New Scholarship for German Language Students

01 April 2016

New Scholarship for German Language Students

University of Waikato German language students Stephen Burroughs and Antonio Salsano are the first recipients of a new scholarship valued at around $3,600, which was introduced by the University’s German programme last year.

The Evonik Industries German Scholarship was established by Tom Barratt in 2014 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Mr Barratt is a University of Waikato German and Management alumnus and the current director of Evonik Industries New Zealand/Australia.

Awarded to first year students, the annual scholarship aims to support the German linguistic skills of students studying at the University of Waikato. It is awarded based on academic merit, commitment to international connectedness and community involvement, and is applied to the tuition fees of a Level 1 German paper.

Evonik Industries is a German-based chemistry company. It is one of the world's leading speciality chemistry companies. In their factory in Morrinsville, Evonik produces agro-chemicals for the New Zealand market.

Morrinsville site manager, Arnold Yeoman awarded Stephen and Antonio with their scholarship at a prize giving function last week.

“Evonik is a good example of a company that cares for the wellbeing of its workers as well as the environment and the wider community. Mr Barratt has always been an advocate for tertiary education and international connectedness and he knows from his own experience how important languages and multiple skills are in this context,” says Waikato’s German programme convenor Dr Norman Franke.

“We are extremely grateful to Mr Barratt for his ongoing support to the German programme and our students,” he says.

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