Academic Governance

The late Soren Nielsen immigrated to Tasmania from Denmark with his parents in the 1950s and lived all of his life in Hobart where he worked for the Australian Customs Service.

He maintained the passion for the sea often shared by his countrymen and was building a substantial steel boat at the time of his death from cancer in 2008. 

His estate has provided a generous gift to the School of Engineering at the University of Tasmania which will be used to fund a scholarship to support and encourage talented students to broaden their educational experience in engineering by travelling overseas during their course at the University of Tasmania.

The Academic Senate of the University has agreed to the foundation of a scholarship in the terms declared in these rules.

Rules

1. An amount of $223,000 from the estate of the late Soren Nielsen, together with any income (by way of interest earned) from time to time, forms the endowment of a scholarship to be known as ‘The Soren Nielsen Travelling Scholarship in Engineering’.
2. The scholarship is to be awarded to a student currently undertaking an undergraduate course in engineering at the University of Tasmania and who will be participating in an international exchange program, or another overseas study experience approved by the selection committee, in its absolute discretion.
3. The scholarship will be awarded by a selection committee comprising:  
   • the Head of the School of Engineering or nominee  
   • a full-time member of the teaching staff of the School of Engineering  
   • a nominee of the University of Tasmania Foundation for such a period as the Foundation may determine, with the first nominee to be Mr Ben Swain of Murdoch Clarke lawyers. 
4. The selection committee will set the detailed selection and performance criteria for the scholarship.  
5. The selection committee, in making its decision, will consider other financial support available to applicants and, in its absolute discretion, give preference to students who have no other means of funding their overseas study program.
6. The value of the scholarship will be determined annually by the University of Tasmania Foundation having regard to the income from the endowment.
7. The selection committee will determine all other matters concerning the scholarship, including advertising, application procedures and the method and time of payment.

Made by Academic Senate on 24 July 2009