UWA Fogarty Scholarship 20th Anniversary Breakfast
The celebratory breakfast hosted by UWA and the Fogarty Foundation on 27 September champions all that has been achieved since the formation of the UWA Fogarty Scholarship Program in 2003.
A recording of the breakfast celebration is available here.
20 years ago, history was made with the commencement of a partnership between the Fogarty Foundation and the University of Western Australia to establish an elite scholarship program for high achieving young Western Australians; the first ever undergraduate scholarship of its kind in Australia. Fast-forward to September 2023 and we are delighted to be celebrating our current scholars, our alumni and our colleagues at UWA.
The celebratory event to mark 20 years of partnership as part of the Scholarship program championed all that has been achieved since its formation in 2003. Dr Annie Fogarty’s speech at the Breakfast gave the opportunity to reflect on the vast achievements of the Fogarty Foundation Scholars and alumni, which includes several global projects, initiatives, and partnerships.
Attendees enjoyed hearing from keynote speaker Rob Scott, Managing Director and CEO of Wesfarmers, reflecting on the importance of a lifelong love for learning, something which drives his passion to continue to grow and achieve.
This celebration was an opportunity for scholars, alumni, staff, and relevant professionals to reflect on the Fogarty Foundation Scholar programme; as well as look forward to further projects, initiatives and collaborations which may grow within this ever-expanding network of notable individuals. A quality seen in all our Scholars and alumni is the passion and drive to excel in their field and make a contribution to society. As the leaders of today – and tomorrow – we look forward to seeing the increasing impact they will make.
This celebration exemplifies the drive by the Fogarty Foundation to drive sustainable change by helping create a brighter future through education, leadership and raising aspirations.
We are grateful to the University of Western Australia for being such a wonderful partner over these two decades and congratulate all our Scholars, past and present, for their efforts and achievements. As the Foundation’s logo suggests, the change we ignite is a ripple, starting with the youth of today and continuing through strong leadership for tomorrow.
The UWA Fogarty Scholars Program has produced an impressive roster of alumni who are leaders in their fields. From doctors and engineers to entrepreneurs and educators, these scholars are making waves and driving positive change worldwide. Their accomplishments stand as a testament to the power of education, leadership, and community engagement.
We hope you made some new connections at our celebratory breakfast. Stay in touch with us through Facebook, LinkedIn and X; and you can also find all our amazing young leaders through our NEW scholar’s database. Please also enjoy our two latest films, one that promotes our Scholarship program and another that provides some insights into the paths of our alumni, which features six of our Scholars who are now living and working elsewhere in the world. Below is a photo gallery from the celebration breakfast.
South Perth resident Brooke Dunnell won the 2021 Fogarty Literary Award for Western Australian writers aged 18 to 35 at the ECU Spiegeltent on Wednesday 2 June 2021. Dunnell receives a $20,000 cash prize from the Fogarty Foundation and a publishing contract with Fremantle Press for her winning manuscript The Glass House.
Dunnell who turned 35 just one week after entries for the award closed said the Fogarty deadline pushed her to finish her manuscript. Dunnell said, ‘In other circumstances I might have run out of puff and started to second-guess myself before getting it to the level where I was happy to have others read it. Because I began and finished writing the manuscript so close to the deadline, I didn’t have the chance to share it with [my] readers … so I couldn’t be sure whether everything was working the way I intended.’
Dunnell’s winning manuscript, The Glass House, centres on 36-year-old Julia, who takes a break from her faltering marriage in Melbourne to help her ageing father move out of the family home in Perth. While visiting, she bumps into a childhood friend, Davina, who is keen to reignite their friendship and gets overly involved in Julia’s life without being very open about her own. At the same time, Julia starts having dreams about a shadowy male threat against her stepdaughter, Evie.
Dunnell who has a PhD in creative writing from the University of Western Australia said, ‘I had a spark of an idea where one woman offers to be a surrogate for an old friend in a way that seems promising at the start but slowly unfolds to be a kind of power play. The final element that brought the whole thing together came from thinking about inappropriate behaviour between adults and teenage girls, and how the girl can mistakenly believe she has some agency in what’s going on, only to later realise that … she was being manipulated.’
Executive Chairperson of the Fogarty Foundation, Annie Fogarty AM, said, ‘We are absolutely delighted to help another inspiring writer make the leap from manuscript to published book. Brooke’s talent as a short story writer is garnering her national recognition and we believe she has a long writing career ahead. More than this, her experience as a creative writing mentor and workshop facilitator will hold her in good stead when she provides literary leadership to other young Western Australian writers as a Fogarty Foundation ambassador.’
