The successful applicant can put the prize money towards the cost of their university study. This could cover expenses like tuition fees, accommodation and travel expenses, books and other learning materials.

Only applications received by Canstar by 11:59pm AEST on 1 December 2019 will be considered.

Only essays of up to 1,000 words will be considered. Anything longer than that will be excluded from the judging.

As long as your essay answers the question in a thorough and compelling way, you won’t be penalised for submitting a shorter essay. 1,000 words is simply the maximum length.

No, our judges will assess eligible applications solely on the basis of the essay provided.

Applicants are allowed to also apply for the Canstar Future of Finance Student Scholarship if they wish. But as the Canstar Future of Finance Student Scholarship will be awarded first, if an applicant is awarded that, they would then be ineligible to be awarded any other Canstar scholarships, including this Canstar Blue Future of Comparison Student Scholarship.

If you have a question about the scholarship before you lodge your application, you can email it to scholarships@canstar.com.au. We won’t be able to provide updates or feedback to students on applications that have already been submitted.

2019 CANSTAR BLUE SCHOLARSHIP: TERMS, CONDITIONS AND OTHER INFORMATION

1. Acceptance of these Terms and Conditions

Information on how to apply for the 2019 Canstar Blue Future of Comparison Scholarship (Scholarship) forms part of these terms and conditions. Submission of an application for the Scholarship is deemed acceptance of these terms and conditions and Canstar Blue’s privacy policy at https://www.canstarblue.com.au/privacy-policy/.

Canstar Blue reserves the right to vary these terms and conditions at any time without notice.

2. Overview

Canstar Blue offers a scholarship to support Australian citizens and permanent residents in undertaking their tertiary studies at an accredited Australian university. Canstar Blue will award the eligible student who we feel best demonstrates an understanding of a trending consumer product or service and its implications for Australian consumers.

To view the list of accredited Australian universities, please visit: https://www.studyinaustralia.gov.au/english/australian-education/universities-and-higher-education/list-of-australian-universities

3. Details

One award under the Scholarship valued up to AU$5,000 may be granted by the Scholarship Committee (see point 6) to a scholarship winner who has met the eligibility criteria. The award granted is to assist the scholarship winner with the cost of tuition and study.

As part of the Scholarship prize, the scholarship winner will also receive a single two-hour career coaching session with a nominated Canstar Blue representative, which includes a critical review of the scholarship winner’s CV, a mock interview, and an interview coaching session.

The non-monetary portions of the prize may be delivered to the scholarship winner in person at Canstar Blue’s Brisbane office, or using Skype, Google Hangouts or any other form of video conferencing software at a time that is determined by Canstar Blue. The manner of delivery of the non-monetary portions of the prize is at Canstar Blue’s absolute discretion and depends upon where the scholarship winner is located.

4. Eligibility

To be eligible for the Scholarship, each applicant must:

• be over the age of 18 at the time of application;
• be a citizen or permanent resident of Australia;
• have been accepted into, or be enrolled full time or part time in an undergraduate or postgraduate degree at an Australian university at the time of entry and awarding of scholarship; and
• submit an application to scholarships@canstar.com.au by the closing date for applications.

Additionally, an applicant is ineligible if:

• they are an employee of any company in the Canstar group, or if they are an immediate family member (spouse/partner, children, parents) of an employee of any company in the Canstar group; or
• they have previously been awarded a scholarship from any company in the Canstar group.

5.  Applications

Application forms are available on the Canstar Blue website. Applications must be submitted no later than 11.59 AEST, Sunday, 1 December 2019 via email to scholarships@canstar.com.au using the Canstar Blue 2019 Scholarship application form and including all additional material specified in the form. Only one application is permitted per applicant. Entries are to be submitted in Word format and must not be more than 1,000 words in length (including any appropriate referencing). To facilitate the blind review process, entries must not include any information that might identify the applicants. Instead, that information is to be supplied in the application form, which is to be submitted with the paper.

Please do not contact Canstar Blue with regard to your scholarship application once lodged. All applicants will be contacted upon determination of the scholarship winner in January 2020. Canstar Blue will not provide individual feedback on why an application was unsuccessful.

Canstar Blue may contact applicants to clarify anything in their application. Any contact is not indicative of an applicant’s standing in the selection process, and in no way indicates whether or not that applicant has been selected as the scholarship winner.

