Six Vietnamese students win Australian PM’s scholarships Six Vietnamese students have received the Australian Prime Minister’s Asia scholarships granted by the Australian Ministry of Tertiary Education, Skills, Science and Research (MTSSR).  Minister Chris Evans presented 20 scholarships to the Vietnamese students and their peers from other Asian countries at a ceremony in Canberra on December 6.  Speaking at the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia Hoang Vinh Thanh affirmed that the winning of six out of 20 Australian PM scholarships showed the talent, intelligence and passion for research of Vietnamese students.  The achievement is of important significance in the context that Vietnam and Australia are preparing for the 40 th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2013, he added.  Earlier, the Vietnamese scholarship winners had a chance to take photos and talk with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who expressed her hope that these scholarships will develop long-term education and research cooperation between Australia and Asian countries. Starting in 2010, the programme annually provides 40 full scholarships to outstanding Australian students to study in Asian countries and 20 others to students from Asian nations to pursue PhD courses in Australia’s leading universities.  Over the past three years, four Australian students have received scholarships to study in Vietnam and 14 Vietnamese students have been provided with opportunities to take PhD courses in Australia. Source: VNA