Trio of students shine at International Student Awards

Jungeun Kim winning her awardA UniSA student has taken out the International Student of the Year title at the Study Adelaide International Student Awards last month.

In addition to the title, South Korean student Jungeun Kim won the Academic Schools category for her excellent academic performance at St Columba College during her final years of high school. She commenced a Bachelor of Education (Primary and Middle) at UniSA this year with the goal of becoming a Japanese language and mathematics teacher.

Bhabananda Biwas (middle) receiving his award from Chair of StudyAdelaide Bill Spurr (left) and His Excellency the Honourable Mr Hieu Van Le, Governor of South Australia.

Two other UniSA students also secured International Student Awards. Bhabananda Biwas from Bangladesh won the Academic Excellence Award for Postgraduate Research, and Huda Nabeel Dawood Kharrufa from Iraq won the Academic Excellence Award for Postgraduate Coursework.

Bhabananda hopes his PhD research into developing a clay-based bacterial biofilm will be used to stop contamination of waterways in Australia. His work has been recognised by two high impact peer-review journals and he has presented at five international conferences. He also volunteers for open day, supervises a Masters student and is involved with theatre performances.

Huda Nabeel Dawood Kharrufa (middle) receiving heraward from Chair of StudyAdelaide Bill Spurr (left) and His Excellency the Honourable Mr Hieu Van Le, Governor of South Australia.

Huda, is studying a Masters in Engineering with outstanding academic results. As a sponsored student from the Higher Committee for Education Development (HCED) in Iraq, she has managed to balance her family life with study while also playing an active role in the Islamic Society of UniSA including coordinating fitness sessions for females. She is aiming to undertake a research degree.

Another two students were highly commended in the Academic Excellence Undergraduate category – Trang Thi Thien Nguyen and Minh Toan Chau, both from Vietnam.

The fifth annual StudyAdelaide International Student Awards were held this month with support from Governor of South Australia Hieu Van Le.

The awards recognise the many achievements of international students who have reached great heights in their academic studies, as well as in the community and pursuits in the arts and in sports.