Are you interested in applying for the Women in Transport Leadership Development scholarship in 2024?
Join us for a Zoom information session on Thursday 7 December 2023 to learn about the 2024 round.
This is what we will cover:
- Are you eligible? (Including eligible employers),
- Essential information for applying i.e. how to prepare,
- Tips and strategies on how to prepare a winning application from a successful recipient.
When: Thursday 7 December, 10am - 10.30am
Please click this URL to join: Zoom WiT Scholarship information session(opens in a new window)
Webinar ID: 851 0194 3249
Password: 882638
(Be sure to log in a few minutes early to ensure you can connect to Zoom and in case of any required updates!)
Three scholarships up to the value of $30,000 each are awarded each year (until 2024) for leadership development courses at an Undergraduate, Masters, Postgraduate, and executive level, relatable to a transport and infrastructure area.
Women in Transport (WiT) Scholarships are open to all women (including transgender women) and gender-diverse people, employed by the Victorian Public Service (VPS) within MTIA and its projects, by the Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) and its agencies, or V-line. You must have completed your employment probation period.
Applications for the Women in Transport Leadership Development Scholarship Program open in March each year. For additional information, please contact witprograms@levelcrossings.vic.gov.au.
2023 Women in Transport Scholarship Recipients
In May 2023 the WiT Leadership Development Scholarship selection panel comprised of Senior Executives and Management from across DTP and Major Transport Infrastructure Authority’s (MTIA); reviewed 21 eligible applications.
The panel discussed and agreed upon the successful applicants, based on the highest scores and overall merit, taking into account the applicant's outlined course, project scope, benefit to the Transport sector, and areas of greatest impact for gender equity.
We are pleased to congratulate this year’s four new members of the WiT Scholar Alumni:
| 2023 Scholarship Recipient | Job Title | VPS Organisation | Approved Leadership Program Scholarship Course |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penny Papoulidis | Senior Project Manager | Suburban Rail Loop Authority | Master of Construction Law, University of Melbourne |
| Mamode Osikoya | Environment Manager | Major Road Projects Victoria | Master of Environmental Engineering, Griffith University |
| Kat Li | Senior Commercial Adviser | Suburban Rail Loop Authority | Master of Construction Law, University of Melbourne |
| Taru Jain | Transport Research Manager | Department of Transport & Planning | Women in Leadership Program, Melbourne Business School |
2023 Succcessful WiT Scholar Profiles
Mamode Osikoya
Mamode is a Environment Manager, Land Planning and Environment at Major Road Projects Victoria (MRPV) and is responsible for ensuring environmental compliance on infrastructure projects. Passionate about environmental protection and resource recovery, Mamode believes that engineering principles have a huge role to play in addressing environmental issues, including circular economy and renewable energy.
Mamode will complete a Master of Environmental Engineering and explore the complex environmental problems, issues and the challenges facing environmental sustainability. This course will provide insights into designing creative engineering solutions, managing solid and hazardous waste management, air quality monitoring and control, water and wastewater treatment, and renewable energy which are essentials in environmental protection on our Big Build Infrastructure projects.
Mamode is also keen to identify and address some of the challenges associated with transitioning to the new Environmental Protection Act 2017 and to develop a framework for leadership, strategy and problem solving within this space.
Penny Papoulidis
Penny currently works as a Senior Project Manager at Suburban Rail Loop Authority (SRLA). Penny completed a Bachelor of Civil Engineering and has been involved in the delivery of a range of medium to large-scale civil infrastructure projects. Penny had an interest in law as a teenager, but ultimately followed in her family’s engineering footsteps and has enjoyed a rewarding career. When considering options for further study, Penny was motivated by the possibility of combining her passion for project delivery and the principles of law and has just completed her first subject in Master of Construction Law at the University of Melbourne. She is motivated to enhance her commercial and contractual knowledge within the engineering and construction environment as Suburban Rail Loop moves into the construction stage.
As an engineering project manager with construction law experience, this course will allow Penny to apply her construction law knowledge in the day-to-day delivery of the project across risk management, contractual compliance and efficient contractor negotiations and dispute resolution.
Kat Li
Kat is a Senior Commercial Adviser at Suburban Rail Loop Authority (SRLA), currently supporting the procurement of the station construction contracts for SRL East. The Commercial team at SRLA leads procurement activities and transaction processes for the project. Kat aspires to gain an in-depth understanding of construction law and practice and utilise this knowledge to lead teams.
