East Timor consul-general visits TIAR

Student Jorge Martins with East Timor Consul-General Abel Guterres

East Timor’s consul-general Abel Guterres visited UTAS last week to meet East-Timorese students studying in Hobart and discuss future research linkages between the university and East Timor.

The University of Tasmania and late Tasmanian Premier Jim Bacon established a scholarships program at the University of Tasmania for citizens of East Timor in 2003. The program covers course fees and living expenses for an undergraduate and postgraduate student studying in areas that will support the sustainable development of East Timor.

During his visit, Mr Guterres met the Vice-Chancellor’s Timor-Leste Scholarship student Jorge Martins who is undertaking doctoral research at the School of Agricultural Science and the Tasmanian Institute of Agricultural Research (TIAR) in soil science.

Mr Martins is studying the 30,000 year-old soil profiles in the Huon Valley and the skills he is developing will help him map the soils in East Timor.

Analysing the origin of sediments helps with the future sustainable land management of soils for agricultural production.

Mr Guterres said agriculture was a very important industry being developed in East Timor and it was vital that the soils were kept in good condition.

“We have not mapped the soils in our country and it is very important that we have the knowledge and understanding of how to care for our land as agriculture is expanded,” he said.

Bachelor of Business student Maria Caeiro Alves is the current undergraduate East-Timor scholarship holder and is studying at the Launceston campus.

 

Published on 9 September 2009