Our World Underwater Scholarship Society announces first ever Australasian scholar

Mathew Kertesz must consider himself a lucky boy being the first ever Australian to receive this scholarship. This should kick-start his career as an ocean conservationists.

Congratulations from underwater.com.au and good luck with the project.

The Our World Underwater Scholarship Society awards young people between 21 and 25 that have already shown achievements in the area (such as a bachelors degree, a rescue diver qualification etc) with financial assistance for a year ... and a trip to New York to present their achievements ... not to forget a brand new Rolex watch.

The official press release is below:

Our World Underwater Scholarship Society Announces the very first Australasian Rolex Scholar 2007/2008

For the past 32 years the Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society (OWUSS) has offered scholarships in the USA and more recently Europe. In April 2006 the Our World – Underwater Scholarship Society with the support of Rolex, expanded its outreach to offer an Australasian Scholarship.

The Rolex Scholarships provides a hands-on introduction to the underwater world and other aquatic related endeavours for young people with an interest in underwater-related disciplines. It allows the ‘Scholar’ career decisions to be based on ‘hands on’ work experiences. Selected Rolex Scholars are perceived to have the potential to make a significant contribution to the underwater world, even though he or she may not yet have chosen a specific career path. Our goal is to foster development of future marine environment leaders.

The Society continues to believe that by investing in special young people, by exposing them to a broad array of activities in the underwater community and by giving them opportunities to work with influential people who are leaders in aquatic disciplines, it is investing in the future of our underwater world.

For Australasia’s first year there was an impressive list of entries. It was a difficult choice getting to the two finalists, for which a panel interview was run to decide the winner. There were four panel members: Sue Crowe, Tabata Australia; Peter Fields, diving icon; David Harasti, NSW fisheries; and myself, Jayne Jenkins, the Rolex Australasian coordinator. After a tough decision the first Australasian scholarship was awarded unanimously to Mathew Kertesz.

Mathew holds a Bachelor of Marine Science majoring in marine biology at Macquarie University in North Ryde, Sydney. During his scholarship year he hopes to significantly contribute to science’s understanding of how marine ecosystems function – the intricacies, the great and subtle ways all levels of biodiversity interact to comprise the extraordinary communities that exist in even the simplest of marine environments. His key areas of interest are fish and fish communities. An avid snorkeller since the age of five, Mathew has always been fascinated by fish of all shapes and sizes bringing fish communities to the forefront throughout his lifetime. Today the conflict between conservation and the need to sustain the ever-increasing human population and over harvesting has led to the collapse of many coastal fisheries and as a marine scientist, Mathew wishes to contribute to a greater understanding of our marine environment so fish communities will thrive into the future.

Mathew is a conservationist, but also a realist and his goal is that we can use our increasing knowledge of how the marine world functions to develop better ways of managing and conserving the underwater world. If conservation is to succeed it needs to be based on the best possible science, and management practices will need to be continually refined and improved. His hope is that scientific research in the marine world can drive the evolution of management of marine ecosystems, and conflicts between stakeholders with opposing viewpoints can be reduced.

It is critical there is openness and transparency at all levels of marine management and those charged with the protection of marine environments can with all honesty claim to always employ best possible practice in their duties. Mathew hopes to, through the course of his career, contribute by providing robust and relevant science through which management decisions can be made.

Lastly, his goal as a human being is that we can leave to the next generation an underwater world that is healthier, more vibrant and better-protected than was left to our generation. Mathew believes this should be the aim of every successive generation; for the world our children inherit to be a better place than we were born into.

As the winner of this prestigious scholarship award Mathew will be presented with a Rolex watch, a visit to the Explorers Club in New York City to receive his award officially and sponsorship of his Scuba Diving equipment by Tabata Australia Pty Ltd.

For more information please visit the Society’s web site at http://www.owuscholarship.org and follow the links to the Australasian Rolex Scholarship. or contact: Jayne Jenkins Australasian Coordinator PO Box 8 145 Sydney Rd Fairlight 2094 NSW, Australia

Contributed by Tim Hochgrebe added 2007-03-12