High-achieving student earns $3000 prize

Matamata student Travis Scott has won a prestigious engineering scholarship.

The annual Beca Scholarship of $3000 is awarded to a student in the final year of the Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) Degree who has an outstanding combination of academic achievement, contribution to society and leadership abilities.

The 22-year-old, who has specialised in computer systems engineering, stood out among his University of Auckland peers, demonstrating an aptitude and passion for his field, leadership skills and community service.

Travis is far from a cloistered academic however, being a qualified New Zealand tennis assistant coach and having represented the Waikato in tennis from ages 12 to 18.

‘‘These awards were established to support and celebrate engineering students with the potential to become leaders. We look for technical ability and academic success, but just as importantly we look for character, application and vision,’’ said Beca executive director David Carter.

‘‘In today’s world it is no longer enough to apply pre-learned solutions; students must be equipped to analyse, evaluate and address chal- lenges that will not have been conceived when they were studying.’’

The former head boy of Matamata College is passionate about systems and has built, installed, maintained and repaired computers and other devices for family and friends.

‘‘I believe engineers will be required to find innovative solutions, which allow us to maintain our high living standard while reducing the strain we place on the Earth,’’ Travis said.

‘‘A key step in reaching this goal is to increase the efficiency of existing systems and I am particularly interested in how artificial intelligence can be better utilised in systems to achieve this.’’

Travis is one of nine recipients of the scholarship this year.