Talented students awarded FA Kernot Scholarships

News, Slideshow — By Jennifer Thomas on November 28, 2011 4:36 pm

As part of the Melbourne School of Engineering’s celebration of 150 years of engineering education at Melbourne, the Melbourne School of Engineering has provided two FA Kernot Scholarships for first year Master of Engineering students, worth $25,000 each.

The scholarships were awarded to first year Master of Engineering students, based on an application and interview process, as well as on academic merit for results obtained in the undergraduate degree and the first semester of the Master of Engineering program.

Congratulations to Fergie Romero and Martin Lee, who were awarded the scholarships, from a group of 20 outstanding applicants. Both also received Master of Engineering scholarships for academic merit at the commencement of their graduate programs.

Fergie Romero is a Master of Engineering (Civil) student, who also received the ExxonMobile Award for Excellence, earlier in the year, which will lead to a summer internship with the firm.

“ExxonMobil is a global leader in engineering, the prospect of working for them is an exciting and invaluable part of the scholarship,” Fergie said.

She complements her studies with voluntary work for the Melbourne University Community Development Club, and recently participated in the University’s expedition to Ilahita, a remote community in Papua New Guinea, where she was involved in community consultation on water, sanitation, health and gender issues.

“As a devoted volunteer, the scholarships I have received have meant that I have been able to allocate financial resources towards projects that I am passionate about, without having to compromise other aspects of my academic and working life.”

“Throughout my time here at the University of Melbourne I have had the great fortune of being continually supported in my endeavours as a volunteer and student. I feel honoured to have been awarded these scholarships and it is my sincerest intention to use them in such a way as to enrich my studies and give back to the university through my vocation,” she said.

Martin Lee is a Master of Engineering (Mechatronics) student, who also earlier this year received the inaugural Noel Mather Memorial Prize for mechanical engineering.

Martin said that it was an absolute honour to receive the FA Kernot scholarship.

“This scholarship has really given me the flexibility to pursue my interests and further my commitments in extra-curricular activities. Not only does it relieve the financial pressure inherent in a fulltime course, but it frees up time for me to involve myself further in community work and to take my studies further,” Martin said.

In addition to awarding academic merit, the panel interviewing the short-listed candidates for the FA Kernot award took into account, community engagement, such as voluntary work and passion for creating a better world through engineering.

Martin and Fergie scored well on both fronts, with a balance of excellent grades, and participation in extra curriculu voluntary work and humanitarian engineering projects.

Thanks to its donors and sponsors the Melbourne School of Engineering offers a generous range of scholarship opportunities for international and local students.

Visit the Melbourne School of Engineering Scholarships site to find out more about engineering scholarship opportunities.

Tags: infrastructure engineering, mechanical engineering, MSE, Scholarship, women in engineering