Australia’s largest engineering scholarship program is now open for applications.

Queensland-based engineering students are now able to nominate for one of 100 Energy Queensland Future of Energy Engineering Scholarships, each worth $20,000 per year.

Energy Queensland CEO Rod Duke said the scholarships were available for bachelor’s degree undergraduate students in their second, third and final years of study across all seven Queensland universities with electrical engineering faculties.

“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,” Mr Duke said.

“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.”

“It means more investment is required in copper and aluminium and steel and equipment and we are also committed to training a workforce, not just for now, but for the decades to come.

“Engineers will play a fundamental role in designing the infrastructure to support increased network capability and we will need even more highly technical people to deliver a net zero future.”

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 energy solutions business Yurika or its distribution network businesses – Ergon Energy and Energex.

Energy Queensland will maintain a cohort of 100 scholarship holders each year to increase the expertise and cultural and gender diversity of engineers across the business.

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.

“With almost 7,800 employees, we’re proud to be one of the largest employers of electrical engineers in Australia and to offer the Future of Energy Engineering Scholarships program,” Rod said.

“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.”

Applications for the Future of Energy Engineering Scholarships program can be found on the Energy Queensland Careers page