An exciting aspect of the Ma and Morley Scholarship Program is the immersion experience which, in 2018 and 2019 was to China, that provided Scholars with an eye-opening, life changing opportunity to travel overseas and walk in the shoes of Jack Ma and Ken Morley. Due to COVID-19 and the corresponding travel restrictions, a Ma & Morley immersion experience has unfortunately not been able to take place since 2019.

In 2022, The Ma and Morley team engaged with the Wollotuka Institute and the Office of Indigenous Strategy and Leadership at the University to develop an alternative, focusing on an Aboriginal immersion experience across north-west and central-west NSW for the 2020 Scholars. The University of Newcastle has significant and well-established links with many of these remote communities and travelling wholly within NSW minimised the risk of potential border closures (which were a very real issue in Australia for much of the pandemic). The Office of Indigenous Strategy and Leadership engaged with Uncle Paul Gordon and alumnus, David Newham, to assist with the itinerary and engage as cultural advisors in planning and implementing the experience for Scholars.

Covering 2,800kms, the trip focused on the importance of relationship and connection to people, place and our own spirituality or purpose. This closely aligns with all the values of the Program, and we learnt about the education and health priorities of the communities we visited, as well as the social and environmental challenges these communities face. We explored the history and policies responsible, including the past and current management of the Murray-Darling Basin. The trip built rapport between the Scholars and local traditional custodians of the land through sharing a unique, meaningful and eye-opening experience.

Scholars captured special aspects each day of the trip through a blog, which can be accessed here

The trip had a huge impact on me and has completely changed the way I look at the world. I didn’t know it at the beginning but I was very much in need of an experience like this. My biggest takeaways from the trip include identifying the gap between indigenous Australians and non-indigenous Australians and we all need to play a part in closing that gap; connecting with the earth more: watch sunrises and sunsets, sit on the ground and feel the earth, go for runs and walks; connect with myself more: listen to what my head and heart are saying and make decisions that benefit me; keep connecting with the Ma & Morley Scholars: they are the most supportive group of people I’ve ever met; be more present: focus on my goals and dreams and minimise distractions; there is such a beautiful world for us to explore: get out there and see it; go back and visit the communities we went to and maintain those connections; travel is the best way to learn; I can do whatever I want with my life; we are all a part of not only preserving but continuing culture.

2020 Ma & Morley Scholar

The Program has always intended to honour and celebrate the enduring and life changing friendship between Jack Ma and Ken Morley. Ken was a lifelong mentor to Jack, however learnt so much from the relationship himself.

One of the key principles of the Program is to build a community of Ma & Morley Scholars and Ambassadors, based on the common values that characterise and distinguish the Program’s unique identity. When the gift was secured, one of the key elements was to provide Scholars with a mentoring opportunity.

We launched Phase 1 of the mentoring program in 2022, which involved current Scholars mentoring the new 2022 Scholars. This provided mentors the opportunity to amplify the Scholarship Program experience for new Scholars, by sharing their learnings from the Program, university life and their personal journey with the values. It also demonstrated reciprocity in action: allowing mentors to be open to learn from the mentee and their lived experience.

Peer-led Program delivery

Scholars were able to hone their leadership and facilitation skills by delivering elements of the incoming Scholars’ Welcome and Leadership Workshops.

I wanted to be a mentor because this Program has offered me a sense of someone to look up to, people to look up to. And I feel like that's something that I could do for somebody else.

Georgia Young
2018 Ma & Morley Scholar
and Bachelor of Social Work (Honours )

The Ma & Morley Ambassador Program continues the leadership journey of Ma & Morley Ambassadors to become globally aware and socially conscious leaders once they have graduated from the University of Newcastle. The Ambassador Program will enable the Ambassadors to remain connected to and give back to the Program. All activities will be aligned to the values of the Ma & Morley Scholarship Program. 2022 saw the launch of the Ambassador Program, with two panel discussions. The first, “How to Make Your Vote Count” was held in March in the lead up to the Australian federal election. The event aimed to help Ambassadors and Scholars gain a better understanding of federal politics and to ensure their values were honoured at the ballot box. Panellists included Justine Landis-Hanley, a New York Times- published journalist, writing for the Guardian Australia, The Saturday Paper, the Sydney Morning Herald, ABC, and Junkee. She is also the co-founder and host of the political podcast, Left Right Out; Thomas Levick, a Ma & Morley Ambassador, PhD candidate, activist and a Local Government Greens candidate; Jarrod Samsom, a Ma & Morley Ambassador, PhD candidate, sessional academic and electorate officer; and Professor Jim Jose, an Emeritus Professor of Politics and political scientist. Following a robust discussion about why federal politics matter, an explanation of the two Houses of Parliament, the best way to research candidates in your electorate and how to identify scare tactics and smear campaigns, guests were able to ask the panel questions and ensure they left understanding their informed decisions would increase their capacity to determine our collective future and knowing how to make their vote count.

The second event was held in September on the theme of Climate Action and Minerva Bailey, Ma & Morley Ambassador, hosted a panel discussion of influential individuals who are leading the way on climate action in their communities. The panel included Charlotte McCabe, a Greens Councillor for the City of Newcastle and contributor to environmental campaigns across the country; Uncle Paul Gordon, a Ngemba Elder, born at Brewarrina, who has dedicated his life to teaching and connecting with other Lore men and women throughout Australia and working with communities throughout Australia to support learnings and connecting our stories through lore and culture; Emeritus Professor Tim Roberts, an Emeritus Professor of Biology in the School of Life Sciences at the University of Newcastle; and Caroline Pidcock, who leads her own architectural practice and is passionate about architecture, biophilia and regenerative design, and how she can joyfully co-create “socially just, culturally rich and ecologically restorative” ways of living in Australia.

Each panelist shared their vision and ideas of what each of us can do in our daily lives to make a difference, rather than being overwhelmed by the inaction of major polluters and slow responses from government. Guests were again able to ask direct questions and left inspired to make a difference in their daily

I am so glad I could be a part of it, I really loved it I thought all the presenters were fantastic and the conversations during the Q&A and that I had after the event were great.

Guest at Ambassador Event