World's young and leading scholars will gather in Sydney next week to showcase their research

Doctoral students from 36 of the world's leading universities will meet at the University of Sydney for a conference designed to foster cooperation in education and research.

Under the auspices of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU), this doctoral student's conference will provide a fascinating snapshot of the research being carried out in a wide variety of different economies in the Pacific Rim region.

The University of Sydney is one of only two universities in Australia which has been invited to be a member of the prestigious APRU group of universities.

The doctoral students will be coming from universities in Russia, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Canada, the United States, Chile, New Zealand and Australia.

Formed in 2000, the aim of this APRU conference is to encourage cooperative research thereby contributing to the economic, scientific and cultural advancement of the Pacific Rim economies.

"It is appropriate that Sydney University, with its long standing tradition of providing excellent opportunities in postgraduate education, should be hosting this conference," said Prof Masud Behnia, Dean of Graduate Studies at the University of Sydney.

"This conference will be an excellent opportunity to meet and hear some of the finest minds in the region and to discuss their research," Professor Behnia said.

The 5th APRU Doctoral Students Conference opens at 9.30 am on Monday 9th August with a ceremony in the Great Hall of the University of Sydney and runs all week.

Full details of the conference and the speakers are available at: http://www.usyd.edu.au/apru-dsc/