The first-year Bachelor of Engineering student is one of two recipients of the inaugural scholarship from the credit union which provides banking to people working in the ICT sector in Australia.
“We established the Intech Scholarship in Information Technology for students who can demonstrate financial disadvantage. It is a way of giving back to the sector and providing opportunities for young people starting out on their ICT careers,” said Robert King, Chief Executive Officer, Intech Credit Union.
The financial award is paid in two lump sums which can be spent on any activity of the student’s choice. For Jonatan, the second oldest of a family of seven children, the financial support will go a long way to reducing the burden on his parents, who migrated to Australia in 2004.
Originally from Guinea, Jonatan attended high school in Fairfield and has been receiving Youth Allowance. He decided to apply for the scholarship for help in buying textbooks, meeting travel expenses and acquiring the other equipment required to successfully complete the course.
Most of his friends – who could all do with the extra $$$ - didn’t bother applying because they didn’t think they would get it!
“No one I know applied did because they just didn’t think they would get it, or didn’t want to have to fill in the application form!” he says.
The scholarship will be awarded annually and exclusively to a student from UTS and a student from Swinburne University, based on candidate responses to five questions, plus academic merit. Jonatan clearly outlined his long-term interest in exploring how things work, in making new things and working on his own ideas. He outlined many of his extracurricular activities, and his participation as a mentor and a mentee in programs which have developed his knowledge of the business practices and skills he’ll need to achieve his ambition to start his own software company.
UTS has a range of generous scholarships and awards from our industry partners to assist students meet some of the expenses of university life. Talk to your course coordinator or check out: http://www.uts.edu.au/future-students/scholarships