Three inspiring women with a passion for the global challenges of climate change, population ageing and urbanisation have been named UNSW winners of the inaugural Westpac Future Leaders Scholarships.
Amy Coopes
UNSW Media
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Three inspiring women with a passion for the global challenges of climate change, population ageing and urbanisation have been named UNSW winners of the inaugural Westpac Future Leaders Scholarships.
Alison Phillips, Clare Stephens and Susan Overall were among 17 postgraduate students selected from seven universities Australia-wide to receive a Future Leaders grant from the Westpac Bicentennial Foundation.
The program is designed to support exceptional graduates with the potential to shape Australia’s future, with an emphasis on social change, technology and innovation, and strengthening ties with Asia.
Worth up to $120,000, the Future Leaders scholarship supports the costs of study, global opportunities and a nine-month leadership development course in conjunction with the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM) at UNSW.
The women selected to further their studies at UNSW are a diverse trio.
Phillips is passionate about understanding the impact of population growth on urban living and will undertake a Master of Urban Development and Design, exploring how to make cities more practical, functional and liveable.
“This scholarship has provided me with an amazing opportunity to work with other future leaders and make a real difference to Australian cities,” said Phillips.
Alison Phillips, UNSW winner of a Westpac Future Leaders Scholarship
Harvard economics and global health policy graduate Susan Overall will do an MBA at the AGSM hoping to drive change in Australia’s aged care sector.
Overall’s Honours thesis contrasted the economics of nursing home care in the United States with facilities in Australia, inspired by the experiences of her grandmother.
“There’s a lot of change that could be made,” she said.
“I hope to bridge the gap between theory and practice, and to go on to influence the Australian nursing home industry.”
Susan Overall, winner of an inaugural Westpac Future Leaders Scholarship
Overall said the AGSM’s global network of alumni and longstanding roots within Australia’s business community made it a natural choice for her following graduation from Harvard.
Stephens, a volunteer with Engineers Without Borders, will undertake a doctorate in hydrologic modelling and climate change, examining the resilience of long-term water catchment projections.
It’s an issue she’s experienced first hand, having lived through major floods in Brisbane.
She hopes to advance engineering technology and to promote forward-thinking water policy and infrastructure investment.
Stephens sees the Future Leaders program as an opportunity to grow from a technical specialist to an inspiring advocate in her field, forging global connections among similarly passionate people.
"I'm extremely grateful to have been selected as a Westpac Future Leaders scholar. This program provides amazing opportunities to develop leadership skills and networks to help scholars fulfil their potential," she said.
"I look forward to starting my research at UNSW."
Susan Bannigan, CEO of the Westpac Bicentennial Foundation, said the program had attracted an incredibly high calibre of talented and driven individuals “who see the value in further education to increase their potential to make a difference”.
The winners were selected by a high-profile panel including CSIRO chair and former Telstra chief David Thodey, and renowned molecular biologist Suzanne Cory, first female president of the Australian Academy of Science.
“Without a doubt they have selected 17 of Australia’s finest future leaders,” added Bannigan.
“We are now all eager to see what each of their success paths will look like given they are starting from an impressive base.”