Kat’s course, the Master of Construction Law at the University of Melbourne, will provide a strong foundation to advance Kat’s career in senior leadership roles and will build on her existing studies in Law from Deakin University. The Master of Construction Law will cover a wide range of construction law-related topics and will arm Kat with the skills and expertise to position her as a prospective leader in the commercial space.
Dr. Taru Jain
Dr. Jain currently holds the position of Manager, Transport Research, at the Department of Transport and Planning, where she spearheads collaborations with universities and other jurisdictions. Her role is driving organisational change in research creation, curation, utilisation and impact.
Taru is recognised as an expert in future mobility world-wide, with eight highly regarded peer-reviewed journal articles on interconnected themes of transport, urban planning, psychology, and technology.
Taru is passionate about addressing both individual and systemic challenges to workplace inclusion. In her capacity as Acting Deputy Chair of the Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CaLD) Network at DTP, she has spearheaded numerous activities and initiatives towards this cause. Additionally, she serves as a member on Kingston's City Council's Access and Equity Committee.
Securing a scholarship to complete the Women in Leadership Program at Melbourne Business School, Taru seeks to inspire and lead individuals towards creating a more prosperous, healthy, and joyful cities and regions. With 17 years of professional experience, coupled with outstanding academic achievements and, she now wishes to transition from being a “doer” to a “leader”.
WiT Scholarship Alumni
Including this year’s recipients, the Department of Transport and Planning’s WiT Leadership Development Scholarship Program will have awarded twenty scholarships (to the value of $637,450) to high performing female or gender diverse leaders working within the transport and transport infrastructure Victorian Public Service (VPS) since 2017-18.
This year’s four newest WiT Scholars join the WiT Scholar Alumni who are rising to the challenge of full-time work, part time study and in many instances caring responsibilities. The WiT Scholar Alumni continue to give back to the WiT programs and its network through WiT program promotion, guest speaking opportunities, as WiT Mentors and more recently become buddies to our newest WiT Scholar members.
An inaugural WiT Leadership Development Scholarship Program Alumni meet and greet session was held in November 2022 and is scheduled to run again in November 2023.
A compilation of WiT Scholar profiles and a snapshot of their journey throughout the program, is available within the WiT Leadership Development Scholarship Program Booklet 2022 below.
WiT Scholar and Alumni List
| WiT Scholar Year | Name | Course Name |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Esther Warren | Master of Business Administration, Melbourne Business School, University of Melbourne |
| 2019 | Melissa Webb | Master of Design Futures, RMIT |
| 2019 | Dishita Masalia | Master of Business Administration - Business Management, University of Canberra |
| 2019 | Alexandra Morey | Master of Systems Engineering, The University of New South Wales |
| 2020 | Janine Lara | Graduate Diploma of Property, Deakin University |
| 2020 | Julia Jenvey | Master Urban Planning and Environment, RMIT |
| 2020 | Kim Achkar Roumieh | Master of Engineering Management - Project Management, University of Melbourne |
| 2020 | Marion Carrabin | Master in Infrastructure Engineering and Management, Monash University |
| 2021 | Kate Stapleton | Executive Masters in Cities, London School of Economics |
| 2021 | Annie Xu | Master Business Administration, Melbourne Business School, University of Melbourne |
| 2021 | Helen Cui | Masters Infrastructure Engineering and Management, Deakin University |
| 2022 | Aditi Sachdeva | Master of Professional Management, University of Melbourne |
| 2022 | Rhiannon Drummond-Clark | Masters of Environment and Climate Emergency, Curtin University |
| 2022 | Tamara Preuss | Master of Laws, University of Melbourne |
| 2023 | Penny Papoulidis | Master of Construction Law, University of Melbourne |
| 2023 | Mamode Osikoya | Master of Environmental Engineering, Griffith University |
| 2023 | Kat Li | Master of Construction Law, University of Melbourne |
| 2023 | Taru Jain | Women in Leadership Program, Melbourne Business School |
Including this year’s recipients, the Department of Transport and Planning’s WiT Leadership Development Scholarship Program will have awarded twenty scholarships (to the value of $637,450) to high performing women and gender diverse leaders working within the transport and transport infrastructure Victorian Public Service (VPS) since 2017-18.
WiT Team
The WiT Scholarship Program Secretariate role facilitated by the Industry Capability & Inclusion team at Level Crossing Removal Project (LXRP) has a keen focus on continuous improvement and welcomes feedback on this process and program.
Please contact the WiT Secretariat via witprograms@levelcrossings.vic.gov.au if you have further queries.
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