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Gifted Scholar Wins Scholarship to Oxford University

Gifted Scholar and Community Leader Wins Prestigious $100,000 Scholarship to the University of Oxford (UK)


A prestigious scholarship to study at one of the world's top universities has been won by an Auckland student. Johann Go, from the University of Auckland, is the inaugural recipient of the Provost's Scholarship to study at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.

The generous Scholarship is worth around $100,000 and includes an entire year's tuition fees, student accommodation at Worcester College (Oxford), subsidised meals, a stipend, return flights to New Zealand, and access to all University of Oxford facilities.

The Provost's Scholarship is highly competitive, and having an excellent academic record is merely the prerequisite. The recipient must prove extensive commitment to community service, and a desire to contribute to the life of the College whether by way of sports, debating, music or community service. The scholarship is open to applicants from New Zealand and Australia.


Johann was described by a former tutor as the kind of student that left an imprint on the mind of anyone who ever taught him.

"Johann has a certain brilliance and ingenuity that you seldom see in students at any level, and something I have never seen in an undergraduate student before. His ability to highlight objections and faults in taken-for-granted arguments, his eloquence in expressing often controversial points of view, and his prowess in debating intellectual issues were all memorable qualities", says Anneka Masters.

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Head of Department of Politics at the University of Auckland, Professor Martin Wilkinson adds: "Johann's classmates wanted him to talk in tutorials even more than he did, so illuminating were his comments."


What sets Johann further apart from other scholars, however, is his extensive community service and volunteer history. He has volunteered with St. John for over 10 years. Since joining as a 12-year-old Cadet, Johann has gone on to achieve highly within the organisation. He is now one of the youngest ever Divisional Managers for St. John, appointed at the age of 20, managing over 120 volunteers in the Howick/Pakuranga area.

St. John Director of Community Health Services, Sarah Manley, is full of praise for Johann's service with St. John:
"Johann is not only a man of immense academic ability, but has proven himself time and time again to also be a man of service."


Johann describes himself as a passionate defender of the humanities and social sciences, especially amid ever-growing government cuts to the field in favour of funding for the sciences:

"While the value of science should not be under-estimated, technological progress without ethics is dangerous," Johann says. "As time goes on, we will be able to do any number of different things. Whether or not we ought to do them, just because we can, is another story altogether. To answer such questions requires the guide of ethics and
analytic moral philosophy."

Johann, who is about to turn 22 years of age, jokes that receiving this scholarship is an early birthday present.

"This scholarship is the best early birthday present I could have wished for!"


During the 2018 academic year, Johann will be based at Worcester College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, where he will undertake advanced courses and research work in philosophy. He will be mentored by some of the world's leading thinkers in the world's top ranked university.

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