Energy Queensland CEO Rod Duke said 100 scholarships of $20,000 per year would be available for bachelor degree undergraduate students in their second, third and final years of study across all seven Queensland universities with electrical engineering faculties.

“The energy sector is going through massive growth, no more so than in Queensland where the State Government has a Jobs and Energy Plan to transform its networks to deliver a renewable energy future,” Mr Duke said.

“Energy Queensland already has a highly skilled electrical engineering workforce, and the annual Future of Energy Engineering Scholarships will help to grow that to ensure Queensland has some of the best trained electrical engineers anywhere in the world.

“We will need even more highly technical people to deliver a net zero future.

“Homes and businesses are likely to move towards a state of deep electrification using renewable energy, and it’s possible that electricity may move from providing about a quarter of Australia’s energy needs to perhaps about 75% over the next few decades - that means more demand on our networks.

“Engineers will play a fundamental role in designing the infrastructure to support the massive growth in the use of renewable energy.”

Half the scholarships will be available to students from regional Queensland and the other half to students from south-east Queensland.

Successful applicants will also be offered employment opportunities in one of Energy Queensland’s distribution network businesses – Ergon Energy and Energex – or its energy solutions business Yurika.

“We will maintain a cohort of 100 scholarship holders each year, so we continue to expand the expertise and cultural and gender diversity of engineers we have across the business,” Mr Duke said.

“Successful applicants will have opportunities to gain real world experience working with some of Australia’s most innovative electrical engineers.

“They’ll have the opportunity to collaborate with experts in new and emerging technologies that support Australia’s largest electricity network – designing and building infrastructure for the influx of renewable energy, electric vehicles and energy storage.”

In addition to the scholarships, Energy Queensland will also provide paid work experience through university vacation periods as well as flexible part-time work arrangements during the semester while students study, as permitted by their timetable.

“We’re serious about attracting the best young minds in Australia to do electrical engineering and join us on this journey, and that’s why scholarship holders will also be offered a placement with Energy Queensland through our graduate program and ongoing employment,” Mr Duke said.

Applications for the Future of Energy Engineering Scholarships program open in February 2023.

(ENDS)            

Media contact: Brett Judge 0439 971 765.