at both the professional and personal levels. The opportunity for a semester long placement with a plethora of European aerospace organization during the program is also invaluable practical experience not found elsewhere in the world ." Upon completion of the Masters program, Yan aspires to continue with further studies at the PhD level and pursue a career with the European Space Agency in the field of rocket propulsion development. His ultimate vision is to accomplish a successful landing of man on Mars.

Sonia Hegde

24 year old Sonia is a Bachelor of Engineering (Aerospace)/ Bachelor of Arts (German Studies) from University of New South Wales , Sydney and will be studying a two-year MSc programme in Aeronautical engineering at Technische Universitt Mnchen ( Germany ) and Cranfield University ( United Kingdom ).

Sonja says that her Bachelors degree has given her a good foundation in the aerospace field, however she wants to continue to build on this by participating in the EuMAS programme: " The MSc aeronautical programme will provide me with the perfect opportunity to better my language skills and increase my knowledge of aeronautical theory. The world class education provided by two of the best universities in Europe will prepare me better for my future career plans. Studying with people from different backgrounds will help me broaden my cultural awareness and knowledge and expose me to different ideas and lifestyles. Europe has a long history, rich culture and over the years has emerged as a centre for new and leading edge technology. Hence, I believe studying and living in Europe will be an amazing and invaluable experience, one I will never forget."

John-Paul Hougaz

John-Paul is 24 and studying at the University of Melbourne, but will also be studying for a Master's degree in Applied Ethics at Utrecht University in the Netherlands and NTNU in Trondheim , Norway .

Jean-Paul says that he hopes "to gain an understanding not only of the specific countries I will be studying in, and their approaches to analysing pressing ethical issues, but also to get a sense of how these fit in to European, and global, perspectives on these matters. This amazing opportunity will allow me to live overseas for the first time, and I'm sure that this will encourage me to broaden my horizons, both personally and professionally, through this engagement with foreign cultures. I have always wanted to live and study in Europe , and now finally have a chance to do so."

Michael Klapdor

After graduating from the Australian National University with a BA (Hons) in 2007, 25 year old Michael is currently employed as a research assistant with the Parliamentary Library in Canberra, and will be undertaking the Masters of Applied Ethics program. He will be studying at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim and the Centre of Applied Ethics at Linkoping University in Sweden.

Michael is really excited by the program and being offered the opportunity to study in  Europe and says. " The program I will be undertaking allows me to bring together my background in philosophy and my professional experience in dealing with current social policy issues. I am particularly excited by the chance to meet students from all around the world who share the same interest in ethics and to examine ethical issues within an international context. I have never lived outside of Australia and I am hoping that the experience of studying at these two Scandinavian institutions will broaden my thinking and allow me to examine some key ethical problems from a global perspective."

Gloria Lai

Gloria is a 29 year old graduate of the Australian National University and will be studying in the Netherlands for a Erasmus Mundus Masters degree in Public Policy (Mundus MAPP).

Gloria outlined her goals: "As a student, lawyer and policy advisor, I have for years grappled with the challenges of governance and development in the Asian region.  The Mundus MAPP program attracted my attention because of the great opportunity it presents to learn from the European experience in developing transnational public policy.  I want to learn how Europe's transnational policy successes may be translated into similar successes in Asia .  I want to use my time in the Mundus MAPP program to develop global governance expertise that positions me to make a valuable contribution to international development.  I am looking forward to challenging dialogues with colleagues, and can't wait to immerse myself in European culture, food and history."

Mike McWhinnie

At 25 years old, Mike has a Bachelor of Engineering in Aeronautical Engineering from University of Sydney (Honors 1), and will in Europe be participating in the Joint European Masters in Space Science -  SpaceMaster. He will spend his first semester in Wurzburg, Germany, and his second semester in Kiruna, Sweden, with the final year likely to take him to Cranfield University in the UK.

Mike is looking forward to drawing from the expertise of each institution in the area of space science. He says "Studying in Europe gives me an excellent opportunity to make industry contacts that would otherwise be difficult to acquire here in Australia, and will allow me to work side-by-side with like-minded people from around the world. I'm excited about the added challenge of studying in a foreign country, and hope to make my experience a cultural one as well as an educational one".

