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Wednesday, 3 December 2014

An Arts graduate from The University of Western Australia who attended Morley Senior High School will use one of Australia's most prestigious national scholarships to better understand Australia-China business.

Tom Williams, who works as a technology and biotechnology research analyst at 3 rd Wave Capital, a private investment firm in Perth, has been awarded one of 14 John Monash Scholarships for 2015.

He will use his Woodside John Monash Scholarship to undertake an MBA in Finance through a joint program between the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Tsing-hua University, at Tsing-hua's Graduate Campus in Shenzhen, a major city in China's southern Guandong Province.

Mr Williams said China was likely to become a defining factor in Australian national life over the coming century.

"There is currently an insufficient number of Australians with China-oriented, and more generally Asia-oriented skills and in-country experience to best respond to the opportunities and challenges brought on by the rise of China and ensure a comprehensive and mutually respectful relationship," Mr Williams said.  "I hope in some small way to grow this talent pool."

Mr Williams was awarded a Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours in Asian Studies when he graduated from UWA last year.  He has been a visiting scholar at Renmin University, studied at Peking University as a Prime Minister's Australia Asia Endeavour Award recipient and is current President of the Australia-China Youth Association.  He is also a member of the New Colombo Plan Reference Group and was a delegate to the Australia-China Forum.

The recipient of a UWA Fogarty Foundation Scholarship , he acknowledged the Fogarty Foundation's strong support.

"The knowledge that someone believes in me so much as to invest in my education has empowered me to pursue goals that I might have otherwise thought were beyond my abilities," he said.

"The Fogarty Foundation works tirelessly to better West Australians through running and supporting community ventures and this has opened my eyes to what is possible and given me a greater sense of social responsibility."

Shaun Gregory, Senior Vice President Health, Safety, Environment and Technology at Woodside, congratulated Tom on his scholarship at an awards ceremony at Sydney Opera House last week.

Nearly 300 students from 38 Australian universities and tertiary institutions applied for the 2015 John Monash Scholarships with nine women and five men selected from around the country.

Media references

Tom Williams
David Stacey (UWA Media Manager)  (+61 8) 6488 3229 / (+61 4) 32 637 716

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