Column piece: People's News Mackay

Professor Pierre Viljoen
CQUniversity Associate Vice-President (North Queensland and Hinterland)
CQUniversity Chair in Automation and Future Skills

I hope you had a wonderful Easter and were able to enjoy some time with friends and family in this beautiful town.

Personally' I really enjoyed the Easter break and am thrilled to have enjoyed some outdoor adventures' including fishing.

On the topic of loyalty' one of our longstanding' valued donors here in Mackay recently reinforced their commitment to scholarships' by not only extending their partnership with us' but by announcing an additional scholarship for CQU students.

Community Bank Sarina has generously put on offer two Higher Education Scholarships valued at $6000 each and three Apprenticeship Scholarships valued at $4000 each.

The scholarships will support the successful recipients for three and four years' respectively.

Community Bank Sarina Board Chair Karen May said the purpose of the community investment was to 'influence positive change and develop community capacity'.

She said the 'key to building a prosperous community and region was by empowering our youth and giving them the tools to help them succeed' - and I couldn't agree with her more.

CQUniversity truly values this long-standing commitment of Community Bank Sarina - which started more than a decade ago and I want to take this opportunity to publicly thank Karen and her team for their ongoing support.

The success of this partnership not only benefits our local students but adds to the success of our region as a whole.

Wishing you another safe and enjoyable long weekend.

Lest we Forget.

- Pierre