Olga Nikora

Olga is 24 years old and graduated in 2007 from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, with a degree in Business - B.Com. and a Law degree - L.LB. She then worked as a law clerk.

She will study for a European Masters in Science - M.Sci. (majoring in strategy), spending one semester at each of the following: Politecnico di Milano, Heriot-Watt University, Umeå University. Her degree will be accredited from all three institutions, so will open many doors for future employment. Apart from the knowledge and employment opportunities, Olga hopes to get a lot of cultural experience in each of the countries she visits.

Olga says: "I look forward to learning about Scotland, Italy and Sweden. I will do language courses in Milan and Umea as part of the program. It will be very interesting to learn some Italian and Swedish. This will enable me to interact with different people and learn about their cultural heritage. I hope to travel around Europe during any spare time I get as I love going to museums and art galleries and learning about different cultures."

Cuong (Steve) Pham

Steve is a 24 year old Graduate from RMIT University, and has a BSc in Computer Science and is currently employed as a Wed Developer in Melbourne.

Steve's Erasmus Scholarship covers the two-year European Master in Informatics (EUMI) at two European Universities: RWTH Aachen, Germany and University of Trento , Italy , beginning in September 2009. Steve is looking forward to his time in Europe and says "My next two years can be a significant step towards fulfilling my ambition of becoming an expert in Distributed Computing. This special EUMI has excellent research and studying opportunities from world-class research laboratories and leading academics. My long term objective is to work in a R&D environment to create something that can contribute to the benefit of human beings. I hope to make the most of all the resources provided to excel both in theory and practice of Computer Programming. Thus, this will be an important footstep into my research career. Moreover, studying at two European universities is an invaluable opportunity for me to experience the European cultures, to meet new people and to learn new languages."

Andrew William Mackay Pomeroy

Graduating in 2006 with a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil)(Honours) from the University of Melbourne, 26 year old Andrew is currently working as a consulting Maritime Engineer in the areas of coastal engineering, ports and maritime structures.

He's been accepted into the course "Master of Coastal and Marine Engineering and Management (COMEM)" and will undertake study at NTNU in Trondheim (Norway), TU Delft in Delft (The Netherlands) and UPC in Barcelona (Spain).

The field of coastal and marine engineering is field of great importance worldwide. With such vast lengths of coastline around the world and so much commercial, industrial and recreational activity along these coastlines, their management is extremely important. What Andrew finds so interesting in his field is that very few regions of coastlines can ever be considered the same, not only at a global level but also at a regional and local level. He hopes to gain knowledge not only in the theory of coastal and marine engineering, but also skills in the application of management techniques and the development of engineering solutions to problems in this field.

"I look forward to learning in three different locations (each with their own focus) and with a group of people from around the world, who will bring with them different perspectives, options, understanding and experience. I hope to be able to bring a different perspective to the challenges facing the coastal and marine environment upon my return to Australia." says Andrew.

Nicholas Russell

23 year old Nicholas graduated from Queensland University of Technology (QUT) at the end of 2007 with a Bachelor of Engineering (Infomechatronics) (First Class Honors) and Master of Engineering Management.  Currently Nicholas is working for Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM) on the Rio Tinto Coal Australia (RTCA) Clermont Coal Mine Project.

Nicholas will be studying for a Master of Science through the Erasmus Mundus Minerals and Environmental Programme - European Mining Course (EMMEP-EMC) at Helsinki University of Technology, Finland; RWTH Aachen, Germany; University of Exeter, UK; and Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands. 

Nicholas says: "The Erasmus Mundus Minerals and Environmental Programme - European Mining Course (EMMEP-EMC) is a fantastic opportunity for me to develop both professionally and personally.  I will attend and learn from four world-class universities that each specialise in difference facets of mining and materials handling.  I will also live in four different countries allowing me to experience and integrate into different cultures during the two-year Master of Science course.  My fellow students on the course are from numerous countries from every corner of the world and I hope to make some lifelong friends as we travel and learn together.  Already having some experience in Australian coal mining, I hope that I can bring knowledge of Australian technologies, work methods and common practices and will be able to share and discuss the similarities and differences between these and European equivalents with my lecturers and fellow students.  The European Mining Course is an amazing program and I would like to emphatically thank the European Commission's Erasmus Mundus Scheme and all of the participating universities."

