The Boyarsky family have recently re-committed to supporting the two annual scholarships they established in 2001, which provide funds for two students to study for one semester overseas.
When Alex Boyarsky graduated from his MBA at UNSW in 1969, the University was just twenty years old and the AGSM would not be established for another eight years. It was early days for management education in Australia and opportunities for international study exchange were yet to be realised. A passion for business education and global perspectives saw Alex and his wife Vera (BA ’70) in 2001 establish the Boyarsky International Travel Scholarship Endowment. The family has recently re-committed to supporting two scholarships each year at $7000 each for one semester of study overseas – one for an undergraduate student and one for an AGSM MBA student.
The Boyarskys are a true UNSW family with Vera, Alex, daughter Michelle and son Andrew all graduates of the University. After completing his Bachelor of Building and MBA from UNSW, Alex founded Anka Property Group with just, as his wife Vera says “…a wheelbarrow and a shovel”. Vera and Alex built Anka Property Group to become a powerhouse company developing home units, condominium towers, community and neighbourhood centres, office buildings, major retail centres, light industrial complexes, schools and hospitals across Australia and the Pacific. The company spent ten years gaining a strong foothold in the US where they have developed major shopping centres and condominium projects. Global business and international opportunities are important to this family business. While completing his MBA at the AGSM, Andrew spent a semester at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.
Vera says this is an opportunity that all students should have access to.
“We established these scholarships to ensure that committed students who are just at the beginning of their careers and talented mid management students have the opportunity to study overseas irrespective of their financial situation. When Andrew was completing his MBA, there were students in his class who did not have the financial means to go on exchange. They had the talent, the ambition and the leadership skills – just not the funds. They weren’t given the opportunity and we wanted to do what we could to make sure future students don’t miss out”.
“Our family has a long and proud association with UNSW and the AGSM – a truly international university”.
MBA student, Virginia Kane is the most recent recipient of the Boyarsky AGSM International Travel Scholarship. The AGSM Student Society President is currently at London Business School connecting with organisational behaviour experts, attending a Women in Business Conference while gaining an even more global perspective on her business studies. Virginia is also using the exchange to observe how students and graduates at London Business School maximise their networking opportunities across their clubs and societies – learnings she will bring back to her AGSM student cohort.
“Going on exchange to London Business School has provided me the opportunity to experience a different MBA perspective and build truly global networks,” says Virginia.
“Aligned with my interests, London Business School is renowned for classes and faculty in Organisational Behaviour, Strategy, and Entrepreneurship, which have complemented my core and elective courses at the AGSM. I’m very grateful for this scholarship opportunity”.