Engineers Australia and the Northern Territory’s largest electricity producer, government-owned corporation Territory Generation, plan to increase the number of Indigenous and female engineers through a recently launched $10,000 diversity scholarship program.
The Engineering Diversity Scholarship Program will award two scholarships in 2017 worth $5,000 each, with one being awarded to an Indigenous Australian and the other to be awarded to a female, both of who must be enrolled full-time in a Bachelor of Engineering at Charles Darwin University.
Mark Monaghan, General Manager Engineers Australia, Northern said that Indigenous and gender diversity are vital in the long term for the engineering sector.
“Diversity is critical to the make-up of the engineering community in order to create the solutions of the future,” Mr Monaghan said.
“This diversity places a different lens on the issues that society faces and through this creates innovative outcomes.
“When organisations or work forces reflect the community demographic, they attract higher quality candidates and capabilities into their teams.
“The community has increased trust and have a willingness to work closer with those organisations.”
The successful applicants will have the opportunity to undertake valuable work placement with Territory Generation during university breaks.
Territory Generation Chief Executive Officer Tim Duignan said encouraging diversity in the engineering sector aligns with Territory Generation’s corporate values and fits its strategic direction.
“The long-term benefit of the scholarship program creates opportunities for females and Indigenous students, which fosters diversity in the engineering sector in the Northern Territory,” Mr Duignan said.
“Supporting diversity invariably benefits the engineering sector, and engineering is a large part of what Territory Generation does. Territory Generation is actively working to better reflect the demographics of the communities in which it operates, and supports the engineering field in the Northern Territory.”
Applications for the diversity scholarships close on 17 March 2017.
The scholarship program forms part of a new sponsorship agreement between Engineers Australia and Territory Generation.
Indigenous chemical engineer Daniel Hill said that diversity contributes unique view points and that the scholarship program will offer numerous benefits to the successful applicants.
“We add value to how people think about the land and building community and we do so from a different perspective,” Mr Hill said.
“The scholarship will do much to help students pay for books and other education expenses, provide valuable work experience during university breaks and enable students to build their networks in the profession.”
Engineers Australia is the peak representative body for the engineering profession, representing more than 100,000 members from all disciplines of engineering, and maintains representation in every state and territory.
Engineers Australia is also represented internationally, including in countries such as Timor-Leste and Indonesia, which form part of Engineers Australia, Northern.
Territory Generation owns and operates power stations at Channel Island, Weddell, Katherine, Tennant Creek, Yulara, Kings Canyon and Alice Springs, employing over 200 people.
For more information on the scholarships, please visit the webpage or contact Mark Monaghan via email or 0457 551 106.
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