Young Planner's Scholarship

2009 Young Planner's Scholarship

Michelle Willemse, a Brisbane City Council (BCC) urban planner with a first class honors degree has won this year's international Young Planner's Scholarship.

Michelle works in BCC's Natural Environment & Sustainability unit where she is engaged in protecting biodiversity within urban environments. Her research will involve investigating the increasing application of green solutions for outdoor advertising including landscaped highways, 'living' billboards and other environmentally sustainable applications. Ms Willemse will travel to San Francisco, Toronto and New York to conduct her research.

After returning from overseas, Michelle will provide a report to the OMA and PIA on the findings of her research project and also present at the 2011 National Young Planners' YPConnect and PIA's National Congress. The final report will be published on both the OMA's and PIA's websites.

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2008 Young Planner's Scholarship

In 2008, the scholarship went to Colleen Keegan, a Strategic Town Planner from Sunshine Coast Regional Council in Queensland. This year Colleen will travel to Montreal and Buenos Aires to study how outdoor advertising has been integrated in cities appointed to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) City of Design Network. Colleen will then present the findings of her research at the 2010 joint Australian and New Zealand National Congress to be held in New Zealand.

2007 Young Planner's Scholarship

Rachael Attwood, the winner of the OMA's inaugural Young Planner's Scholarship launched in 2007, has recently submitted her final report on the research she conducted overseas on electronic signage.

Rachael, a town planner from Mildura Rural City Council in Victoria, travelled to Osaka, London and New York to review their respective regulations for electronic signage in order to make specific recommendations for regulating this form of signage in Victoria.

Rachael said that travelling around the world on her own and conducting research in places she had never been was exciting because she never thought she'd have the courage to do something like that at age 23. She believes that the scholarship has made her realise what she is capable of and has given her the opportunity to make a unique contribution to the planning profession through her research.

Click here for Young Planner's Scholarship 2007 final report. Planning for electronic signage in Victoria: A review of Clause 52.03-5 and Clause 73 of the Victorian Planning Provisions against the town planning legislation of Osaka, London and New York.

Click here for a summary of the winning applications for the Young Planner's Scholarship in 2009, 2008 and 2007.