The University of Western Australia (UWA) and civil and structural engineering consultancy, Pritchard Francis have celebrated the 15-year anniversary of the Pritchard Francis Scholarship in Civil Engineering this year.
The annual Scholarship is awarded to an exceptional civil engineering undergraduate student at UWA and includes financial support as well as the opportunity to undertake a paid 12-week work experience placement with the firm.
Based on outstanding academic achievements and an interview process, the Scholarship provides the opportunity for students to experience a career in civil engineering consulting and develop professional skills outside an academic environment.
Pritchard Francis CEO, Arthur Psaltis said the success of the Scholarship was attributable to the high calibre of engineering students UWA produces, the graduates’ sound understanding of fundamental engineering principles, and their ability to transition into the workplace with the qualities required of a young professional engineer.
“The Scholarship program is a great example of how a focussed and sincere commitment to talented young people can evolve into rewarding outcomes for all parties. Ten of the 15 Scholarship winners are still employees of Pritchard Francis and 70% of our graduates over the last 15 years remain with the firm.”
Mr Psaltis said.
The strong connection between UWA and Pritchard Francis has resulted in scholarship recipients from 2004 to 2017 receiving graduate positions with the firm once completing their studies. Many have progressed through the firm to take on senior roles, including the inaugural scholarship recipient, Chris Tyler now a Principal Structural Engineer, the 2005 recipient Mark Riddell a Project Director - Civil, and the 2006 recipient Gareth Jenkins the Principal for the firm in Northern Australia.
A number of recipients have also gone on to win various industry awards; Chris Tyler, Engineers Australia’s 2011 Western Australian Young Professional of the Year and Consult Australia’s 2014 Gold Award for Future Leader; and Miriam Salter, Property Council (WA) 2016 Future Leader in Design. Most recently, James Leiper has been recognised by Engineers Australia as the 2017 Western Australian Young Professional Engineer of the Year.
UWA’s Pro-Vice Chancellor and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, Professor John Dell commented, “we are extremely proud of our graduates and we are grateful for the opportunities companies such as Pritchard Francis, provide to our engineering students”.
“This is just one example that demonstrates the importance of recognising and rewarding the amazing engineering talent at UWA, and the long term benefits student scholarships provide to our future engineering leaders”, Prof Dell said.
The 2018 scholarship has been awarded to James Owen-Conway who is currently studying a Master of Professional Engineering (Civil Engineering) at UWA.
Image: (L-R) Chris Tyler, inaugural 2004 Scholarship recipient and Pritchard Francis Principal; James Owen-Conway, 2018 Scholarship recipient; and Arthur Psaltis, Pritchard Francis CEO, courtesy of Pritchard Francis