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One of the most powerful ways to bring greater education and career opportunities to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth is through funded scholarships. In recognition of this, Thales Australia recently signed a second Galuwa Indigenous Engineering Scholarship with the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). The scholarship will provide one committed First Nations student with the opportunity to study engineering, gain industry exposure and realise their personal potential.

The UTS Galuwa program takes its name from the Gadigal language, in which Galuwa means ‘to climb.’ The program enables Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander secondary school students from across the country to gain an insight into life as a university student, the potential careers available and the support provided, whereas the scholarship focuses on providing mentoring, financial assistance and internships to students studying at UTS.

Our Avionics business within Digital Systems has been a key sponsor of the Galuwa program since 2018 and in 2021 we welcomed our first Thales Galuwa Indigenous Engineering scholarship recipient, Connor Higgins; a young Wiradjuri man. Connor has since completed an internship within our Australia Munitions business at Benalla and is fast on the way to realising his dream of becoming an engineer.

Both Phil Swadling, Technical Director – Avionics and Michael Otero, General Manager Avionics were at the recent Thales and UTS scholarship signing, and hope the next recipient is equally successful with their aspirations. As Phil points out, it’s not just the student who benefits from the scholarship – for Thales it’s a chance to attract future talent, build a more diverse and inclusive workplace culture and improve cultural awareness amongst our employees. 

Thales’ participation in the program has seen us host Galuwa students to give them a view of the careers available. It’s also one of the many ways Thales is able to build links to indigenous communities and give our staff an opportunity to learn more about the issues facing indigenous people across Australia."

Philip Swadling, Technical Director - Avionics at Thales Australia & NZ.

Thales’ sponsorship of the Galuwa program is one of many important partnerships created to achieve our organisation’s Reconciliation Action Plan goal of creating meaningful change in the lives of First Nations peoples, businesses and communities.

Read more about Thales Australia’s Reconciliation Action Plan.