Westpac Scholars Trust has awarded 70 scholarships to passionate undergraduate students keen to contribute to a thriving tech sector and to strengthen Australia’s position in the Asia Pacific region.
Two of the five scholarship programs offered by the Westpac Scholars Trust target undergraduate students who are eager to develop their leadership capabilities and expand their networks and knowledge to help advance Australia.
35 Young Technologists Scholarships have been awarded to high school graduates who are passionate about technology and eager to explore its potential for good at one of five partner universities.
A further 35 Asian Exchange Scholarships have been awarded, offering an international experience in one of six destinations in Asia, to help develop each Westpac Scholars cross-cultural thinking and provide them access to networking opportunities with Australia-Asia thought leaders.
Among the Westpac Young Technologists Scholars named this year is Freddy McLoughlan, an avid programmer who is undertaking a Bachelor of Computer Science / Computer and Networking Engineering at RMIT and aspires to create technology that truly benefits the end user.
“I am deeply intrigued by the science of computation, artificial intelligence and the integration of mathematics with technology. I would love to learn more about the nature of computers and how we can effectively use them in our society to strive for a higher quality of living.” said McLoughlan.
“My research aims to improve the technological efficiency of Australia. I hope to one day sell time saving electronical devices to rural Australian farms to monitor crops, channels and livestock.”
43% of the 2023 Westpac Young Technologists are female, including Bess Gosling who is completing a double degree in IT and Law at Queensland University of Technology. Bess has a passion for technology with an emphasis on cyber security and her goal is to build pathways for young women to explore career options within the IT industry.
“I work within an IT organisation, so have had exposure to the varied roles that exist, that many young girls are unaware of,” says Gosling. “I want to address this issue through an initiative that provides a self-service resource allowing girls to choose their own adventure and connect with the many existing programs supporting female pathways into IT.”
Asian exchange Scholarship recipient Jhermayne Ubalde is studying a Bachelor of Philosophy (Honours) at the University of Western Australia and will be completing her exchange at the National University in Singapore. She’s aspiring to be a doctor, collaborating with South-East Asian leaders to tackle Australian/Asian health challenges.
“Singapore is a ‘kaleidoscope’ of cultures and a world-class healthcare hub, uniquely situated in a region facing complex public health issues. Australians share many of these challenges, such as a lack of rural healthcare access,” says Ubalde.
“By immersing myself in Singapore, I will gain the cultural fluency and real-world experience needed to foster Australia-Asia collaboration towards better health outcomes.”
In addition to financial support, both scholarships provide a bespoke leadership program, including a weeklong residential experience in Singapore to build each scholar’s cultural competency, leadership capacity and to expose them to world-renowned thought-leaders from industry, academia and government.
Westpac Asian Exchange and Young Technologists Scholars also gain lifelong membership to the Westpac 100 Scholars Network (W100), which grows by 100 new scholars every year and with 740+ members, it’s booming with potential advocates, mentors and friends.
Awarding 100 scholarships a year, forever, Westpac Scholars Trust continues to strive for a stronger Australia by investing in people with the drive and potential to create positive change.
Congratulating our 2023 undergraduate scholarship recipients:
Westpac Young Technologists
- Aliyah Baleem (Murdoch University)
- Matthew Bond (University of Wollongong)
- Tahlee Cale (Murdoch University)
- Elisa Chiremba (Murdoch University)
- Julienne Deecke (Murdoch University)
- Rhyda Demaagd (University of Wollongong)
- Kelsie Dowley (Murdoch University)
- Samantha Exposito (University of Wollongong)
- Harrison Gatt (RMIT)
- Bess Gosling (QUT)
- Imogen Gilbert (QUT)
- Joshua Ho (QUT)
- Mela Hoffman (University of Wollongong)
- Tristan Le (RMIT)
- Lachlan Luu (Western Sydney University)
- Mahd Khan (Western Sydney University)
- Julia Magris (RMIT)
- Jocelyn Mayger (QUT)
- Freddy McLoughlan (RMIT)
- Charlie McMahon (QUT)
- Nicholas Messiha (Western Sydney University)
- Charlotte Mills (University of Wollongong)
- Vivian Nyugen (Western Sydney University)
- Hayden Owen (QUT)
- Allan Phung (RMIT)
- Patrick Richardson (QUT)
- Tom Rodenhuis (Western Sydney University)
- Lauren Sheppard (University of Wollongong)
- Arshdeep Singh Cheema (Western Sydney University)
- Joel Thomas (Murdoch University)
- Thomas Tran (RMIT)
- Leonel Vallejos (Western Sydney University)
- Connor Weir (University of Wollongong)
- Kai Whittaker (Murdoch University)
- Celeste Yun Hang (RMIT)
Westpac Asian Exchange Scholars
- Leo Barry (University of Sydney)
- Max Buchholz (RMIT)
- Renee Byrne (The University of Melbourne)
- Chelsea Chaffey (UNSW)
- Song Chen (The University of Melbourne)
- Joe Christie (The University of Melbourne)
- William Davie (RMIT)
- William Day (University of Adelaide)
- Lachlan Drury (QUT)
- Jan Michael Gonzales (Monash University)
- Seung Hyun Pan (University of Sydney)
- Piero Jaksa (University of Adelaide)
- Emily Liao (University of Sydney)
- Conan Liu (UNSW)
- Emma Linfoot (UNSW)
- Milie Maccallum (Australian National University)
- Finn Maguire (Australian National University)
- Skye Manley (University of Tasmania)
- Sweeney Marshall (The University of Melbourne)
- Dhiiren Moganaraju (Australian National University)
- Mina Naeem (University of Western Australia)
- Emily Nelson (Western Sydney University)
- Naveen Nimalan (University of Western Australia)
- Clare Peterson (University of Adelaide)
- Wuyuo Qu (The University of Melbourne)
- Abigail Russell (University of Sydney)
- Thea San Jose (The University of Melbourne)
- Rohan Sims (University of Wollongong)
- Claudia Tedjasaputra (The University of Melbourne)
- Helen Tong (Australian National University)
- Holly Trikilis (University of Sydney)
- Jhermayne Ubalde (University of Western Australia)
- Sara Watson (The University of Queensland)
- Emma Whitney (RMIT)
- Flynn Wedd (University of Adelaide)
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