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Any personal details provided incorrectly on the application form may be deemed by Canstar Blue as an invalid submission. Canstar Blue reserves the right to utilise a plagiarism checker tool to ensure that the essay submitted by an applicant is the applicant’s original, unpublished work. Canstar Blue may, at its complete discretion, not consider an application that it considers contains work that is not entirely the applicant’s.

Canstar Blue’s privacy policy at https://www.canstarblue.com.au/privacy-policy/ applies to the personal information provided by applicants.

6. Selection Criteria

Canstar Blue will appoint a Scholarship Committee comprising of nominated representatives of Canstar Blue (Scholarship Committee) to review applications and make the final decision on the award of the 2019 scholarship (including whether or not to award a scholarship). Entries will be reviewed on a blind basis by the Scholarship Committee.

The Scholarship Committee will judge applications on the basis of relative merit with reference to the following criteria:

• Demonstrated understanding of consumer trends in Australia
• Demonstrated understanding of the target consumer or segment for the chosen product or service
• Use of relevant domestic and/or international examples
• Use of recent data/statistics
• Creativity an ability to write in a clear, compelling, original and engaging way

Applications must be the applicant’s original work and be unpublished at the time of submission.

By submitting an application, each applicant:

• Declares that the essay is the applicant’s original work, not copied or derived from any other works or material, has not been published prior to the scholarship submission, and does not infringe the Intellectual Property Rights or Moral Rights of any third party,
• Upon submission, assigns, transfers, and conveys to Canstar Blue absolutely all current and future rights, title and interest in the essay and all Intellectual Property Rights in the essay,
• Consents irrevocably to Canstar Blue’s use of:
  • The essay and all Intellectual Property Rights in the essay whether or not such use would, but for this clause, infringe the Moral Rights of the applicant; and
  • The applicant’s name and their university of enrolment in marketing material and publicity in relation to this scholarship.

In these terms and conditions,

• “Intellectual Property Rights” means all current and future registered and unregistered rights in respect of copyright (including future copyright and moral rights) throughout the world, designs, know-how, confidential information, inventions and discoveries, and all other intellectual property recognised under Australian law.
• “Moral Right/s” has the meaning given in the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) as amended.

Canstar Blue reserves the right, in its absolute discretion, to not award any scholarship in 2019, if it considers that there are no applicants or not enough applicants (as the case may be) who sufficiently fulfill the selection criteria. The decision of the Scholarship Committee is final.

The Scholarship will be granted following any applicant verification that Canstar Blue requires, in its absolute discretion.

The scholarship winner will be notified via the email address provided on the application form within one (1) week of being determined.

Results may be published on Canstar Blue’s website or any other publication. Canstar Blue reserves the right to reproduce in any newspaper, magazine, film, website or other medium, personal details, information and images relating to the Scholarship awarded to the scholarship winner.

Each applicant must:

• Refrain from conducting themselves in such a manner that Canstar Blue, in its discretion, considers prejudicial to the reputation of Canstar Blue;
• Engage with Canstar Blue’s representatives from time to time as deemed mutually suitable, to report on Scholarship related activities;
• Participate in marketing and media activities as required.

7. Amount

The scholarship amount will be paid to the scholarship winner in two equal instalments, first upon the award of the scholarship and the second payment upon the conclusion of the scholarship winner’s semester of study following the award of the scholarship, subject to these terms and conditions. The payment dates will be determined by Canstar Blue at Canstar Blue’s absolute discretion, and will be communicated to the scholarship winner in a timely manner.

The scholarship winner will have to provide his/her bank details to receive the monetary element of the prize.

Payment of the first instalment is, at all times, conditional upon the scholarship winner providing Canstar Blue with:

• Written confirmation from the relevant university of the scholarship winner’s enrolment;
• Evidence of Australian citizenship or permanent residency.

Payment of the second instalment is, at all times, conditional upon the scholarship winner continuing to comply with the expectations described in clause 6 above.

The scholarship winner may forfeit any unpaid instalment of the scholarship amount if they change their course of study or if Canstar Blue reasonably considers that their conduct is not consistent with the objectives of the scholarship or clause 6 above.

8. Breach

In the event that the scholarship winner fails to comply with any of the requirements set out in these Terms and Conditions, in addition to all other rights available to it, Canstar Blue may, in its absolute discretion, require the scholarship winner to repay, in part or in total, monies paid to the scholarship winner by Canstar Blue in connection with the award of the Scholarship.