Turning ambition into achievement

Scholarships at Melbourne Medical School help students overcome financial hardship. Meet two of our recent scholarship recipients.

You can help turn ambition into achievement

The Melbourne Medical School provides a rich training ground for future doctors. Our students graduate to become sought-after clinicians, researchers and academics across all medical specialisations.

But at a time of rising education costs, many students find it increasingly difficult to pursue the exciting opportunities on offer and reach their potential. The economic recession brought by the global pandemic places many of our students in great financial hardship.

On top of course fees, students need to pay for study expenses such as textbooks, computers and printing. Accommodation and living expenses also need to be factored in. Students who are first in their family to go to university, those from low socio-economic and Indigenous backgrounds, and those coming from remote and regional areas are often at a greater disadvantage. For these students, a medical education can seem unattainable, or, at best, fraught with challenges from day one.

We have the power to turn this around.

By giving to the Melbourne Medical School Scholarships Fund you will help equip students with the tools, knowledge and opportunities they need to succeed in their future careers.

Your support can play an essential role in providing equitable access to education.

The impact of your support

Joel LiddleI am truly thankful to you, and I am humbled that you would go out of your way to support me

Joel Liddle, PhD candidate

I have worked in remote areas of the Northern Territory for more than a decade. I am based in Alice Springs, but I also spend time in Melbourne for study blocks. My father’s family are Arrernte desert people and come from remote parts of Central Australia and my mum's family are non-Indigenous, Clifton Hill-raised Collingwood supporters. I have two young children and my partner grew up in a bush community called Walungurru (Kintore).

I didn't know my Dad’s language growing up. I didn't know anything other than that we were desert people. I moved back to Central Australia as an adult; working in remote communities, I saw ill-health, early morbidity and mortality I never knew existed as a kid growing up in Melbourne. I learnt to speak Arrernte well enough that I taught Arrernte language at the Alice Springs Language Centre and have spent time with Elders in our region, learning about traditional desert society and knowledges.

I believe that language and cultural learning are critically important to Indigenous people’s mental health, wellbeing and identity in the region today. There is huge pressure on traditional knowledge and many young people are now growing up in towns like Alice Springs without learning their language or cultural identity. Mental health is a huge issue for young people and oftentimes it goes undiagnosed as young people don't have the confidence or English skills to speak with a doctor or health professional.

I'm now in the second year of my PhD. My project hypothesis is that a strong Indigenous identity based on traditional knowledge acquisition is critical to the mental health and wellbeing of young men (for example, language fluency). I have recently published a hypothesis paper titled New thinking about old ways: Cultural continuity for improved mental health of young Central Australian Aboriginal men.

I want to thank you for your support as this strengthens my resolve to do the best job I can for desert folks.

This scholarship has enabled me to have financial security in what would have otherwise been a particularly challenging time. I hope that I am one day in a position to pay it forward, as you have to me.

Anonymous, second year Doctor of Medicine student

This scholarship has enabled me to stay afloat in my studies by providing me with essential equipment and resources I was not able to previously afford.

I am currently enrolled in the Doctor of Medicine program at Melbourne University. My background makes me incredibly appreciative of such an award.

My family lost everything they had in wars and were twice refugees. I came here with my parents and brother. We arrived with nothing, leaving most of our family overseas. We had to rebuild from scratch twice, and with such experiences in my life, I am incredibly thankful for this scholarship. I am deeply appreciative and hopeful knowing that these awards and such kindness exist.

Though I am yet to choose which medical specialty I'd like to pursue, my ultimate goal (no matter which specialty I end up in) is to be able to help people in the best way that I can in the same way these awards will help me. I want to continue this cycle and extend this generosity to others, because this makes me feel fulfilled and brings meaning to my existence. I'd love to contribute towards the giving end of this spectrum in the near future and help ensure such opportunities keep existing for the future generations to come.

Such scholarships remove the barriers to access to basic resources that some students face, and ultimately play a vital role in helping ensure equity across the board. This goes a long way to helping students not only be able to achieve, but also to thrive in their studies, and provides a scaffold upon which a great professional can be built, who will put in their best efforts to give back when the time arrives.

I would love to thank you for the opportunity to receive such an award.

To find out how you can provide financial support for medical students, please visit the website.