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Alan Mulally Scholarship includes Deakin University for the First Time (758)

Engineering Student, Jordan Ritchie is the First Australian Recipient

Alan Mulally famously guided Ford through the Global FinancialCrisis of late last decade and spear-headed a product-lead recovery, leaving behind a profound legacy when he retired. To honour his outstanding service to Ford, the company established a new global scholarship program in 2014 – The Alan Mulally Leadership in Engineering Scholarship. The program is made up of a $1,000,000 fund to be distributed in $100,000 increments per year for 10 years. This will support the awarding of ten $10,000 scholarships to outstanding second or third-year engineering students at ten premier partner universities around the globe – one scholarship winner per school.

“Ford has a growing need for engineering expertise in this country as Australians change the way they move, so preparing the next generation of engineers to be innovative thinkers within the mobility sector here and around the world is imperative for our company,” said Graeme Whickman, President and CEO, Ford Australia.

“Scholarship winners will be connected with the company’s corporate science, technology, engineering, arts and maths (STEAM) strategic initiative, which aims to support a new generation of leaders in these key disciplines,” added Whickman.

Local talent recognised

Only five scholarships are awarded outside of the USA each year and for the first time in the program’s history, Australia was chosen as a recipient region. Ford Australia and key partner Deakin University chose one stand-out student to gain a wealth of experience and knowledge in the automotive and mobility sector.

“I’ve always been set on engineering as a career choice and I was extremely appreciative that a company as large as Ford would take notice of me,” explained mechanical engineering student and scholarship recipient Jordan Ritchie.

To be considered for the Alan Mulally Leadership in Engineering Scholarship, Ritchie needed to satisfy a robust criteria. Now in his second year of study, which was part of the conditions, Ritchie also met the minimum Grade Point Average requirement with ease and has demonstrated leadership skills in both academic and community-based settings.

“I’m fascinated by the research and development Ford engineers do here in Australia and around the world – it’s very exciting stuff, so I’m keen to learn more and experience it firsthand.

“For me, the biggest future trend I’d be interested to pursue is electric vehicles, although I’m currently participating in Deakin’s Eco-Marathon team project, which is based around developing a special vehicle that can achieve the highest possible fuel efficiency,” added Ritchie.

Nurturing future leaders, today

Scholarship recipients will be connected with the Ford Blue Oval Scholars database and initiative, which allows the company to maintain an ongoing relationship with its scholarship winners.

“At Ford, we are very interested in promoting and fostering STEAM, leadership and particularly innovative thinking, which I believe Jordan has demonstrated through his application process and wider studies,” said Jessica Selvay, Business Office Supervisor, Strategy and Special Projects, Ford Asia Pacific.

“We are keen to establish this relationship with Jordan and see that we can support him throughout the scholarship, allowing him to focus on his studies while also exploring all facets of what Ford does within the engineering space,” added Selvay.

A strong and fruitful partnership

Ford Australia and Deakin University are both aiming to instill leadership qualities and innovative thinking practices into the next generation of engineers through programs like this. There are numerous mentoring opportunities and STEAM initiatives offered to budding engineers created through the twenty-plus year partnership between Ford Australia and Deakin University.

“We know that a significant gift like this one will make a real difference for Jordan, allowing him to focus on his studies and excel in his chosen field,” said Professor Karen Hapgood, Head of Deakin’s School of Engineering.

“At Deakin, we are committed to equipping our students with the right skills, knowledge and experiences to ensure they are job ready and make a valuable contribution as the next generation of engineers – Jordan is a great example of what our students can achieve,” added Hapgood.

Going Further for Australia and Australian Customers

In December 2016, Ford announced an increased Australian R&D investment to $450 million in 2017 to support increased vehicle development programs. By this year, Ford will have a nearly 2,000 person strong team in Australia, including 1750 engineers, designers and technicians.