As always, the University receives many extremely strong applications for the Scholarship, and this year you were selected.  My warmest congratulations to you both, on receiving the Crown Princess Mary scholarship 2015.

Today, no one is ever really far away and you can easily get a personalised insight into the lives and cultures of others thousands of kilometers from where you live.  But it takes courage and curiosity to take a virtual experience to a reality.

Denmark and Australia are different in many ways: Geographically they are located in different hemispheres, which means that while spring has finally arrived here, it is autumn “Down Under”; Denmark is small, Australia is big – actually, 178 times bigger than Denmark; Australians love their Vegemite, while Danes can’t live without their national bread “rugbrød”.

But there are also many similarities. For example, you and many other young Australians share young Danes’ enthusiasm for travelling and experiencing other cultures; not only by visiting as tourists for a few weeks, but by ‘pulling up stumps’ (a good Australian expression) and experience life in another country. How exciting and how enriching!

Thanks to student exchange, each year thousands of young people criss-cross the world, and like little threads you help us all to come a little closer together. By choosing to come to Denmark and spending a semester here in Copenhagen, you are contributing to that.

At your home universities – University of Sydney (Cameron) and Macquarie University (Morgan) – both of you have demonstrated academic skills of outstanding standards. But equally important, you have an enormous enthusiasm to go beyond the textbooks and seize the opportunity to engage in voluntary extracurricular activities.

Morgan, while your academic record points to your passion lying with international law, you have alongside your studies been highly dedicated to contributing to your community. You have taken on leadership responsibilities in a wide range of student associations and been a student representative on several academic boards and committees.

By organizing student events and fundraisers, being involved in university politics, and producing radio on important political issues you show a dedication to making a positive impact on other people’s lives. In all of this, you draw on your academic skills, but your involvement is clearly also driven by a great joy and readiness to take on personal responsibility. This combined with having your heart in the right place, I am sure, will continue to take you far to the benefit of many people.

Cameron, you place great emphasis on the importance of building bridges between countries, cultures and people in order to promote mutual understanding and shared insights. This conviction is reflected in your passion for exploring multiculturalism and indigenous peoples and commitment to learning languages, such as; Chinese, German, Spanish and even a little bit of Danish!

But your dedication is also evident in your voluntary work at several university societies and as an Australian Indigenous Mentor. You demonstrate great dedication, applying your personal and academic skills to issues you believe are crucial in order to make a difference in the world today. I am convinced that your devotion will bring many interesting opportunities to make a positive contribution to how we coexist.

While studying and living abroad without a doubt adds important qualities to both of your future careers, it is also important to recognise and cherish the personal experience you gain from your time in Denmark. The new friends you make, overcoming feelings of homesickness and getting to the point, where a city which was once just a dot on a map becomes perhaps your second home.

Once again, congratulations on receiving the Scholarship. I wish you all the best for the rest of your stay in Copenhagen and the future!