Ian Harper AO Scholarship for Excellence
The Ian Harper AO Scholarship for Excellence recognises the high calibre of international students who commence our Full-time MBA program each year.
Awarded on merit, the scholarship supports an MBA candidate who demonstrates academic excellence and exceptional management qualities.
Value: Full tuition
Programs: Full-time MBA
Eligibility: Full-time MBA international applicants who receive an offer of admission.
Application: Applicants must:
- Submit an application for admission to the Full-time MBA program, AND
- Submit a separate scholarship application form: Ian Harper AO Scholarship for Excellence.
Shortlisted applicants will participate in an interview.
Applications close: 11 May 2026
Shortlisted notified by: 22 May 2026
Interviews: Week beginning 1 June 2026
Candidate appointed: 12 June 2026
Inaugural recipient of the Ian Harper AO Scholarship for Excellence
In 2025, Navneet Badhan Singh was named the inaugural recipient of the Ian Harper AO Scholarship for Excellence at Melbourne Business School. Navneet’s focus on purpose-driven leadership, intellectual curiosity, and adaptability exemplify the spirit of the award created to recognise the legacy of Professor Harper AO.
From mentoring underprivileged students through Tata Consultancy Service’s (TCS) Youth Employment Program in India, to leading sustainability innovation at TCS Research, Navneet has consistently demonstrated a commitment to uplifting communities and driving meaningful change.
Navneet Singh
Having lived in over a dozen cities and pivoted from robotics to sustainability, I’ve learned to thrive amid uncertainty. The Ian Harper Scholar should be open to change, quick to learn, and willing to lead with empathy and agility - traits I aspire to deepen at MBS.
Ian Harper AO Scholarship for Excellence
Ian Harper AO
The Ian Harper AO Scholarship for Excellence is in recognition of Professor Harper, a distinguished academic, former Dean of Melbourne Business School and one of Australia's most influential economists.
The scholarship celebrates Ian’s legacy and encourage a new generation of MBA students to lead in business and the community.
In December 2023 Melbourne Business School launched a fund to support the Ian Harper Scholarship for Excellence and help a new generation of leaders follow his example. Thanks to the generous support of our alumni community, the School successfully raised funds to support this Full-time MBA scholarship for international students for 2025, 2026 and 2027.
The Ian Harper Scholarship for Excellence is for applicants to the Full-time MBA program who can demonstrate academic excellence, a global outlook and ambition to make their mark as a respected leader in business and the community.
About Professor Ian Harper AO
Professor Harper spent 20 years as a professor at the University of Melbourne and Melbourne Business School before embarking on a series of influential public roles including Chair of the Australian Fair Pay Commission and Competition Policy Review, as well as serving on the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia.
In 2018, he returned to Melbourne Business School as Dean to strengthen the School's relationships with business, the wider community and the University of Melbourne.
In Professor Harper's final video farewell message to the Melbourne Business School community, he said that deans "come and go", but the School would always be a place that changes lives.
“Deans come and go. What remains is the ethos of the School and the alumni. You will be alumni of this institution for the rest of your lives. And so, I ask you, as alumni of Melbourne Business School, to keep the flame alive, keep this institution growing, keep it strong so that it will continue to unleash ideas and leaders for generations to come.”
