For Thomas Hukahu, coming to ANU as the first ever recipient of the Mike Gore Scholarship touches his past, present and future.

Thomas's father, Paul Hukahu, a senior lecturer in a teachers’ college in Papua New Guinea, came to Canberra on a scholarship in 1973. Paul completed an advanced diploma in education at the Canberra College of Advanced Education.

Thomas has already followed in his father’s footsteps in his career as an educator – building on years of journalism experience and a Masters from Australia to teach STEM, media and communications across Papua New Guinea and the Pacific. But he is delighted to know that he deepens that connection with his father, with this opportunity to come to Canberra.

"It is coincidental that on 14 December last year, 50 years later [after my father graduated], I was informed that I had been awarded the Mike Gore Scholarship." says Thomas."

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It is not Thomas’s first association with ANU – he gave a presentation entitled “How can the pandemic centre in PNG effectively communicate information about a pandemic to the public?” at the 2022 PNG Update at the ANU Crawford School of Public Policy.

The Mike Gore Scholarship was established in memory of Emeritus Professor Mike Gore, founder of Questacon, who was a lifelong associate and champion of CPAS. The Mike Gore Award supports students from low- and middle-income countries to obtain an ANU Graduate Certificate of Science Communication. As part of the degree, recipients will have the opportunity to travel to the ANU to participate in Science Communication intensive courses in person. CPAS partnered with philanthropic donors to make this gift possible.

Thomas is excited about what this Graduate Certificate will empower him to do, and how it will influence the future of his students too.

"This will greatly assist me in my quest to better guide students at the secondary and tertiary levels so that they can confidently share science principles or concepts and skills with others, who can appropriately apply that to advance their lives and that of their communities.

It is indeed a great privilege to be entering a world-class institution with the help of this prestigious scholarship."

CPAS are seeking further donations and philanthropic support to continue to grow The Mike Gore Scholarship.  If you or someone you know would like to be part of keeping Mike's legacy in science communication alive and supporting international educators like Thomas, we invite you to contribute to the scholarship or please contact Dr Graham Walker (graham.walker@anu.edu.au).