Fremantle Press CEO Jane Fraser said the Fogarty Literary Award had already unearthed a wealth of talent. Fraser said, ‘The winner, shortlisted and longlisted writers for the first Fogarty Literary Award have become an integral part of the Fremantle Press community. We’ve published five books by the Fogarty alumni to date and we’re thrilled by the responses we’ve had from reviewers and the reading public.’
Fraser said The Glass House is scheduled for publication in 2022, while shortlisted writers Patrick Marlborough and Georgia Tree will work with publisher Georgia Richter to further develop their manuscripts A Horse Held at Gun Point and Old Boy.
The official award ceremony, hosted by 2019 winner Rebecca Higgie, featured readings from The Last Bookshop by Emma Young, Where the Line Breaks by Michael Burrows and The Little Boat on Trusting Lane by Mel Hall – all of which were books shortlisted or longlisted for the first Fogarty Literary Award.
Article courtesy of Fremantle Press, originally published as Fogarty Literary Award winner used her last-minute, very last chance to take the prize.
The UWA Fogarty Scholars and Alumni had the wonderful opportunity to share a conversation with Iain Grandage, composer, conductor and Artistic Director of Perth Festival, at a recent Leadership Series event.
Iain is the first Perth-raised Artistic Director of the Festival in its 68-year history and spoke of how following his passion enabled him to work on the world stage.
Iain spoke with the Scholars about the arts, our community, Western Australia, Perth Festival, the celebration of stories, being connected, leadership and the importance of listening.
He shared his thoughts on leadership and whilst he had experienced many missteps throughout his career, he encouraged the students to always strive to enact positive change if (and when) they find themselves in a position to do so.
“Never presume you know. Always listen with open ears. That is where you will find the understanding and connection you need to move forward,” Iain said.
Iain is one of Australia’s most highly regarded collaborative artists, having won Helpmann Awards for his compositions for theatre, dance, opera, silent film and as a music director.
He has received Victorian Green Room Awards, the prestigious Sidney Myer Performance Arts Award for an individual and the APRA/AMC award for Vocal Work of the Year. He has curated the chamber music program for the Adelaide Festival and been the Artistic Director of the Port Fairy Spring Music Festival.
Iain has been composer-in-residence with the WA Symphony Orchestra and has an extensive track record of collaboration with Indigenous artists across the country. He explained to the Scholars that he had always been excited about the possibilities inherent in being Perth Festival’s Artistic Director because of the ability of the arts to change perceptions – of people, places and our history.
There is a new breed of ninjas in the north after Ashdale Secondary College launched CoderDojo North over the weekend. Thanks to Curtin University, Bankwest and the Autism Academy for Software Quality Assurance (AASQA), CoderDojo North is ready to motivate coding ninjas to be innovative creators of technology.
“It was great to see such a range of community partners coming together to start yet another Dojo in the community. The launch was attended by senior members across business, the AASQA academy and universities. Without this teamwork and band of volunteers, Dojos just wouldn’t exist!”
Simon Thuijs, Manager of CoderDojo WA
Coding is a tool that lets you write your story with technology. It is how humans talk to machines and an increasingly important skill for current and future generations.
“In Australia today, 87% of jobs demand digital skills, so it’s really important that we equip our youngsters with knowledge about coding and computers. Already, Ninjas at current AASQA Dojos are being linked up with paid internships and then ongoing roles, going to show that employers are really looking for candidates with these skills.”
Simon Thuijs, Manager of CoderDojo WA
CoderDojo North is dedicated to students with autism, working to build their strengths for future training and employment opportunities. At the Dojo (coding club), Ninjas (students aged 12-18) will work on code-related projects such as websites, apps, game development and more, with the support of volunteer Mentors from Edith Cowan University (ECU) and Curtin University
Lainey Bradley is Champion of CoderDojo North and mother to a child with Autism who has shone since he started coding.
“My son has been a part of CoderDojo WA since July 2017 and has exceled in his IT and coding skills. He knows what career path he would like to take and to have the support of Ashdale Secondary College, Professor Tan (AASQA) and Dr Cook (AASQA), I know that he will realise his dream job. At long last we, as parents, have hope for the future of our loved ones leaving school and going out into the community armed with the skills to be a success.”
Lainey Bradley, Champion of CoderDojo WA North
Attendees of this exciting launch included Hon Kerry Sanderson AC CVO (Ambassador for AASQA), Lyn Beazley AO (Ambassador for AASQA), Margaret Quirk MLA, Professor Arshad Omari (Vice-Chancellor ECU), Dr Tele Tan (AASQA director) and Dr David Cook (AASQA Advisory Board and ECU).
