April 2020
Dear Cambridge Alumni,
The Directors of Cambridge Australia Scholarships wish good health to our fellow Cambridge alumni community through the current COVID crisis. In these challenging and uncertain times, bright young Australian minds seeking to stretch themselves further need our support more than ever. Amongst them may lie a bio-chemical researcher who helps solve the next pandemic we will face, or a technology wizard who founds the next big tech giant that fosters the next wave of economic and social development. Cambridge Australia Scholarships’ mission is to provide opportunity for the brightest and most inquisitive Australians to undertake post-graduate study and research at one of the finest education institutions in the world. We must not let the current crisis overshadow this enduring goal.
As the COVID crisis developed, the Australian Government recommended Australians overseas come back home, and Cambridge also closed urging students to return home. Mindful of the significant financial strain this would place on the budgets of our Scholars in residence, CAS undertook to underwrite their travel expenses and eleven decided to return to Australia to see through the crisis.
Therefore, in addition to our standing mission, this year CAS seeks your support to fund the unexpected costs incurred in the urgent repatriation of our Scholars in residence.
Why support outstanding Australians to study at Cambridge?
Cambridge Australia Scholarships (CAS) is the main source of funding for Australians undertaking post-graduate study at Cambridge, and is funded entirely by private philanthropy. It has provided young minds with access to a myriad of opportunities and networks, fostering curiosity and inquiring thought. At any given time, there are over 30 Australians resident in Cambridge supported wholly or partly by CAS (in partnership with the Cambridge Commonwealth, European and International Trust). This year we will welcome five new PhD Scholarships and eight new Masters Scholarships, whilst supporting our two Indigenous Scholarship partners: the Charlie Perkins Scholarship Trust and the Roberta Sykes Indigenous Education Foundation.
Who does CAS support at Cambridge?
The impact the scholarships have on the recipient is wide-ranging, enriching both their intellectual and personal lives. All scholars are profiled every year in our Annual Report (www.cambridgeaustralia.org.au). We are delighted to share extracts of reports of two of our current Scholars:
“I am sincerely grateful to CAS for supporting this experience – from extending my knowledge and skills in my PhD, to being honoured as Forbes 30 Under 30 (Global Leaders), McKinsey NGWL (Women Leaders) and BCG PROUD (LGBTQ+ Leaders), to riding a horse for the first time and becoming an avid polo player, to breaking a world-record, to networking with distinguished individuals including CEOs, Prime Ministers and Nobel Prize winners, to making friendships that will last a lifetime – it has definitely been a life changing one!”
Catherine Richards - PhD (Engineering) The existential threat of climate change: societal collapse as a novel lens for risk-based analysis and prioritisation of interventions.
“Even on the most challenging days, I am grateful to be a part of the Grey Group in Chemistry and of Pembroke College. Adjustment to this life is in part possible because of the wealth of knowledge and support in my everyday working environment. Without this network, I doubt I would have built up a holistic set of skills that has enabled me to investigate the state of art in battery material coatings so quickly from scratch.”
Richard Chen - PhD (Chemistry) Evolution of coatings used in Ni-rich layered oxide cathode materials in lithium ion batteries.
Enabling opportunity
By donating to CAS, you give the brightest Australian students the transformative opportunity to study at one of the world’s leading universities.
Donations to CAS are tax deductible, and donating to Cambridge Australia Scholarships (CAS) remains the only tax-effective way for Australians to give to the University of Cambridge.
To learn more, please visit: www.cambridgeaustralia.org.au.
Making a donation to Cambridge Australia Scholarships
To make your donation online, please click on the link below.
https://www.givenow.com.au/organisation/public/4667
If you would like to direct your donation to a particular scholarship fund, please visit our website www.cambridgeaustralia.org.au for details and note your preference on the reply slip below.
All donors are welcome at our Annual General Meeting and Scholar Reception which is usually held in August in Melbourne (however, it remains to be seen whether a physical event will be feasible this year). Please email the CAS Executive Officer at cambridge@ormond.unimelb.edu.au or phone (03) 9344 1144 to be included on the guest list or to learn more.
We hope you will consider supporting the next generation of capable Australian students to study at Cambridge.
The Board of CAS wishes our community good health through the current crisis.
Kind regards,
Mr Amrit Bahra, Chair Ms Antara Mascarenhas
Mr Darren Peacock Mr Chris Briggs
Prof Roderic Broadhurst Mr Lindsay Jones
Mr Philip Pope
Directors, Cambridge Australia Scholarships Ltd
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