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The University of Western Australia and Pritchard Francis recently celebrated the 15 year anniversary of the Pritchard Francis Scholarship in Civil Engineering.

A formal dinner was held at the University Club’s Formal Dining Room, with 30 attendees from UWA and Pritchard Francis. Notable guests included Professor John Dell, Pro-Vice Chancellor and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, Executives of Pritchard Francis, including CEO Arthur Psaltis and previous Pritchard Francis scholars.

The Scholarship is awarded to a student at UWA undertaking a degree in Civil Engineering and includes a financial component, as well as the opportunity of work experience with the firm.

In a sign of the strong connection between UWA and Pritchard Francis, all scholarship winners from 2004 to 2017 have commenced roles as Graduate Engineers at Pritchard Francis, with inaugural scholarship recipient Chris Tyler now Principal – Structural at Pritchard Francis. Many other scholarship recipients have progressed through the firm to take on senior roles, including the 2005 recipient Mark Riddell, and the 2006 recipient Gareth Jenkins.

A number of scholarship winners have gone on to win various industry awards: Chris Tyler, Engineers Australia (WA) 2011 Young Professional of the Year and Consult Australia’s 2014 Gold Award for Future Leader; Miriam Salter, Property Council (WA) 2016 Future Leader in Design; and James Leiper, who has recently been recognised by Engineers Australia (WA) as the 2017 Young Professional Engineer of the Year.

Mr Arthur Psaltis, Chief Executive Officer of Pritchard Francis, said the success of the Scholarship was attributable to the high calibre of engineering students the University of Western Australia produces, the graduates’ sound understanding of fundamental engineering principles, and their ability to transition into the workplace with the qualities required of a young professional engineer.

Professor John Dell commented, “We are extremely proud of our graduates and we are grateful for the opportunities companies such as Pritchard Francis, provide to our engineering students. This is just one example that demonstrates the importance of recognising and rewarding the amazing engineering talent at UWA, and the long term benefits student scholarships provide to our future engineering leaders”.

Photos will be available on request.

Media references

Ben Robson (UWA Faculty of Engineering Mathematical Sciences) (+61 8) 6488 7501