Northern Beaches Mayor ‘Proud to Stand with ICMS’

Northern Beaches Council Mayor Michael Regan praised the long-established partnership between the council and the International College of Management, Sydney (ICMS) at the recent Scholarships and Dean’s List ceremony that took place at the college in Manly, NSW, earlier this month.

“This organisation is such a great asset to our local community and we are very proud to stand with (ICMS) and help them succeed and grow as well,” Regan said before awarding The Northern Beaches Council Event Management Scholarship to ICMS international student Tanisha Arora.

“This is a great partnership which continues to grow and we will continue to invest in it,” Regan said.

“We are thankful to ICMS as the college chooses to continually invest in our area. To the staff and to the students, you’re an amazing group of individuals… (The college has demonstrated) expansion and commitment to the (Northern Beaches) community that we all serve. I’m very grateful to be a part of that and very grateful that our council can play a strong role in that and watch you succeed.”

In attendance at the 22nd Scholarships Ceremony in the college’s history were ICMS chairman and founder Darryl Courtney-O’Connor, ICMS Board Directors, representatives of industry partners and special guests from Emerson College in Boston, United States.

The Northern Beaches Council Event Management scholarship was just one of an impressive total of 120 scholarships worth a combined total of $1.7million awarded by ICMS, in partnership with industry and corporate partners, over three ceremonies in 2019.

According to ICMS Professional Scholarships Program creator chair Ann Whitelock Courtney-O’Connor, 55 scholarships were awarded in 2017; and in 2018, 82 scholarships, with a combined total of $1.2million, was awarded.

Whitelock Courtney-O’Connor added that the growth of the scholarship program can be tracked not only in the numbers of scholarships awarded and the dollar value attached, but also in the commitment and investment in the lives of ICMS students that scholarship partners show.

“We are very grateful to our partners. It’s not just the tuition fee subsidy that they pledge, it’s also their attendance on interview panels, their devotion to these students’ development, internships, and mentoring. On behalf of all of us at ICMS we acknowledge and thank our partners in this program.”

Whitelock Courtney-O’Connor also used the platform of the ceremony to state: “Some higher education providers use the word ‘scholarship’ but it’s not what I would deem a scholarship; it’s more like a discount used in certain markets to boost numbers in their institutions for international students. We don’t support that at all. We know our students have done the hard yards and are honest recipients of something they’ve gone out there and worked extra hard to earn. That’s what we are recognising and celebrating here tonight.”

A new scholarship in development was announced at the conclusion of the ceremony, where ICMS and Accor will work together to present a scholarship opportunity for Aboriginal and Torres Straite Islander candidates.

“This final announcement is a great delight to us and is very special and close to our hearts… ICMS and Aspire have partnered with Accor Hotels to offer scholarship opportunities to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the original people of our land. We’re so excited about this, and are moving forward to working together,” Whitelock Courtney-O’Connor said.

AccorHotels NSW/ACT Indigenous Program’s Executive Jelina Turnbull welcomed the opportunity “to allow our indigenous team to grow with a premier education facility such as ICMS”.

“It gives Accor great pride to work with like-minded organisations that share values and goals in empowering indigenous success,” she said.

“We have over 600 indigenous team members who thrive when presented with leadership and personal development opportunities and we know what (an ICMS Scholarship opportunity) will mean to the successful candidate, their family and community. We can’t wait to bring one of our team members into your family next year, and we see this relationship growing over the coming years.”

For more information on the ICMS Professional Scholarships Program, click here: https://www.icms.edu.au/scholarship/icms-professional-scholarships-program