Two ACES Graduates amongst recipients of prestigious Chinese Government award for studies abroad

ACES affiliate students and recent UOW Graduates, Xiaoteng Jia and Qi Gu are recipients of the Chinese Government “2017 Outstanding Self-Financed Students Abroad Award”. Granted annually to the top 500 nationals studying outside of their home country, the accolade is considered a high honour. Congratulations gentlemen!

Approved by and published on the Ministry of Education’s website earlier this year, finalists were selected via a process of peer review. The number of Chinese students leaving China to study abroad is more than half a million each year, making the award highly competitive.

The presentation ceremony for recipients having studied in NSW was hosted by the Consulate-General of China, H.E. Consul-General Gu Xiaojie in Sydney June 1^st.  Unfortunately both Qi and Xiatoeng were unable to be there in person to receive their certificates and a cash prize to the value of $US6000. Prof. Jeremy Crook and Yu Chen attended the ceremony and accepted the award on their behalf.

When asked what receiving this award meant for them, Qi Gu replied, “Receiving the award is both a great honour and strong motivator moving forward in my research”.

“To win this prestigious award is high recognition of my research. The biodegradable implantable battery I have developed received high praise from the judging panel” replied Xiaoteng Jia.

So what are the next steps for these inspired researchers?

Xiaoteng is currently an early career research fellow in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale BioPhotonics at Macquarie University. His project focuses on a biocompatible electrochemical biosensor for the detection of biomarkers. Given the conductive materials research developed whilst at ACES IPRI and its applicability for the development of biocompatible bioelectrodes, Xiaoteng is keen to bridge and further nurture collaborations between both ARC Centres.

For Qi, the future is about progressing the work of the Intelligent Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering lab within the Chinese Academy of Sciences in collaboration with ACES researchers.  Qi established the lab as a Principal Investigator, after having successfully completed the Academy’s, “Hundred Talents Program”. Development of novel biomaterials, advanced technologies and novel therapeutic methods are the lab’s key objectives. You can read more about Qi and his research into smart regenerative medicine here.

On behalf of the entire team at ACES……hats off to you gentlemen! We are proud of your efforts and hope our future collaborations together are very fruitful.