News Archive

As Western Australia gears up for the next mining boom, one scholarship offered by the UWA Business School is aiming to draw new talent into the industry.

The Mining Leaders Scholarship , worth $15,000, was established by James McClements, the co-founder of private equity firm Resource Capital Funds. McClements initially established the scholarship in 2007 as the Resource Capital Funds Scholarship, before securing additional funding from several other mid-cap mining companies and semi-endowing the scholarship through the Mining Leaders Scholarship Fund.

‘The Mining Leaders Scholarship was initially an opportunity for us to engage in philanthropy by assisting high achieving postgraduate students with an interest in the mining industry,' says McClements. ‘With the rapid expansion of the sector, however, what we have found is that the state is also benefitting enormously from the attraction of talent into the sector.

‘What is happening now is that you can walk through West Perth and run into people developing projects all over the world. The city is becoming acknowledged as a global mining centre. This is reflected in the number of international visitors to Perth on an international basis. Technical and commercial personnel will travel here rather than the other way around, which reflects Perth's importance.'

Western Australia is certainly developing a reputation as a mining and resources hub, with the sector already worth $70 billion to the state. In a speech made earlier this year at the UWA Business School, Premier Colin Barnett estimated that that another $170 billion worth of projects will come into existence over the next five to seven years.

The nexus between the energy sector and research innovation has been further reinforced by the launch of UWA's Energy and Minerals Institute in September 2010.

The link between the resource sector and knowledge production is something of which McClements is well aware. As a child, he grew up in a remote WA mining town. After winning a BHP scholarship and earning an Honours degree in economics from The University of Western Australia, he went on to work in both Australia and the United States, eventually co-founding private equity firm Resource Capital Funds, of which he is now a Senior Partner.

His university experience gave him a first-hand appreciation of philanthropy in education, providing him with the impetus to secure financial support for the Mining Leaders Scholarship Fund.

The Mining Leaders Scholarship is available to citizens or permanent residents of Australia with experience in the mining industry who wish to undertake full-time postgraduate MBA studies, or an Honours/Masters course in commerce or economics. It is also available to combined degree students with an engineering, geology, or resource economics component to their studies. While the scholarship is open to undergraduate students, preference will be given to postgraduate applicants with mining industry experience.

Applicants must demonstrate academic achievement, an interest in mining or resources, and leadership skills or potential.

Applications close 25 February 2011. For more information, contact Lisa Gorey, Faculty Administrative Officer, on +618 6488 2884 or by email at [email protected] .

Media references

Heather Merritt
Director, External Relations
UWA Business School
T: +618 6488 8171
E: [email protected]

Verity Chia
Communications Officer
UWA Business School
E: [email protected]