To find out more, contact Lainey.bradley@curtin.edu.au
Ten of the State’s highest achieving and most inspirational young people have accepted UWA Fogarty Scholarships, including this year’s Beazley Medallist, Josh Green (Christ Church Grammar School).
UWA Fogarty Scholarships offer the State’s brightest and most committed students a full scholarship for the entirety of their undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. Scholars are selected on their academic excellence and outstanding achievements in leadership, community involvement, enterprise, the arts and/or sport.
Winners of this year’s prestigious scholarships are Heather Bytheway (St Mary’s Anglican Girls’ School), Ella Dickie (Mount Lawley Senior High School), Josh Green (CCGS), Isabelle Hamer (Presbyterian Ladies’ College), Jason Lu (CCGS), Ella Miels (PLC), Joshua Peckover (Mandurah Baptist College), Ellen Smith (All Saints’ College), Emma Tinley (Bunbury Senior High School) and Sam Wake (Scotch College).
“I applied to be a UWA Fogarty Scholar because I saw it as a way to join a group of passionate, inspired and driven people,” said Jason Lu, 2021 UWA Fogarty Scholar.
“I want a career where I’m working towards positive change in the world and I saw the community of Fogarty Scholars as a group of like-minded people, actively driving these changes,” he said.
“I also saw the leadership development program as an opportunity to develop the skills that will allow me to achieve this ambition.”
In addition to financial support, the Scholars participate in a tailored leadership program, academic mentoring, leadership opportunities, support for their initiatives and are part of the Scholars and Alumni network.
“Current Scholars refer to each other as being more like family than colleagues, and this chance to build strong relationships and connections that will last for many years, is an incredibly attractive element of the program,” said Ella Dickie, 2021 UWA Fogarty Scholar.
“I’m looking forward to challenging myself in the company of many inspirational figures and to hopefully draw on their great knowledge and experience,” she said.
Annie Fogarty AM, Executive Chairperson of the Fogarty Foundation said, “We believe that through empowering young people with potential, they will provide vision and direction to enable positive change to benefit the community.”
“We need people to lead – in education and in life – which is why the UWA Fogarty Scholarships continue to be a key element of the Foundation,” Mrs Fogarty said.
Through the Leadership and Enterprise Program, the Foundation hopes to empower young people to be problem solvers and entrepreneurial creators. Many Scholars have started enterprises and not-for-profit organisations which the Foundation supports. They have now established the Scholars Enterprise Investment Fund to help the Scholar’s enterprises grow the next generation of businesses.
“The Enterprise Investment Fund will support the Scholars and build their networks, while enhancing WA-wide support for the next generation of enterprises, growing the number of jobs and diversity of businesses across WA and Australia,” Mrs Fogarty said.
Since 2004, the scholarships have educated and supported 166 outstanding young people. It is one of Australia’s premier scholarship programs. You can read about some of the exceptional Scholars at fogartyfoundation.org.au.
In today’s globalised world, leadership and communication skills are not only desired, but increasingly required by employers. Workshops at the conference will give students the tools to become leaders of their communities and identify which communication strategies work most effectively for them.
Throughout the conference, students will be involved in a number of exercises that aim to challenge them to understand their own beliefs and motivations. Goal-setting activities and self-reflection will encourage students to think introspectively and realise areas in which they can improve as global citizens.
Presentations from community leaders in Western Australia will inspire Futures attendees to think outside of their comfort zone and take on a challenge to improve a social issue that resonates with them. A Politicians Panel will interview State and Federal politicians to find out how they are addressing these societal problems.
While Futures promotes attendees to think big, action on a global scale starts at a grassroots, community level. With a social issue in mind, the conference will focus on how students are able to become more involved in community-based leadership.
The Fogarty Futures Leadership Conference will be held from 29 September to 2 October 2020, for Year 10 & 11 students. The conference combines exciting workshops with incredible speakers, endeavouring to inspire WA’s youth to be leaders in their communities.
To apply, visit https://fogartyfutures.org/apply/
Email: admin@fogartyfutures.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/futuresconference
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fogartyfutures/
Charlie Singleton
2018 Futures attendee – Methodist Ladies’ College, Year 11
“The conference was a really great experience which helped me to refine my leadership skills and future goals. It was a unique opportunity to meet a group of young people who could inspire each other with their diverse perspectives.”
