Doveton resident Shalom Backus receives his Australian Power Institute (API) bursary from Energy and Resources Minister Peter Batchelor.By Callan Date
SHALOM Backus’s career has been given a spark after winning an Australian Power Institute (API) bursary last week.
The Doveton resident was one of 13 Victorian first-year engineering students who received the award as part of an industry-wide push to strengthen the country’s energy industry skills base.
Mr Backus won $8000 for his efforts along with valuable work experience and holiday employment opportunities.
Minister for Energy and Resources Peter Batchelor presented the prize to Mr Backus at a special ceremony at Scienceworks.
The 18-year-old said he was thrilled to win the award, which was judged mainly on academic performance in Year 12.
“I was in a lecture and the lecturer told us about the bursary and I went from there,” the Monash University student said.
He said he planned to complete his degree, which also has commerce components, over the next four years and invest the bursary money wisely.
“I’m a saver so it will definitely go straight in the bank. I’ll probably invest it in shares a bit later on.”
The CEO of API Mike Griffin said the winning students were of a very high standard in terms of academic achievement and leadership qualities.
“The next generation of power engineers will be instrumental in providing the solutions to important challenges such as climate change,” he said.
“By supporting the development of graduates with specialised power engineering skills we can recognise the high quality graduates who meet the future requirements of the industry,” Mr Griffin said.
Bursary recipients will be able to participate in work experience programs within the power industry to help broaden their knowledge and strengthen their capabilities.
API board director John Azaris said: “This is just one of a number of initiatives the energy industry, through the API, has implemented to address the expected shortfall of engineering graduates over the next five years.”
“The bursary program is a good example of what can be achieved when organisations work together.
