Established in 2005, the Beca scholarship programme was set up to support outstanding academic achievement, contribution to society and leadership ability of talented students. This year, we awarded nine bright young sparks who are completing their Bachelor of Engineering degree at Auckland University.
Presented last night at Beca House in Auckland, the ceremony was attended by the recipients, their family and friends, as well as representatives from Beca, the University of Auckland and Rotary Club of Auckland.
Jon Williams, Beca Chief Specialist – Project and Digital Delivery Manager, who presented the scholarships on the night, said that the scholarships are aimed at students that are not only achieving at the highest level academically but have the potential to add value to the engineering profession through leadership and contribution to society.
“The rapid advancement of technology is providing both significant challenges and exciting opportunities for the engineers of tomorrow. We need to harness technology, not compete with it,” said Jon.
“If we try to beat technologies like artificial intelligence and generative design at their own game, we will lose. Engineers both young and old need to focus on some of the traits that are ‘uniquely human’ like empathy, storytelling, relationship building and collaboration,” he said.
Beca has supported students through scholarships programmes for over 26 years. As well as the University of Auckland scholarships, we also award a variety of prizes each year to students at the University of Canterbury, WelTec, the University of Waikato and Ngāi Tahu whanau.