Eva Marsh
2017 Futures attendee – Presbyterian Ladies College, Year 11
“Futures was a great way to meet and get to know, not only other amazing people my age from all different schools and backgrounds with different goals in life, but also older UWA students who had amazing advice to give. I found the experience really valuable in helping me to discover my purpose and felt that all of the activities really flowed well into this common goal.”
On Friday 13 December we hosted the CoderDojo WA end of year party for 2019. The event was held at Scitech, with over 200 of our community members attending for a fun night of presentations, science shows, prizes and pizza.
Thank you to all of our volunteers and the Ninjas, Mentors and Champions who presented their projects on the night and for all your wonderful help throughout the year. The CoderDojo WA community wouldnt be possible with your help.
Click here to see the photos from the event on our CoderDojo WA Facebook Group.
If you’re interested to learn more about CoderDojo WA and possibly starting or joining a dojo, follow the link below.
As part of the Leadership Program, Fogarty Scholars have the opportunity to meet with exceptional leaders in the community. At the latest Leaders Series event scholars met with Craig Challen, SC, OAM – joint winner of the 2019 Australian of the Year.
You will likely recognise Craig Challen from the news. As an experienced technical diver, Craig played a pivotal role in the 2018 cave rescue operation in Thailand to evacuate 12 children and an adult from the flooded Tham Luang Cave system.
He was awarded the Star of Courage (SC) and Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) by the Governor-General of Australia for his role in the rescue and was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Direkgunabhorn by the King of Thailand. He is also a veterinary surgeon and all round exceptional West Australian.
Scholar Connor McLaughlin writes about five key insights he learnt from Craig Challen: The Five Things I Learned from Craig Challen.
The Fogarty Foundation was proud to recently launch the Report Card for Cohort 3 of Fogarty EDvance, a 3-year whole school improvement program for schools in disadvantaged communities in Western Australia. The EDvance program works to support schools in closing the educational gap for students in lower socio-economic communities.
Distinguished members of Parliament, school leaders, teachers, program partners, sponsors, mentors, program stakeholders and members of parliament joined the EDvance team to celebrate the exceptional achievements of the Cohort 3 schools.
Cohort 3 finished the program at the end of 2018 and their results are very promising. On very visible lag metrics, such as NAPLAN, this cohort of schools has seen material improvements in essential foundational skills for their students across all areas.
There were 13 schools in Cohort 3 of the program, serving 4,600+ students, including:
| – Balga Primary | – Dianella Primary College | |
| – Roseworth Primary | – Warriapendi Primary | |
| – Yule Brook College | – Bentley Primary | |
| – Forrestfield Primary | – St John Paul II Catholic Primary | |
| – Dianella Secondary College | – Southern River College | |
| – Bungaree Primary | – Middle Swan Primary | |
| – Thornlie Primary |
On average, the 12 government schools in the cohort are now at, or above expected performance in over 70% of NAPLAN areas (up from 50% at the start of the program) and on average, the cohort is above expected performance when compared to peer schools.
The primary schools are now, on average, above expected performance in all areas of Year 3 and 5 NAPLAN. At the start of the program, just 2 years ago, this cohort was on average, below or at, expected performance in all areas of NAPLAN except one.
Two of the three secondary schools have seen major growth in their NAPLAN results too – with expected Year 9 performance improving by 0.2 – 1 full standard deviation.
Mr Lee Woodcock, Principal of Thornlie Primary School, spoke about his schools’ experience with the EDvance program and credited a strong improvement plan, regular mentor support, feedback and advice as key factors of their success. Mr Woodcock also made sure to credit his teaching staff on their hard work and commitment and spoke of his renewed enjoyment in writing the school’s annual report since completing the program.
A long time supporter of the program, The Hon. Sue Ellery MLC, Minister for Education and Training, congratulated the schools on their achievements in improving student outcomes and of the importance of strengthening leadership skills in schools.
Fogarty EDvance are currently working with their sixth cohort of schools in 2019 and plan to launch Cohort 7 in 2020, which will extend their supportive reach to over 100 schools in disadvantaged communities in WA.
Read the full Report Card for Cohort 3 here, or you can learn more about Fogarty EDvance here.
For more information, please contact Katie O’Driscoll at katie.odriscoll@fogartyedvance.org,au
How can we get the best education for our children? How can schools better support students to provide an environment that allows them to flourish, regardless of family, wealth and social disadvantage?
In this talk, Annie notes the essential role that education plays in society. She also argues that schools should function as a community hub whose role extends beyond simply teaching, as well as providing practical tips on how we all can get involved in improving our education system.
Watch Annie Fogarty’s TEDx talk in full here: Let’s create the educational village