A celebration of Cambridge Australia Scholarships

The Cambridge Trust and Cambridge Australia Scholarships recently convened Australian scholars with their former Prime Minister, The Honourable Julia Gillard AC, for a discussion about the future of their country.

Cambridge Australia Scholarships and the Trust provide talented students with a unique opportunity to study at the University of Cambridge, helping to prepare them for professional leadership or careers in academia.

India Oswin, one of 30 current Cambridge Australia Scholars in residence in Cambridge and recently-appointed Scholarships Community Co-President, is one such student. As well as her new leadership role, reporting to the Cambridge Australia Scholarships board, India is undertaking a PhD in English at Corpus Christi and following graduation hopes to pursue a career as an academic.

Many of the Cambridge Australia Scholarships alumni body have gone on to make a tangible difference back in Australia, including Cambridge Australia Scholarships’ Chair, Darren Peacock, who himself was a Cambridge Trust scholar.

As part of the conversations with The Honourable Julia Gillard during a week of student engagement activities, Darren recalled his journey to Cambridge some 25 years ago and the impact of having been awarded funding to be able to study at the University, noting “it had such a profound impact that I remain involved today, chairing the organisation that with the Cambridge Trust gave me the scholarship.

Ms Gillard, who served as Australia’s first female Prime Minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013 and has since been a champion for universal education and excellence in research, spoke of her hope that many of the Cambridge Australia Scholars would return to Australia following their graduation and make a huge contribution.

Now Chair of the Wellcome Trust, a global charitable foundation which supports science to solve urgent health challenges, Ms Gillard reflected on the many issues which call to be resolved in their nation as the geopolitics of the world changes for which the best and brightest minds will be needed.

The Trust’s close partnership with Cambridge Australia Scholarships is longstanding. The teams from both organisations regularly meet to share ideas and goals for the future so that they can continue to support more students together. Since their collaboration began 40 years ago, over 1000 postgraduate students from across Australia have been supported in their studies at Cambridge under a variety of scholarships schemes.

In recognition of this achievement, Cambridge Australia Scholarships are proud to be part of the University of Cambridge Guild of Benefactors, membership of which demonstrates the significance of the organisation and its donors’ contributions to the University, their belief in the institution and their commitment to enabling students to study here.

4th April 2025