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Bank launches scholarship program

6 January 2018 |Education

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank's 2018  Scholarship program is now open. The program is one of the leading privately  funded scholarship programs in Australia, and is one of the Bank's most  financially and socially significant contributions to education.

In 2017, more than $1 million in  funding was granted to students through the scholarship program which  incorporates the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Scholarship for rural and  regional students, scholarships from participating Community Bank® Boards which for the first time is being extended to TAFE students, and the Rural  Bank Agribusiness Scholarship.

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Chairman, Robert Johanson, is proud  of the investment the Bank makes through the Scholarship program, which since  launching has funded more than $6.5  million and assisted more than 550 students pursue their higher education  dreams.

"Earlier this year, we partnered with the Regional Australia  Institute (RAI) to release new research highlighting the education gap between  people living in rural and metropolitan areas. The research from the RAI enables regional and rural people to assess  their educational outcomes according to where they live. It also  provided us with a proof point that the money we gift through our Scholarship  program is going to the right people," he said.

The [In]Sight -  Human Capital Index research from the RAI highlighted that regional Australia is behind  in a number of key areas:

  • Based on NAPLAN  results, regional areas perform significantly lower than their metropolitan  neighbours in both primary and secondary numeracy and literacy;
  • The proportion of young regional Australians (aged 15-24) not engaged  in either education or employment is 44% higher than metropolitan areas; and
  • This  divide carries through to post-secondary education too, with 9% fewer  Australians in regional areas university qualified

"Our Scholarship program is  awarded to first year tertiary students studying at an Australian university or  college campus for the first time. It makes a difference to these students by  supporting them financially at a time when their main focus should be on their  education.

"This financial contribution is just one way in which we  invest in our young people, and it is an extension of the significant  contribution we make to Australian communities through our Community Bank® branch network. To date, we have given  back $183 million nationally, with more than $3 million specifically allocated  to education, children and youth projects during the 2016/2017 financial year,"  Mr Johanson added.

In 2017, 20 year old Tobias Threadgold was awarded the Port  Lincoln Community Bank® Scholarship. The scholarship has covered his rent for the majority of the year,  allowing him to completely focus on his education.

"I am studying the Bachelor of Veterinary Bioscience which is  a full time course that gives entry to the Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine,  which graduates practicing Veterinarian's in Australia. Before I started this  course, I was quite stressed about the amount of paid work I would need to do  to support living away from home," said Mr Threadgold.

"Without  the scholarship, all of my spare time would have gone to working to afford my  food and accommodation and there would have been no way I could be as deeply  involved with the University experience as I am, and I certainly could not have  had the time to network with my peers the way I have been over the past year.

"Having  the time to make as many friends and meet as many new people as I have through  the various clubs and activities I am involved in has made the transition to  University so much easier and I don't know how I could have stayed on top of  things otherwise," he added.

Applications for the  Scholarship program are invited from eligible students, starting their studies  in 2018, are now open. Applications close on 29 January 2018 and will be  assessed in early February 2018. 
For more information about the Bank's Scholarship Program,  visit bendigobank.com.au/scholarships.

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