The 2009 Crown Princess Mary Scholarship Awards

The fifth Crown Princess Mary Scholarship was awarded by the Crown Princess yesterday, in a presentation ceremony at the University of Copenhagen.

The two scholarships of 10,000DKK were presented to Rebecca James from the University of Queensland and Jeffrey Feng from the University of Sydney, both from Australia in accordance with the scholarship’s model. In her speech at the ceremony, Mary told the two Australian students that by “studying abroad you have a valuable opportunity to not only challenge yourself personally, but also develop new skills that will benefit you and others in future.”

Mary also praised the pair’s volunteer work, stating their “passion and extra personal resources to want to make a difference” is admirable.

Recipient Ms James said of the award, “It feels too good to be true to be rewarded simply for being Australian and for being interested in studying fascinating international law electives – particularly since it feels like a dream come true just to be here in Denmark studying what I love for a semester,” when she was interviewed for her university’s online newspaper in February.

The Crown Princess Mary Scholarship was started as a wedding gift by the University of Copenhagen to the new Crown Princess in 2004, with 2005 being the first year it was presented. Students from the University of Copenhagen’s Australian partner universities can apply if they are studying either humanities, social science, science or economics, and have an interest in an exchange program to study in Denmark. The scholarship money goes toward helping with the students’ living costs while in Denmark. The scholarship is due to run in its current form until 2010.

Click here to read more about the scholarship at TRF.

Filed under Denmark
Tagged Australia, Awards, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, Education, Patronage.