Press Office

Auckland, 22 October 2008 - MasterCard and U21Global today announced the successful recipients of the 2008 MasterCard-U21Global scholarship, an annual programme awarded to women in travel and tourism.

The program, which calls on organisations to nominate outstanding women in the industry, offers a global platform for career advancement in the management and marketing of travel and tourism, while also meeting industry demand for well trained professionals.

Four outstanding women from New Zealand have been chosen out of a strong selection of applicants for the joint scholarship program: Maryann D'sa, Team Manager, Sue Mercer, Account Manager and Marie-Michele Aubeelack, Customer Service Agent all from Air New Zealand plus Julia Watson, General Manager for Spookers Ltd.

Maryann, Sue, Marie-Michele and Julia join 16 other winners of the MasterCard-U21Global sponsored scholarship from across the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa region. They will pursue the Postgraduate Diploma of Business Administration from U21Global, the world’s premier online Graduate School.

“MasterCard’s important role as facilitator of travel and its commitment to domestic and international travel is the motivation behind our involvement in the scholarship programme,” said Stuart McKinlay, Country Manager New Zealand, MasterCard Worldwide.

“MasterCard understands the value of travel and tourism to the New Zealand market and wants to ensure that those working in the industry are given the best possible support and training needed to provide an outstanding service.”

“We’re delighted that more than 20% of the applicants came from Australasia - and this year we have a record four NZ winners of the scholarship. I’d like to congratulate Maryann, Sue, Marie-Michele and Julia on winning this year,” added McKinlay.

MasterCard-U21Global scholarship winner, Julia Watson will be using the program to develop and strengthen her skills in the industry, with the aim to progress her professional career.

“The attainment of this scholarship has given me the opportunity to fast track my career and the chance to work alongside the best people the world has to offer in the tourism industry.”

“Many of our 2008 recipients are women in mid-level management positions who have been in the industry for over a decade. This group would significantly benefit from additional education and through gaining appropriate qualifications will improve their management capabilities and career prospects. The Postgraduate Diploma of Business Administration from U21Global will help them achieve this objective,” said Dr Helen Lange, Dean, Business Management Programmes, U21Global.

“MasterCard’s support of U21Global through its commitment to travel and tourism has reinforced our institution as one of the world’s premier online graduate school,” Dr Lange added. “The scholarships are awarded to women who have shown exemplary dedication and achievements in the travel and tourism sector, and we believe our premium curriculum will help Maryann, Sue, Marie-Michele and Julia keep abreast of industry trends.”

Vanessa Weigall was the first Australasian recipient of the MasterCard-U21Global Scholarship and is in the final year of her study. Vanessa says she hasn’t looked back since winning the scholarship in 2006.

“The MasterCard-U21Global Scholarship programme has provided me with invaluable skills that have given me the edge required to take my career to the next step. From eBusiness, to sustainability and service delivery, the programme covers highly relevant aspects of the tourism and travel industries that I can apply every day.”

“The e-learning platform also meant that I could be more flexible with my work-life balance when studying, which definitely made life easier!”

Recipients of the scholarship can enjoy the benefit of studying online to better manage their work and educational commitments. Those interested in more information on U21Global can log on to www.u21global.edu.sg

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The program comprises 20 scholarships for the U21Global Postgraduate Diploma of Business Administration and is intended to empower working women professionals in the industry to stay ahead of industry trends and realize their full potential. This is the third consecutive year that MasterCard and U21Global are collaborating to offer this scholarship program, which is open to women professionals in the travel and tourism industry across Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa. This year, recipients come from a diverse range of markets, including Australia, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, New Zealand, Philippines, UAE, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The program focuses on diverse aspects of tourism management and helps build a broad understanding of management principles and practices as they apply in the tourism and travel industries. The curriculum has been developed by Christel DeHaan Tourism and Travel Research Institute, a part of Nottingham University Business School and U21Global, a leader in offering quality graduate online education to working executives and professionals.

Established in 2001, U21Global is the world's premier online Graduate School that offers globally recognised graduate programmes. The graduate school is backed by an international network of leading research-intensive universities in 11 countries. U21Global combines the traditional quality of its founders with innovative modes of delivery on the Internet, providing students with substantial learning advantages, while balancing work, travel and family life.

U21Global has successfully enrolled students from 60 countries around the world including those from Asia, Australia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. The graduate programmes draw upon the best practices in online learning and pedagogy and have been approved by U21pedagogica, an independent quality assurance body which ensures that the curriculum meets the rigorous academic standards of all the affiliated universities. For more information on U21Global, please visit our campus at http://www.u21global.edu.sg

U21Global's affiliated universities include: North America: Tecnológico de Monterrey, University of Virginia; Europe: Lund University; University College Dublin, University of Birmingham, University of Edinburgh, University of Glasgow, University of Nottingham; Asia: Fudan University, Korea University, National University of Singapore, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, University of Delhi, University of Hong Kong, Waseda University; Australia: University of Melbourne, University of Queensland.

MasterCard Worldwide advances global commerce by providing a critical economic link among financial institutions, businesses, cardholders and merchants worldwide. As a franchisor, processor and advisor, MasterCard develops and markets payment solutions, processes over 18 billion transactions each year, and provides industry-leading analysis and consulting services to financial institution customers and merchants. Through its family of brands, including MasterCard®, Maestro® and Cirrus®, MasterCard serves consumers and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories.