AWET offered grants to attend to attend the International Wool Textile Organisation conference to be held in Adelaide in 2024.  This presents an ideal opportunity for AWET scholars to access global experts from
the wool textile pipeline, to gain an understanding of their future role within the industry and to showcase their work to a professional audience. The Grant provides funding to cover travel, accommodation and registration.

The criteria for selection were:

a) open to all current and recent (2021-2023) AWET scholarship students, and

b) must be able to present some of their AWET sponsored research work at the Congress.

AWET is pleased to announce that Woon Ling Chew (Victoria) was awarded an AWET scholarship to attend IWTO.  Victoria received an Undergraduate Project Scholarship in 2021 for her Project “Creating an index to identify gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) resistance in sheep”, which was jointly supervised by Professor Michael Stear from La Trobe University and Dr Sarah Preston at Federation University.  Additionally, AWET funded her attendance at the Australian Society for Parasitology conference in Cairns 2022.

Victoria will make a poster presentation of her work at the conference.

Peter Sommerville is well known to all of those involved in delivering the education projects funded by the Australian Wool Education Trust (AWET).  He has been both a Trustee and the Secretary of AWET since 2006.  Over those 18 years, he has contributed significantly to “hub and spoke” undergraduate education initiated by AWET through universities active in Agriculture, particularly sheep and wool.  In more recent times, Peter has played a pivotal role in AWET expanding its scope by actively engaging with fashion and design schools to encourage their students to experience wool and embrace it as a premier natural fibre.  Peter has also been the face of AWET to other education initiatives in sectors such as VET and schools.

The time has come for Peter to step down as Secretary, but AWET is fortunate that he will continue as a Trustee enabling it to draw on his considerable experience and knowledge of the range of programs that the Trust funds.

I am pleased to advise that Dr Kerry Hansford has taken up the role of AWET Secretary.  Kerry is well known to the wool industry having recently retired from AWEX after earlier roles with CSIRO, AWH and managing important joint industry projects.  Increasingly, you will hear from Kerry with regard to AWET activities.

Please join me and other Trustees in thanking Peter for his contribution thus far to education in the wool industry and also join us in welcoming Kerry to AWET.

Kerry can be reached at kerry.hansford@woolwise.com if you have projects that you would like to discuss.

Yours sincerely

Michael Jackson

CHAIR

AUSTRALIAN WOOL EDUCATION TRUST