Teachers Health Early Career Scholarship 2023

6 March 2024 

Cobram public school teacher George Allen has been selected as the 2023 recipient of the Public Education Foundation’s Teachers Health Early Career Scholarship. George began his teaching career in January 2021 and is a High Abilities Co-ordinator and Science teacher at Cobram Secondary College in regional Victoria.

He plans to use the Teachers Health Scholarship to undertake the Graduate Certificate in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education at the University of Canberra. George knew from the moment he started at Cobram Secondary College how  he would like to contribute to students’ growth.

“I started and continued to run the school's STEM club, which exposes interested students to practical and applicable scientific learning opportunities. I was eager to continue my professional development and build my skills to further support my students in their engagement with science and technology. Furthermore, with the increasing number of early career and permission to teach teachers moving to the school to start their careers, there has become a greater need for science leaders. These staff are eager and keen to learn and I’d welcome the opportunity to provide them guidance to be able to support the start of their professional careers,” he said.

“By the end of this professional development course I expect to have developed a more well-rounded and deeper understanding of the research that underpins science and technology education. Further to this, I am hoping to build STEM education holistically across the curriculum, working alongside a range of teams at the school. This course will help me to understand how best to develop students' ability to think scientifically in all ways of life. I am looking to use this professional development to help me build connections through learning real-world applications and problem solving in conjunction with local businesses,” Mr Allen said.

The Teachers Health Early Career Scholarship supports public school teachers who are in the first three years of their teaching career, with Teachers Health providing $10,000 for professional development activities. 

“We are pleased to support George as he starts the next exciting chapter of his career and learning. Our continued partnership with the Public Education Foundation enables us to provide this vital support to the teaching community as well as empower great educators early in their careers to follow their passion for education,” said Teachers Health Group CEO Brad Joyce. 

“The Public Education Foundation is  excited to have partnered with Teachers Health to offer this scholarship. It is wonderful to read of George’s passion to develop his STEM knowledge even further at the University of Canberra. This scholarship will provide him with the opportunity to further enhance his pedagogical skills, linked to the teaching of STEM subjects.  This will result in better engagement with students and increase educational outcomes. We are so appreciative of the support from Teachers Health which really does change lives,’ said David Riordan, CEO of the Public Education Foundation.

Media contact

John Hill

 0412 197 079