Dear Emma and Harry,

For many years, Australia has been a very popular student exchange destination for Danish students. And it is pleasing to see that in recent years an increasing number of Australian students have spotted Denmark on the world map and have chosen to come to Copenhagen on a study abroad semester; encouraged – I am told – by the positive experiences of fellow students and the possibility to study in English in an “exotic” country (they must have meant in a Nordic sense), which does not have English as its national language.

The growing number of Australian students at the University of Copenhagen also makes the group of applicants applying for the Scholarship even stronger – and in light of that, your achievement of being awarded the 2014 Scholarship is even more impressive.  Congratulations to both of you.

At your home universities – University of New South Wales (Emma Bowers) and Monash University (Harry Barton) – both of you have demonstrated outstanding academic skills.  But equally important is that both of you have a catching enthusiasm to go beyond the textbooks and seize the opportunity to engage yourselves in international experiences that will benefit and enrich not only your academic careers but also your personal lives.

To have found an area in relation to your studies which you are passionate about and where you can see yourselves pursue a future academic career at such an early stage in life is a gift.

Law & International Relations, for you Emma and for Harry, Biology & Geology.   These are clearly areas you feel very passionate about and where you see yourselves in international careers in the future. In the effort to reach your goals, both of you have already demonstrated drive and courage to seize opportunities, which challenge and develop you academically and personally. With such a drive and attitude, you can only go far.

Emma, you have been very active in your community as President of the United Nations Society at your University and as a volunteer in a social justice project that works to raise awareness about the effects of poverty and hardship in Australia. You have also helped establish a mentoring programme for disadvantaged high school students in remote, regional areas.

In all of this, you profit from your academic skills, but your involvement is clearly also driven by a great joy and readiness to take on personal responsibility and to making a positive impact on other people’s lives.

The combination of academic skills and being a compassionate soul, I am sure, will continue to broaden your horizons and ambitions – on a professional level as well as geographically around the world – to the benefit of many people.

Harry, you place great emphasis on how research into the relationship between the oceans and climate can result in long term positive changes in the effects humans have on earth.

Your commitment to your academic studies has brought you to remote areas in New Zealand to undertake field work on global cycles of elements and nutrients, as part of a group of elite students. I am sure this experience has provided valuable perspectives for your future career.

You show an admirable enthusiasm in using your personal and academic skills within areas of science that you believe are critical to understand, in order to make a difference in the world today.

I am convinced that your dedication will provide you with interesting opportunities to make a positive contribution on how we understand and impact our environment.

Emma and Harry, I hope that spending a semester in Copenhagen will add new perspectives to your international outlook; that the academic as well as the personal experience you gain here will be a gift that will benefit the future for both of you.

It is with great pleasure that I formally present you with the Crown Princess Mary Scholarship 2014. Tillykke/Congratulations.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your time here in Denmark and that you take fond memories home with you and friendships that will one day see you return.