Anton Smit

Anton grew up in Zimbabwe and Zambia and moved to Australia in 2004. Now aged 23, Anton did his undergraduate degree in Botany and Zoology at the University of Western Australia in Perth, graduating at the end of 2006. Since then, he's have worked as an environmental consultant in Western Australia's remote mining and exploration areas and as an accountant in a mid-tier firm and completed a post-graduate in business by correspondence through Deakin University in 2009.

Anton will be doing a Masters in Environmental Science, Policy and Management in Hungary, Greece and Sweden over the next two years, and says "Living in and integrating into these three countries will be an enjoyable challenge, and the opportunity for academic and cultural exchanges provided by this programme will be of immense benefit. I hope to become better informed on the socio-political and environmental issues relating to the European community and once the course is finished I would like to pursue a career in sustainable development ."

Maia Williams

Maia is 26 years old and a graduate of the University of Western Australia. She will participate in the Erasmus Mundus Masters Program in Geospatial Technologies at the New University of Lisbon, Portugal, and the University of Münster, Germany.

Maia says: I am honoured and excited to be a recipient of an Erasmus Mundus scholarship and have no doubt that I will gain tremendously from studying in Europe; both academically and personally. On a professional level I seek to formalise and expand my skills in the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial data analysis. I hope to take advantage of the international and multidisciplinary aspects of the course to gain new perspectives on working with geospatial data. This opportunity allows me to investigate different GIS applications and gain valuable technical experience.

Previously I have worked in areas of water quality research, and catchment management and modeling where GIS is a useful data management, analysis and presentation tool. I have also been involved in teaching and promoting the use of GIS to young researchers in Mongolia. In the future, with the added skills and experience acquired from the Masters program, I hope to work on community based land management and participatory GIS projects.

Craig Willmott

Craig is 25 and studying at the University of south Australia. His Erasmus Mundus scholarship takes him to the Wroclaw University, Poland, and The London School of Economics, where he will take a Masters in Global Studies.

Craig says "As well as soaking up the cultural experience Europe offers all its visitors, I hope to benefit mostly from the varied perspectives of my professors and fellow students on the state of the present world.  In a time when globalisation is being questioned from all sides due to the ongoing financial and interrelated crises, I believe it is imperative that more radical theoretical and practical approaches be taken in order to explain and better understand the hows and whys behind it all.  Hence my main goal would be to explore such ideas in my research and challenge traditional views of capital and its ongoing evolution.

Also, on a more personal note as a lover of languages, I hope to at least grasp a worthy level of Polish during my first year in Wroclaw.  On no other continent is there such a concentration of cultures, languages and ideas as Europe. From my limited experience travelling there already, speaking the language of the country you are in is an invaluable asset for a true understanding of a peoples history. "

Vanessa Wolz

Vanessa is 22 years old and currently studying a Masters of Speech Pathology at Curtin University in Perth, having completed her Bachelor of Arts with Honours at the University of Western Australia in July 2008 with majors in Linguistics and German. As part of the Erasmus Mundus program, she will be undertaking a Masters of Clinical Linguistics at three European institutions; Milano- Bicocca University (Italy), the University of Groningen (the Netherlands ) and Potsdam University (Germany).

"I applied for the Erasmus course as well as the Speech Pathology Masters at Curtin due to my strong interest in cognitive neuroscience and human communication. My early childhood was spent travelling, surrounded by several languages and I attribute this to my interest in communication. After completing my honours, I wanted to undertake further study to gain qualifications in a more applicable or focussed stream of linguistics. I also applied for the course at Curtin as I was doubtful I would be accepted into such a competitive program. I will defer this degree whilst in Europe and recommence when I return to acquire the practical experience in clinics required to work as a Speech Pathologist.

I have always regretted not participating in the Exchange program during my undergraduate degree and now am I extremely grateful for this opportunity to live in three different countries and experience these cultures first-hand. The European experience will be challenging but I am looking forward to the adventure. I will be able to improve my knowledge whilst surrounded by a variety of languages and others dedicated to studying communication science. I would like to thank the German department at UWA for providing me with the opportunities and support to pursue my passion for linguistics."