This year marks the 20th anniversary of delivering the UWA Fogarty Partnership, a joint venture between the Fogarty Foundation and The University of Western Australia, investing in the future leaders of Western Australia.
Conor McLaughlin, a 2016 Fogarty scholarship recipient, studied a Bachelor of Commerce and Master of Mining and Energy Law at UWA and is now an Associate Consultant with Bain & Company in Perth.
“The scholarship program, coordinated by Annie Fogarty and Caitlyn Fogarty-Embley, connected us with many industry leaders through facilitated workshops,” Mr McLaughlin said.
“I was fortunate enough to hear from top global leaders in various industries from literature to business, and as I moved through the program, I was lucky enough to be able to organise some of the sessions and make an impact on the group myself.
“The highlight for me was coordinating a Q&A session with education and start-up business leaders, and I was particularly inspired by my interactions with Olivia Humphrey, the founder of Kanopy.”
Since 2003, the scholarships have supported the education of 187 young people who support and inspire each other. Through these scholarships, the Foundation invest in exceptional young people who use their skills, abilities and commitment to lead real change in our community.
The scholarships also include a tailored leadership program for the Scholar’s entire university degree and beyond formal studies.
Scholars have the opportunity to work with local and international leaders to provide enrichment opportunities, leadership development and strong networks.
“The Fogarty leadership series inspired me in my own work in the start-up and consulting spaces, and the skills I learned continue to help me to this day,” said Mr McLaughlin.
“I was encouraged to think differently because I was surrounded by like-minded young people who empowered me to pursue different types of opportunities, such as developing my own start-up.
“I doubt I would have been nearly as excited or motivated to pursue such a ‘left of field’ idea if I wasn’t so encouraged by Annie, Caitlyn and my peers.
Through the flexibility of UWA’s course structure and the open-mindedness of the Fogarty program Mr McLaughlin gained the skills to pursue social impact business.
“While at university, I co-founded ‘Futuristic Skills’, designed to teach young people the most important skills for the future of work,” said Mr McLaughlin.
“The content we taught was based on expert opinion and facilitation, and the skills included problem solving, critical thinking, leadership, emotional intelligence and cross-cultural collaboration, among others.
The Fogarty foundation is a philanthropic social venture with the aim of supporting and empowering students to become next generation leaders.
The Foundation was established by UWA graduate and 2020 WA Australian of the Year, Dr Annie Fogarty AM (BA '81, DLitt '08) and her husband Dr Brett Fogarty (DLitt '08).
Using the ‘ripple effect’ as a guiding principle the Foundation endeavours to advance social change through education.