Professor Davis AM with some award winners

The Division of EFS held its annual Awards Ceremony on Wednesday 10 May 2006 at the Macquarie Atrium.

Professor Greg Elliott welcomes donors
Jon Masters, CPA Australia NSW Divisional Council member, and
Samantha Brooker, McGraw Hill Australia

EFS drew on longstanding individual donors and its business and industry partnerships to offer students cash prizes and scholarships. Other awards were supported by Macquarie University, EFS Departments and the University's Alumni. Merit Certificates were also presented for consistently high grade point averages over one year.

Professor Davis AM with
prize donors John and Carys Pollard and
recipient Cameron Mcloughlin.

Dean of the Division of EFS, Professor Ed Davis AM, said the event is important as it recognises and rewards students’ hard work and dedication as well as providing them with an opportunity to network with future employers. "Our partnerships are very supportive of our students and Macquarie University in general," he said. "We work closely with business and industry throughout the year and are able to provide our students with hands on experience and in turn business and industry have the opportunity to employ highly skilled graduates with relevant experience."

Professor Graham Wood with prize donors
Margaret and Henry Bullock

Guest speaker for the evening was the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Steven Schwartz. VIP guests included representatives from the Institute of Chartered Accountants,CPA Australia, the Commonwealth Bank, McGraw Hill Australia and Tillinghast-Towers Perrin; and donors John and Carys Pollard, Margaret and Harry Bullock and SK Ho.

Professor Ed Davis AM with donors
SK Ho from Macquarie University,
Jo Stiles from the Institute of Chartered Accountants,
Alisha Jones from Tillinghast-Towers Perrin and
Samantha Brooker from McGraw Hill Australia.

Outstanding award recipients included:

Tipiwa Mabutho, recipient of a Department of Economics Honours Scholarship and a Merit Certificate.

Tipiwa is an adventurous and supremely confident international student from Botswana who is used to living away from home. She spent 5 years in boarding school with her brother and friends in Bulaweyo, Zimbabwe before arriving in Australia at age 18. "My government awards scholarships for overseas study based on high school grades, so I arrived in 2001 for the SIBT Foundation year ………I knew zip about Australia, but have had no problems fitting in, " she said.

Her honours thesis topic in Economics is about HIV / AIDS & its effect on economic growth in developing countries.

People who have the confidence of 'knowing themselves' are her role models - her Dad for his discipline, her Mum for her drive and confidence, and her brother for his people skills.

Outside class Tipiwa has been working for locally-based Colmar Brunton for 3 ½ years, doing recruitment and market research. " I’m expected at some point to return and work for the government in Botswana……in the meantime I want to do my own thing….might work for a multi-national…..not just for the money but for the experience. Working for the UN, World Bank or IMF is definitely not my thing….I see them as too political, making lots of decisions based on politics not economics."

Marian Mahoney topped the awards ceremony tally of prizes and scholarships with a Department of Economics Honours Scholarship, a Macquarie University Honours Scholarship, the UFJ Bank Limited Prize for proficiency in 300-level Japanese Economic Studies, the Victor Argy Memorial Prize for Macroeconomic Policy and a Merit Certificate.

Marian came to Macquarie University from Baulkham Hills High School with an exceptional tertiary entrance score. She enrolled in her first love, Ancient History, in which she typically excelled. Some work experience sparked an interest in ‘real-world business’ leading to a course transfer to the Division of EFS, into Economics.

“There’s a huge intellectual appeal in the way Economics is structured as a discipline. It’s exciting and self-contained, and I can see myself working in so many fields: getting my hands into policy in the public sector, in the private sector with banks, financial markets, investment , stockbroking…..it opens up a big world of multinationals,” she said.

She has always been a high achiever. " I’ve always set high standards and get stressed if I’m not achieving. At school I was into English, Drama, Modern and Ancient History so I followed my first love by enrolling in Ancient History at Macquarie…..however, I got to the point where I couldn’t see myself becoming a teacher or an academic …..it just didn’t appeal. I changed my studies via Macquarie's wonderful degree transfer ….some work experience got me interested in the practical world of business…..Economics seemed the obvious choice. I thought, wow, Economics is just as exciting intellectually as my previous studies, so I went for it."

Marian's academic excellence will soon be recognised with another prize - the Macquarie University Kathryn Murphy Memorial Prize awarded each year for academic merit in 300-level units taken by a female student proceeding to an honours degree.This prize is supported by the University's Alumni.

