Noonan Family Scholarship

The Noonan Family Scholarship will support Spark Engineering Camp or Ignite Engineering Camp alumni who intend to pursue tertiary education in STEM. The scholarship, valued at $30,000 AUD paid over the course of a student’s undergraduate university education, is generously funded by the Noonan family with the goal to to break down barriers and improve access to higher education for students from under-represented backgrounds.

The scholarship can be used to support various study-related expenses, including but not limited to books, laptops, internet, university accommodation, university course costs, and travel/relocation expenses.

2026 Noonan Family Scholarship Applications are OPEN NOW!

Applications for 2026 opened on July 13, 2026, 00:01 AEST.

Applications for 2026 will close on September 30, 2026, 23:59 AEST.

APPLY NOW

Application Form Preview

NOTE: Applications must be submitted through the Google Form, any other forms of submissions will not be considered.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible for the Noonan Family Scholarship, applicants must satisfy the following criteria:

  • Have previously attended either the Spark Engineering Camp in Australia or Ignite Engineering Camp in New Zealand in any previous years
  • Are in their final year of high school and intend to pursue full-time tertiary education in any STEM discipline in the subsequent year. Students who intend to study Engineering are highly encouraged to apply.
  • Have experienced any sort of disadvantage or face barriers to higher education (e.g. financial hardship, regional or rural locality, culturally and linguistically diverse, first in family to attend university, First Nations, refugee or asylum seeker, disability, trauma, etc.). Please note this is not an exhaustive list.
  • Applicants who identify as female or non-binary are highly encouraged to apply.

Selection criteria

The Noonan Family Scholarship is administered by Youth Without Borders and selection of scholarship recipients is managed by the Scholarship Manager and approved by the Board of Directors.

Applications, reference letters, and interview performance will be treated with confidence and assessed against the following selection criteria:

  • Clear motivation for pursuing tertiary education in STEM
  • Demonstrated need in managing and/or overcoming barriers to further education
  • Leadership capacity and community involvement, including but not limited to school leadership, participation in community organisations, sporting clubs, family responsibilities, etc.
  • Commitment to learning and academic ability
  • Level of likely impact if awarded the scholarship

Terms & conditions

Successful applicants will be required to sign a Scholarship Agreement indicating their acceptance of the scholarship subject to the following terms and conditions:

  • The recipient must provide evidence of enrolment into an Australian or New Zealand university studying an undergraduate course in STEM
  • The recipient must retain full-time enrolment in their course throughout the entirety of their course
  • The recipient must maintain a minimum level of academic performance of a credit (65), reviewed at the start of each academic semester through provision of their academic transcript
  • The recipient must provide an annual report demonstrating the impact of the scholarship on their studies

Have a question about the Noonan Family Scholarship? 

If you have any questions or require further information about the Noonan Family Scholarship, please review the FAQ below or fill out the web form to contact our External Affairs Officer, Mina.

FAQs

  • One AUD $30,000 scholarship is available for one student in the 2026 application round.

  • Interested applicants must apply by completing the application form. Please ensure you have carefully consulted our website prior to applying for the Noonan Family Scholarship for information about eligibility criteria, selection criteria, and terms and conditions.

    Please note you will be asked to provide one reference letter to support your application. This letter can come from a teacher, wellbeing coordinator, work supervisor, sports coach, or anyone that has seen you throughout your education, work, or extracurricular involvement. Please factor in the time required for your referee to prepare this letter for you, to ensure you do not miss the scholarship application deadline.

    Please note we cannot accept reference letters written by family members or friends.

  • Responses should be no longer than 350 words. This is not a hard limit and is an upper limit, not a recommended length. 

  • The referee should address the criteria and how the applicant fulfills them. The referee should highlight the applicant’s strengths and achievements. The letter should be specific to the student. The referee may provide anecdotes, examples, and comments to support their statements. The applicant may wish to share their application responses with their referee to provide them with an understanding of their application.

  • Reference letters should be no longer than 1 page.

  • Applications open July 13th 2026 at 00:01 AEST.

  • Applications close on September 30th 2026 at 23:59 AEST.

  • Interviews will be held in October/November 2026.

  • Interviews will be held online.

  • No, interview questions will not be provided prior to the interview.

  • All applicants will be notified of their outcome in December 2026.

  • Yes, students can apply if they intend to study a double degree so long as one of the courses falls within the STEM disciplines. The value of the scholarship (AUD $30,000) will not change if the student is studying a double degree.

  • The scholarship money is paid in half-yearly installments over the duration of the recipient’s undergraduate course.

  • You can apply for the Noonan Family Scholarship if you are currently receiving/will receive another scholarship.

  • No, only students who will be graduating from high school in the current year are eligible to apply. Students who will graduate in subsequent years are encouraged to apply in future application rounds. 

  • No, the recipient must accept an offer to their course commencing in the subsequent year, unless there are extenuating circumstances. This will be discussed with the recipient and a decision made with consultation from the Board of Directors in this instance. 

  • No, the recipient must accept a full-time course offer, unless there are extenuating circumstances. This will be discussed with the recipient and a decision made with consultation from the Board of Directors in this instance. 

  • No, you do not need to be an Australian/New Zealand citizen or have Australian/New Zealand residency status to apply. All applicants who satisfy the eligibility criteria are welcome to apply.

  • No, students do not have to report their scholarship expenditure. However, students will be required to provide a copy of their academic transcript and  maintain a minimum level of academic performance of a credit (65), reviewed at the start of each academic semester, as outlined in the Scholarship Agreement.

  • If you have any questions which are not answered here, please fill out the web form or email externalaffairs@ywb.com.au and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

If you have any questions which are not answered here, please fill out the web form above or email externalaffairs@ywb.com.au and we will get back to you as soon as possible.