Gates Cambridge Scholars alumni and new Scholars-elect from Australia and New Zealand recently met with the British High Commissioner to Australia in Brisbane.
The British High Commissioner to Australia hosted a meeting with Australian and New Zealand Gates Scholars Elect and Alumni earlier this month on relations between Australia and the UK in the 21st century.
The meeting in the Old Government House at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia, on 16 August.
After a brief tour of the Queensland University of Technology with the Scholars, His Excellency Paul Madden chatted about a broad range of topics, including Australia-UK relations in the face of China’s growing global presence and the United States’ strategic pivot towards the Pacific region.
The event was attended by Gates Cambridge alumni Rob Perrons [2001], Joan Ko [2006], Fiona Roughley [2010], and Nicole van der Laak [2003]. Two new Gates Cambridge scholars-elect were also able to join the event: Catherine Gascoigne and Zoe Stewart.
Rob Perrons, who is currently working as an Associate Professor in Technology Management and Strategy at the Queensland University of Technology, said: “What really made this event different in my mind was the fact that we got to meet with His Excellency in such a small setting. This made it possible for the whole thing to come together in a relatively informal way, and the High Commissioner was consequently able to be very candid and straightforward with us about these important issues while we all enjoyed afternoon tea. The event exceeded our expectations, and His Excellency had everything to do with that.”
*Pictured from left to right: Rob Perrons, Joan Ko, Nicole van der Laak, Catherine Gascoigne, Zoe Stewart and His Excellency Paul Madden.
