Curtin University celebrated the achievement of its latest nursing student to graduate thanks to the support of the Australian Red Cross war legacy scholarship.
The prestigious Australian Imperial Force’s (AIF) Malaya Nursing Scholarship is the official war memorial of the 8th Australian Division and the AIF Malaya.
The practising nurse from Singapore, Ms Shahira Qadir, completed a Bachelor of Science (Nursing) Conversion degree at Curtin as the 64th recipient of the AIF Scholarship.
Ms Qadir said that the experience at Curtin University was an opportunity of a lifetime.
She said she was honoured to be recognised by a scholarship that commemorated the help and friendship that was given to the Australian prisoners of war during their captivity by members of the local Malayan and Singaporean community.
Managed by the Australian Red Cross, the scholarship was created in 1947 and has enabled many nurses from Malaysia and Singapore to advance their educational qualifications in Australia.
“The exposure to the nursing education system in Australia, nursing in the Western Australian healthcare setting and interacting with student nurses and lecturers from Curtin University has been wonderful,” Ms Qadir said.
“It was great to be in a different country and out of my comfort zone. I learnt a lot about the Australian culture from my housemates, friends and classmates at Curtin University.
“Learning about Indigenous people, their culture, lifestyle and their love for their country has been particularly inspirational.”
Professor Phill Della, Head of the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Curtin said that Ms Qadir was a pleasure to teach.
“The AIF scholarship has proudly been offered at Curtin since 1988, Shahira is our 34th student to complete the conversion degree as a result of the scholarship support,” Professor Della said.
The scholarship fully funds successful candidates so that they can complete the one-year Bachelor of Science (Nursing) Conversion degree at Curtin University on a full-time basis.
Contact:
Hillary Lambert, Public Relations, Curtin University
Tel: 08 9266 1930 Email: hillary.lambert@curtin.edu.au Web: http://curtin.edu.au
Twitter: CurtinPR
