Group photo of the APFNet Scholarship students

June 27, 2012, Beijing - A farewell meeting was organized by APFNet to celebrate the first intake of eight APFNet Scholarship Program (ASP) students’ graduation and their fulfilment of two-year master’s degree study in Beijing Forestry University. The 1st intake of scholarship students are from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Lao, Papua New Guinea and Thailand.

During the meeting, Mr Qu Guilin, Executive Director of APFNet Secretariat, congratulated all the scholarship students and extended gratitude to Beijing Forestry University (BFU), the host university, for the support. He also expressed his expectation that the students would be able to apply the knowledge and experiences obtained in the past two years’ graduate studies to the forestry development of their home economies and that they could also enjoy more promising future careers. Prof. Liu Junchang, Director of BFU International Office of Exchange and Cooperation stressed the importance of ASP in support of higher education to enhance regional forestry and promised that BFU will optimize the curriculum design and continuously improve the implementation and success of the ASP.

In the ensuing interaction among the students, APFNet officers and BFU faculty, the students offered helpful comments and suggestions to improve the ASP for the following intakes. Meanwhile, the scholarship students also expressed their thanks to APFNet for sponsoring study opportunities in BFU and experiencing academic atmosphere and culture in China. They noted the ASP is not only a significant platform for the regional foresters to exchange information and experiences, but also a valued channel to build friendship and enhance understanding among students. At last, all the students said they were willing to maintain the network and keep in close touch with APFNet and would like to be updated on the progress of APFNet activities in the future.

APFNet scholarship program was initiated in 2010, aiming to provide an opportunity for promising government officials, talented foresters and young scholars from developing economies in the Asia-Pacific region to pursue postgraduate studies in forestry field. As of 2012, 24 students from 11 economies have been admitted by BFU and granted with the APFNet scholarship.