QUT engineering honours graduate James Tilbury has joined a select club as the 2011 Queensland Rhodes Scholar and will take up study at the prestigious Oxford University in October next year.
James, 22, is "ecstatic" about receiving the world's most sought-after scholarship and the opportunity to study a Masters of Environmental Change and Management at Oxford. He is just the fourth QUT student to receive the distinguished award.
He says it will enable him to follow his dream of working in the least developed countries and helping lift people out of poverty.
"Poverty alleviation and sustainable development are my main interests," said James, who secured a grade point average of 6.8, out of a maximum of 7, during his four-year QUT civil engineering degree.
James attended the United Nations' climate change conference in Copenhagen last year as part of a delegation of young Australians and Pacific Islanders working for the survival of the Pacific Island nations. Next month he leaves for Cambodia for a 10-month stint as a volunteer in a capacity-building role.
He spent this year employed as a consultant in the climate change and sustainability services division of Ernst and Young in Brisbane.
"My role was to assist clients to reduce their carbon footprint by helping identify where their emissions came from and what the most cost effective methods were for reducing those emissions," he said.
"Working in Cambodia will give me an understanding of the issues that people in the least developed countries face, which will help guide my study at Oxford.
"I see climate change as an integral part of sustainable development. I want to help the poorest countries to deal with the impact of climate change and still develop without reliance on fossil fuels.
"The Oxford masters degree will give me an insight into what the impacts of climate change are on international development and the best ways to manage them."
James came to QUT on a Dean's Scholarship which is awarded to students from Year 12 with outstanding academic ability and leadership potential. Dean's Scholars receive a tuition fee scholarship to complete a Bachelor of Engineering and access to professional and academic engineering networks as well as leadership and professional development opportunities. James was also awarded QUT's Kindler Medal for engineering leadership this year.
Nine Rhodes Scholarships are awarded in Australia each year - one for each state and three for Australia at large. The scholarship paid by the Rhodes Trust covers return flights to the UK, tuition fees for a postgraduate degree or second undergraduate degree and a living allowance for two years.
Media contact: Niki Widdowson, QUT media officer, 07 3138 1841 or n.widdowson@qut.edu.au.
