Ten outstanding young Victorians have been awarded the 2005 Melbourne National Scholarships.

The prestigious awards have a total value in excess of half a million dollars in exempted fees and allowances for the duration of a five-year degree course (or six years for a Medicine course).

The 2005 National Scholars are Stephanie Malon (Arts/Law), Dakshinee Kodituwakku (Commerce/Law), Daniel Yim (Music/Law), Fiona Borrelli (Commerce/Law), Simon Walter (Science/Law), Madeline Mitchell (Arts/Science), Douglas Brumley (Engineering/Science), Gavin Ballard (Engineering/Law).

The National Medicine Scholarships for 2005 were presented to Mr Sandeep Arunothayaraj and Clare Bajraszewski (MBBS/Medical Science).

Melbourne National Scholarships exempt recipients from tuition fees for up to five years of an undergraduate course (except Medicine) plus provide a $5,000 a year allowance for up to five years. Melbourne National Medicine scholarships provide recipients with a fee exempt place and a $5,000 per annum allowance for six years.

University of Melbourne Vice-Chancellor Professor Glyn Davis congratulated the National Scholars on their success. “These high-achieving young people have won these scholarships on merit,” he said.

“I would also like to congratulate the 200 recipients of the Melbourne Access Scholarships which have been awarded for the first time this year. These scholarship winners applied to the University through Access Melbourne, a new program addressing the academic, social, and financial barriers faced by students who previously would have found it difficult to take up places at Melbourne (University).

“The University is delighted to be able to give all these outstanding students the opportunity to study in a challenging academic environment. Their presence at Melbourne (University) can only enrich our academic community.”

At Melbourne University, the Scholars will join an academic community of around 3000 undergraduate and postgraduate scholarship winners studying under the Melbourne Scholarships program, the largest and most comprehensive in Australia.