Western Australia's future will be shaped by the leaders being developed today. The Fogarty Foundation believes that investing in young people at the university stage, before their paths are set and their thinking is fixed, is one of the most meaningful investments we can make in our state. Fogarty Ripple is that investment in action.

Semester 1 marked a significant milestone for Fogarty Ripple at UWA. For the first time, Fogarty Scholars were joined by Winthrop and Lawrence Scholars, bringing together a diverse cohort of high-potential young people under one initiative. The response was overwhelmingly positive, with many participants highlighting the richness of connecting with peers from different disciplines and Scholarship communities. This positivity set the tone for everything that followed.

For first-year Scholars, the Leadership Foundations experience opened with a Leadership Bootcamp where Scholars explored their purpose and values, built their Leadership Development Plan (LDP), and elevated their professional presence through LinkedIn, elevator pitches, and professional headshots. Two peer-led Fireside workshops followed, exploring motivation, self-leadership, and navigating university life sustainably. One participant put it simply: "It wasn't just theory, it was practical, and it felt safe to ask the big questions."

The Leadership Horizons program for older Scholars took on two intensive Accelerator days. The first focused on career development, featuring workshops on the future of work, a career exploration map, and a panel of professionals spanning traditional and non-traditional pathways. The second dove into Enterprise, Innovation, and Technology, featuring sessions on the future of technology and a design thinking workshop where participants built solutions using AI.

"I came in thinking I had a pretty good idea of where I wanted to go. By the end, I had a completely different, and much bigger, sense of what was possible."

Across both programs, participants were matched with mentors aligned to their LDP goals, connecting them with professionals, Alumni, or older Scholars at a formative point in their journeys. Leadership Horizons participants also accessed the Expand Fund, supporting them to pursue opportunities in technology, innovation, and enterprise. We believe that every Scholar who leaves the program with a clearer sense of purpose, stronger networks, and the confidence to lead does not just benefit themselves. They carry that into the organisations, communities, and conversations they will be part of for decades to come.

With Semester 2 ahead, Leadership Foundations participants will design and deliver a youth-based solution through the Ripple Roots project. Leadership Horizons participants will have the opportunity to shape their legacy through the Leadership Legacy program. The full year comes together at the Ripple Legacy Night, where participants across all three programs will celebrate and share what they have built, learned, and set in motion.

Building a program from the ground up while running it at the same time has not been easy, but every piece of feedback from Scholars this semester reminded me why it matters. Watching a room of participants walk out with a clearer sense of who they are and where they want to go has been one of the most fulfilling parts of this role. When we made the decision to bring different Scholarship cohorts together, we were backing a belief that proximity to other high-potential people is itself a form of development, and Semester 1 proved that right. We are still learning and refining, but the conversations, the energy, and the connections that have formed across cohorts give me a lot of confidence in where this program is heading. WA is a small state with a big future, and I genuinely believe the people in these rooms are part of what shapes it.

Thank you to our Scholar Facilitators, Neemyana Lathia, Mariya Faisal, Shreeya Naroth, and Callum Jones, who have been an incredible help throughout the semester.

Harry Kwon, Program Coordinator: Next Generation leaders

Fogarty Ripple is a leadership and enterprise accelerator for high-potential young people across Western Australia. Across three programs, Leadership Foundations, Leadership Horizons, and Leadership Legacy, participants develop the skills, networks, and real-world experiences to create a ripple effect of positive change across the state and beyond.