Sir Paul Callaghan Science Meets Humanities Scholarship

MCGUINNESS INSTITUTE MEDIA RELEASE 22 MARCH 2013

‘A Place Where Talent Wants to Live’

Sir Paul Callaghan Science Meets Humanities Scholarship Recipients Announced

Sir Paul Callaghan’s vision of New Zealand as ‘a place where talent wants to live’ will be developed by two young scholars. To mark the anniversary of Sir Paul's death on 24 March 2012, the McGuinness Institute announced today that Charlotte Greenfield and Darren Zhang are the joint winners of the Sir Paul Callaghan Science Meets Humanities Scholarship. The scholarship has developed from discussions surrounding the late Sir Paul’s vision of making New Zealand ‘a place where talent wants to live.’

A dynamic, creative and thriving Aotearoa New Zealand is one where vision and foresight play a leading role in nurturing and supporting future generations of locally grown or incoming talent from overseas. – Darren Zhang

We know our country can produce talent. What we need to do now is explore what to do with it and how to ensure we attract and retain that talent in order to create an economic and social landscape that provides all New Zealanders with the opportunity to take full advantage of their potential. – Charlotte Greenfield

Charlotte was a participant in the McGuinness Institute’s EmpowerNZ workshop, held in August 2012. She holds an LLB (Hons) and a BA majoring in English, and is moving to New York later this year to study investigative journalism at Columbia University. Darren Zhang was a participant of the Institute’s LongTermNZ workshop. Darren is currently studying toward a BA in politics and philosophy at the University of Auckland. He is a Youth Advisor at the Ministry of Youth Development and has been involved in the NZ Red Cross Refugee Services and UNICEF New Zealand.

The Scholarship will enable Charlotte and Darren to travel around New Zealand exploring practical ways in which Sir Paul’s vision could be implemented. They will also prepare a working paper based on their interviews with enterprising New Zealanders. The Institute hopes their work will stimulate discussion around Sir Paul’s vision and give it momentum. The scholarship is supported by Trade Me founder Sam Morgan, who will sponsor the students, and John Trail, a friend of Sir Paul’s and a colleague at Magritek, who will guide their research and the development of their findings.

Wendy McGuinness, Chief Executive of the McGuinness Institute, explained the inspiration behind the scholarship by saying, ‘Sir Paul has shown us the way forward. It is now time to start the journey and create space for the young to run on ahead.’

The Institute has also published a think piece titled A Place Where Talent Wants to Live, which discusses Sir Paul’s vision for New Zealand, how it has sparked the Institute’s work over the past two years, and how it is inspiring forthcoming projects.

‘Sir Paul was a visionary,’ McGuinness says. ‘His vision to make New Zealand “a place where talent wants to live” has permeated our thinking and inspired us to look for ways in which we and others can implement this vision.’

Click here to view: Thinkpiece_17.pdf

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Links of Interest

McGuinness Institute: http://www.mcguinnessinstitute.org

StrategyNZ website: http://www.strategynz.info/

Science Meets Humanities Scholarship Programme: http://www.mcguinnessinstitute.org/site/project/scholarship/default.aspx

Think Piece 15: The Magical Place Where Science and Humanities Meet:

http://www.mcguinnessinstitute.org/Site/Publications/Think_Pieces.aspx

Think Piece 17: A Place Where Talent Wants to Live:

http://www.mcguinnessinstitute.org/Site/Publications/Think_Pieces.aspx

Magritek: http://www.magritek.com

www.mcguinnessinstitute.org

ENDS

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