The UTS Humanitarian Scholarship has been established to support undergraduate study for students holding Asylum Seeker Bridging Visas or Temporary Protection Visas.
The whole-of-university commitment provides scholarships in each of the eight UTS faculties to asylum seekers unable to access Commonwealth Supported Places or loan schemes.
There are up to 16 places available every year, with two from each faculty. UTS will provide tuition fees, while a grant from the Aspire Motivate Believe Foundation will assist with learning and living expenses.
Co-founder of Aspire Motivate Believe, UTS alumna and former refugee, Marina Brizar, attended the launch. Born in Sarajevo in 1989, Brizar and her family were forced to flee their home in 1992 due to the outbreak of civil war. Since graduating with a Bachelor of Laws and International Studies from UTS, Brizar has gone on to achieve incredible feats in the fields of immigration law and human movement.
“Obviously my background informed my interest in law, the interaction of people, the movement of people… it was more than sociology or human sciences that I was interested in, I was interested in the higher level that governs that.”
Brizar currently works for Playfair Visa and Migration Services where she heads up the Corporate and Private Clients team. 80 per cent of her work is corporate while the other 20 per cent sees her representing vulnerable people in the community.
It was here that Brizar and two of her colleagues were inspired to create Aspire Motivate Believe, a now registered charity that seeks ‘to assist disadvantaged persons in accessing education.’
“There’s nothing better than seeing young people achieving amazing things when they’ve had a rough start. My family and I came to Australia as permanent residents and we got a lot of support. Unfortunately some people don’t receive the same support because of the way in which they came to Australia… and I disagree with that.
Information and eligability criteria on the UTS Humanitarian Scholarship will soon be posted on the UTS Scholarships page.
- The UTS Humanitarian Scholarship, an initiative that marks UTS’s commitment to social justice, was officially launched today
- There are up to 16 places available every year, with two from each faculty. UTS will provide tuition fees, while a grant from the Aspire Motivate Believe Foundation will assist with learning and living expenses