Read Marian's 'Vote of Thanks' below, delivered on behalf of students at the EFS Awards Ceremony.

Chung Ching Wang, recipient of a Department of Accounting and Finance Honours Scholarship, two Macquarie University Prizes, a Merit Certificate, and the Vice-Chancellor's commendation for academic excellence at April 2006 graduation.

Chung is an Applied Finance Honours student from Hong Kong who grew up in China, in a remote area near the sea called Fujian (opposite Taiwan) where his 78 year old grandfather still farms.
He hopes that his passion for applied finance will lead to a career in investment or fund management. "I love the commercial world, that’s why I went to study overseas at EFS. My first tertiary experience was trying nursing studies at Hong Kong uni ….not my favourite topic. Two days after signing up with SIBT I was on my way here," he said.

His honours thesis will focus on asset pricing and credit risk monitoring. The best thing about honours for him has been the discussion groups where Chung has come to realise that his worldview may be rather narrow compared to local students. "Honours is more specific and interactive …it’s extending my opinions and financial know-how."

Describing himself humbly as 'hard-working not exceptional' Chung credits the unconditional support of his parents as his inspiration, " They have never pressured me and are happy as long as I try my best…the pressure comes from myself ! I was just getting through in high school and didn’t expect to do so well at EFS."

EFS University Medallist

Claymore Marshall, a Bachelor of Commerce - Actuarial Studies Honours Class 1 graduate, was awarded the prestigious University Medal for Actuarial Studies in recognition of his exceptional academic record and path-breaking honours thesis - “Forecasting mortality on the z-score scale” *. He is currently writing a journal article with Professor Piet de Jong of the Department of Actuarial Studies.

“ Actuarial Studies is a real challenge. What grabs me about it is the maths….it’s one of the hardest degrees around."

Later this year he will begin higher degree studies in Actuarial Science at the University of Waterloo in Canada. Claymore came to EFS from Kirrawee High School, and relaxes by kite-surfing in Botany Bay.

*The Wang Transform is a recent innovation in pricing insurance and financial risks. This thesis considers the application of the Wang Transform to mortality forecasting. A novel mortality forecasting method is proposed,
based on extrapolating linear trends on the z-score scale.
Models which appear to encompass the behaviour of mortality on the z-score scale are developed, including a point estimate mortality forecasting model called the linear z-score model.

Remarkably, the linear z-score model uses one parameter to forecast
mortality for all ages over time. In-sample forecasts indicate the predictive ability of this one parameter model is comparable to the widely used and well regarded classic form of the Lee-Carter model. Extensions to the linear z-score model are proposed to improve the flexibility and potential applicability of the model.

The z-score scale offers detailed insights into the way mortality evolves over time. Forecasting mortality on the z-score scale appears to be a useful
and practical method.

Vote of Thanks from Marian Mahoney

"From the number of prizes already awarded (and the many yet to come), it is quite evident that we students owe a vote of thanks to certain people at the University.

Firstly, thanks to the Dean, the staff and especially the donors whose generosity and efforts have made this night possible. It is always nice to get good grades - which look impressive on an academic transcript, but “man does not live by grades alone”! It is really satisfying to have our achievements publicly acknowledged as you have done tonight. It is also a real encouragement for us to persevere in our studies and endeavours. In your generosity, you don’t yet know the potential “intellectual giants” you may be fostering for the future, but your ongoing support is sincerely appreciated and will bear good fruit in us.

Thanks also are due to those who have seen us at our highest and our lowest scholarly moments. Thank you to those friends, family and partners who have supported us - especially through those eleventh-hour exam and assignment panics. I myself am deeply indebted to a wonderful sister who has endured countless pre-exam hysterics with saintly patience. So thank you!

Last, but certainly not least, much thanks is due to those “front-line warriors” who have the “glamorous” task of manning lecterns, leading tutorials and answering the same questions term, after term, after term. Though it is only one part of your academic job, teaching is the most important role you play in influencing students. The value of your patience, encouragement, good humour, and enthusiasm cannot be underestimated. I would not be half the scholar I am if a lecturer’s enthusiasm for a seemingly dry topic did not eventually excite my own love of economics.

So thankyou to the lectures and also the administration staff, who keep the courses sailing a steady course each year. Your help and assistance is sincerely appreciated.

So please join with me in thanking the Dean, staff, donors, teachers and friends and family to whom much of the credit of our achievements also belongs."

Contact: Skaidy Gulbis

Phone: +61 2 9850 4774