John Monash Scholars

John Monash Scholars
Named after	General Sir John Monash GCMG, KCB, VD
Formation	2001
Type	Not for Profit
Legal status	Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR1)
Purpose	The John Monash Scholarships are postgraduate scholarships awarded to outstanding Australians with leadership potential who wish to study overseas.
Headquarters	Ground Floor, Bennelong House, 9 Queen Street Melbourne VIC 3000
Services	Postgraduate Scholarships for study outside of Australia
Patron-in-Chief	His Excellency General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (Retd)
Chairman	Ms Jillian Segal AM
CEO	Ms Renata Bernarde
Website	www.johnmonash.com

John Monash Scholars are recipients of scholarships provided by the General Sir John Monash Foundation. The John Monash Scholarships are postgraduate scholarships awarded to outstanding Australians with leadership potential who wish to study overseas. The John Monash Scholarships are amongst the most important postgraduate scholarships currently available in Australia.

History

The General Sir John Monash Foundation was established in 2001 with an initial contribution from the Australian Federal Government together with further contributions from corporate and private sponsors and donors. The first John Monash Scholarships were awarded in 2004 to a total of eight Scholars. Recipients of the John Monash Scholarships are recognised as John Monash Scholars. As of November 2015, 127 John Monash Scholars have been selected to date, all of whom possess significant leadership potential, are outstanding in their chosen fields and aspire to make the world a better place.^[1]

The mission of the Foundation is 'to invest in outstanding Australians from all fields of endeavour who demonstrate remarkable qualities of leadership and have the ability to deliver outcomes and inspire others for the benefit of Australia'.^[1]

"The John Monash Scholars are truly inspiring. Seventy Scholars have completed their studies and 43 of these are now back in Australia fulfilling roles in industry, government, academia and the not-for-profit sector." - Renata Bernade, CEO, General Sir John Monash Foundation^[1]

Criteria and Selection Process

John Monash Scholarships are open to outstanding Australians with demonstrated leadership skills who are studying or working in areas of potential benefit to Australia. The Scholarship is publicised at all Australian universities to highlight the opportunity it offers for recipients to undertake postgraduate studies at an international institution.

As of July 2015, overseas degrees that were completed or under way and funded by the John Monash Scholarships included 56 Doctorates of Philosophy and 63 Masters or equivalent degrees.^[1]

Criteria

In awarding the John Monash Scholarships, factors considered include:^[2]

Australian Citizenship;
Outstanding Intellect – demonstrated by academic excellence (having completed or about to complete a university degree or degrees with outstanding results); excellence can also be demonstrated through language skills, musical skills and/or publications;
Leadership – demonstrated and potential – within or outside of an applicant’s field of study or professional field; Citizenship – community service;
Program – a defined research project or study programme to be conducted at an overseas university;
Proposed Career Trajectory – a credible and concrete pathway, addressing an issue the applicant is passionate about which is of benefit to Australia;
Referee reports supporting the applicant’s profile.

The John Monash Scholarships are not restricted by, age, gender, field of study or choice of overseas institution.

Selection process

The initial selection process involves an assessment of all written applications. Applicants successful in the initial review, are then interviewed by their relevant State or Territory Selection Panel which comprises high-calibre members drawn from academia, industry, government and community organisations. Following this stringent assessment process, the National Selection Panel recommends candidates to the General Sir John Monash Foundation Board for endorsement as recipients of the John Monash Scholarships.^[1]

Recipients

Scholar Fields and Locations

John Monash Scholars are working and studying in their fields of expertise in Australia and around the world. 17 new Scholars were selected to receive the 2016 John Monash Scholarships.^[3]

Notable Scholars

Many John Monash scholars are already having an impact in Australia and abroad.

Associate Professor Mark Dawson (2006 John Monash Scholar) is Head of the Mark Dawson Laboratory and Consultant Haematologist and Head of Cancer Epigenetics Laboratory at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. ^[4] Associate Professor Dawson has commenced an international treatment trial which is the result of his commitment to eight years of research. The trial will focus on the treatment of the rare blood cancer, acute myeloid leukaemia. It is being conducted both in Australia and internationally.^[1]
Brigadier Roger Noble (2008 John Monash Scholar) completed his Masters of International Public Policy at Johns Hopkins University, USA in 2009. His focus was on strategy in conflict management. Roger was the first member of the Australian military to receive a John Monash Scholarship. Roger has since returned to Australia, and in 2010 was promoted to Brigadier. From November 2013, Brigadier Noble was the Commander of the 3rd Brigade based in Far North Queensalnd. In 2016, he will take up the role of Director-General Army Training, at Victoria Barracks in Sydney. ^[5]
Squadron Leader Chris Lowe (2012 John Monash Scholar) completed a Masters of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US in 2014. During his studies, Chris conducted research into the integration of unmanned aircraft systems into non-segregated civil airspace. A member of the Royal Australian Air Force since 2005, he has served in operations in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He is currently working within Air Force Headquarters to address and resolve a range of policy, regulatory, technical, operational and legal issues that will permit the normalisation of unmanned aviation across Australia and internationally.^[1]
Fergus Green (2012 John Monash Scholar) is a widely published authority on Australian and international climate change policy. His paper, co-authored with Lord Nicholas Stern of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and The Environment, "New Normal": Structural Change, Better Growth, and Peak Emissions," received over 600 media mentions globally. Fergus is a regular commentator on the issue and has spoken at conferences around the world.^[1]
Catherine Drummond (2014 John Monash Scholar) has worked in international law for a firm in Paris, for the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal in Rwanda and for the Queensland Court of Appeal. She was nominated for Australian of the Year in 2012 for leading community initiatives that promote human rights,^[1] and in 2015 won the prestigious Whewell Scholarship in International Law, awarded by Cambridge University.^[6]
Dr Phoebe Williams (2015 John Monash Scholar) explains that
'I plan to use my John Monash Scholarship to travel to Kenya to work with the University of Oxford’s research unit. My aim is to help identify the best and most effective way to administer oxygen therapy to critically ill and malnourished children. This is a really important project because it has the potential to change the way oxygen therapy is administered worldwide, including to children who are admitted to hospitals in Australia. I am absolutely thrilled to have been given this opportunity.'^[1]
Other noteworthy scholars include:
- Lara Olsen (2004), Tesla Motors; Formally Head of Strategy at CitiPower and Powercor, Chief Executive of Coolnrg International ^[7]
- Danielle Malek Roosa (2004), Senior Legal Counsel, The World Bank Group.^[1]
- Andrew Hudson (2005), Executive Director, Crisis Action ^[8]
- Dr Matthew Baker (2005) Post-doctoral Research Assistant at Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute;^[1] ABC Radio National 2015 Top 5 Scientist under 40 ^[9]
- Hugh Evans (2008), 2004 Young Australian of the Year and CEO of the Global Poverty Project ^[10]
- Dr Alice Chang (2008), Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist- Cairs & Hinterland Hospital and Health Service;^[11] 2015 John Monash Oration Key Note Speaker ^[12]
- Madeline Gleeson (2012), Research Associate, Andrew & Renata Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law at UNSW ^[13]
- Sarah Lux Lee (2014), Master of Public Administration, Columbia University; The Australian Financial Review and Westpac's 2014 The 100 Women of Influence ^[14]