Supporting the local community through scholarships

The iconic Australian Weis brand holds especially fond associations for Queenslanders, its mango ice cream bars are synonymous with summer in the “Sunshine State”.

That connection is strongest in Toowoomba, home to creator Les Weis and the company’s factory for more than 60 years.

After the company’s new owner Unilever made the difficult decision to cease local production in December 2020, it sought to continue Weis’s contribution and connection to the Toowoomba community. That aim led to the inaugural Weis Scholarship in 2022 at the University of Southern Queensland, which supported three undergraduate and three postgraduate students.

“The Weis team were known for being passionate, being entrepreneurs, being really innovative – they did that starting with quality agricultural ingredients,” says Unilever Marketing Manager Annie Lucchitti.

“We wanted to ensure that future scientists and academics had that possibility to receive a higher education. So one third from the sale of the site – matched by the University – went into ensuring that there is a Weis Scholarship with the University in perpetuity.”

In 2023 the Weis Scholarship will support three more undergraduates, and over time this number is expected to grow each year. The maximum value for each scholarship is $12,000, to be paid over three years.

With the scholarship’s main focus on agriculture science and engineering (along with business studies), the unique partnership also represents a broader investment in advancing industry best practice.

“We wanted to ensure that as time goes on, the agricultural industry can continue to blossom through new minds being exposed to education in different forms. It’s been an incredibly fulfilling and easy process to work with the University. It was far simpler to get our ideas up and running than we had expected or that we’ve seen in other partnerships,” Ms Lucchitti explains.

For two recipients, the scholarship enabled them to focus on their higher degree by research (HDR) without also juggling the demands of their existing jobs.

“Essentially, it’s giving us a buffer for life,” says Christina Harris, who completed her bachelor and honours degrees part-time while starting a family and working full-time.

Receiving the scholarship in the first year of her PhD allowed Christina to leave her job and focus on her studies, without financial penalty.

Christina’s research goal is to improve sustainability by increasing soil carbon levels and sequestration capability. She says many businesses are working towards net zero targets or a long-term sustainability plan.

Fellow Weis Scholarship recipient Terrina Bailey is also passionate about playing her role in a more sustainable world.

For three years, Terrina juggled her HDR part-time while working full-time as a secondary science teacher. Concern over the nectar sources during drought for bee hives located at her school is what started Terrina on her PhD path. She’s researching the potential effect on honey production of changes in eucalyptus flowering due to drought and climate change.

Given the essential role of bees to pollinate the fruit that have long made Weis’s products famous, it’s a full circle moment, made possible by a distinctly UniSQ partnership.