Navy veteran receives 2020 ACS Indigenous IT Scholarship

Warren Faulkner has received the ACS Indigenous scholarship for the second year running. Awarded by Charles Sturt University, the scholarship supports and showcases Indigenous achievement in information technology courses, with the first being awarded in 2018.

“I’m very honoured and consider myself extremely fortunate to have received the Australian Computer Society scholarship for a second consecutive year,” Faulkner said.

Faulkner began his Bachelor of Information Technology course at Charles Darwin University in July 2017 with the goal of obtaining tertiary recognition for his tech industry experience acquired over the last 24 years, including eight years in the Royal Australian Navy.

Currently employed with the Department of the Environment and Energy as a manager within the Platform Services – Wintel Engineering team of the organisation’s IT Branch, Faulkner previously spent 22 years with the Australian Taxation Office in IT roles including infrastructure provisioning, web hosting and desktop packaging.

“I thank the Australian Computer Society for this prestigious award. I’d also thank the faculty at Charles Darwin University and the Indigenous Student Services team at CDU. Higher education and studying online can be challenging and a bit daunting because there’s so many costs involved such as fees, textbooks and time management,” Faulkner said.

In announcing the award, Charles Darwin University’s College IT head, Dr Krishnan Kannoorpatti, noted that Faulkner enrolled in an IT course to gain skills in IT.

“This shows his passion for learning new technologies for furthering his career in IT. Warren Faulkner has completed several units in IT with high academic achievement in a consistent manner. He is enrolled in an Associate Degree in ICT. IT discipline is very pleased to nominate Warren for the ACS Indigenous Information Technology Scholarship,” Dr Kannoorpatti said.

ACS President Ian Oppermann said the scholarship is important in promoting diversity in the IT sector, along with illustrating the benefits to organisations and the wider profession.

“We’re delighted Warren has been again awarded the ACS Indigenous Scholarship. We would like to thank Charles Darwin University for administering the scholarship and congratulate Warren on his work and achievements,” Oppermann said.

“The ACS scholarship has been worthwhile and has been a blessing particularly this year due to the worldwide pandemic. It’s not only the financial element though, the ACS scholarship and the CDU study has enabled me to meet with more people and discover more of what’s going on in the larger world of IT,” Faulkner said.