Council funding supports aspirations of local university students

Liverpool Mayor Wendy Waller (front, centre) with UOW students Mustafa Alsalami, Aleksandar Vesenlinovic and Jessica Di Bartolo.

Three students studying at the University of Wollongong’s South Western Sydney campus in Liverpool have each received $5000 to achieve their education and career aspirations, thanks to a scholarship funded by Liverpool City Council.

“From early education to tertiary studies, Council is committed to ensuring our growing city is a one-stop shop for outstanding education so it remains a great place to live, work, invest, study and visit for generations to come,” Liverpool Mayor Wendy Waller said.

“On behalf of Liverpool City Councillors and staff, I would like to congratulate the three University of Wollongong students for their successful applications, which demonstrated their outstanding contributions to family and community.”

The $5000 scholarships have been awarded to:

“Councillors and staff want to inspire the Liverpool community to do their very best – it’s through improving access to education with initiatives like this scholarship and partnering with top tertiary institutions we can do just that,” Mayor Waller said.

“Council and the University of Wollongong have a strong working relationship and are two of the partner organisations of the Liverpool Innovation Precinct, established to harness the city’s key strengths in health, research and education, and cement Sydney’s third CBD as a knowledge hub of the future.”

UOW Vice-Chancellor, Professor Paul Wellings CBE, said he was proud of what Council and UOW continue to achieve together.

“UOW and Liverpool City Council together have significantly improved access to education for students in South Western Sydney and we are grateful for the Council’s ongoing support,” Professor Wellings said.

“UOW continues to offer top quality education in the heart of Liverpool and we plan on expanding our presence in the coming years to cater for the growing demand of students wanting to study in South Western Sydney.”

In mid-June, UOW secured a spot in the world’s top 200 institutions in the 2021 QS World University Rankings, jumping 16 places on last year’s results to achieve an overall rank of 196th globally and 10th in Australia.

UOW competed with over 1600 institutions globally, including 36 Australian institutions, and has jumped 87 places in six years due to its globally recognised research activities.

The ranking agency evaluates universities using six metrics: academic reputation; employer reputation; faculty to student ratio; citations per faculty member; international faculty ratio; and international student ratio. A marked improvement in citations per faculty member lifted UOW’s ranking in this metric 33 places to 75th globally and was the strongest contributor to the University taking its place in the top 200.

The annual Liverpool City Council Opportunity Scholarship is open to UOW students in their first, second or third year of study at the South Western Sydney campus. The aim of the scholarship is to help ease any financial pressure faced by students and to inspire them to use their acquired expertise to give back to the local region.

About the scholarship recipients

Liverpool resident Mustafa Alsalami, aged 22, is in his third year of a Bachelor of Commerce. The Fairvale High School graduate volunteers for community clubs and major events including the annual Eid Festival and Fair. Mustafa is committed to his family, is of great support to his grandparents and wishes to use his leadership experience and university qualifications to manage and motivate a team in his future career.  

West Hoxton resident Jessica Di Bartolo, aged 18, is in her first year of a Bachelor of Nursing. The John Edmondson High School graduate has gained extensive leadership experience through school and extra-curricular activities linked to soccer. To support her career aspirations of helping people, Jessica previously obtained a TAFE qualification in Nursing, during which she undertook work placements at hospitals and aged care facilities. 

Warwick Farm resident Aleksandar Vesenlinovic, aged 22, is in his first year of a Bachelor of Communication and Media. The Liverpool Boys High School graduate has tutored primary school students and previously obtained TAFE qualifications in Property Services; Information Digital Media and Technology and Peer Literacy Tutoring. He wishes to utilise his qualifications to support a career in the property industry with a focus on marketing.