UQ graduate awarded Harvard fellowship

UQ graduate Tom Gole's vision to find the best economic and legal responses to the current global challenges has won him a fellowship to study at Harvard University in the USA.

A graduate of UQ's School of Economics and the TC Beirne School of Law, Mr Gole leaves for Harvard in August.

"Today’s society is encountering new challenges on an almost daily basis and economics and law are two of the primary fields shaping how we respond," Mr Gole said.

"We need to rethink how markets are designed, how resources are allocated, and how to effectively handle the global cycles of boom and bust."

Mr Gole received an offer for one of three Australian Frank Knox Memorial Fellowships earlier this year after completing a Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Laws dual degree program and Economics and Law honours years.

The Fellowship funding provides for students to undertake graduate study at Harvard and fellows are selected on the basis of "future promise of leadership, strength of character, a keen mind, balanced judgment and a devotion to the democratic ideal."

Mr Gole credits his award of the Harvard Fellowship to the knowledge and skills he gained while studying at UQ.

"Many academics at the School of Economics and the TC Beirne School of Law are recognised internationally as leaders in their respective fields and studying these two disciplines has given me a solid grounding for the future," he said.

"Economics is the study of how choices are made, while law is the study of how interactions are regulated and the two make a comprehensive picture of how society is, and ought to be, regulated."

Mr Gole will be undertaking a PhD in Economics at Harvard and hopes eventually to work in areas which will allow him to use his skills to the best effect.

"Ideally I’d like to work in government, the private sector and academia as I believe that by moving between these three fields I’ll be able to make the most worthwhile and greatest contribution to the challenges of our day," he said.

Media: Lynda Flower, School of Economics (07 3365 4482, l.flower@uq.edu.au) or Teola Marsh, TC Beirne School of Law (07 3365 2523, t.marsh@law.uq.edu.au)