Wednesday 04 December 2024: Genevieve Dammery is a 2023 Ramsay Postgraduate Scholar with broad research interests including population health, public health access and sustainability, and preventing violence against women. With her Ramsay Postgraduate Scholarship she studied a Master of Philosophy in Population Health Sciences at Cambridge University in the UK, which she completed this year.
An outstanding researcher, determined to improve health interventions, public healthcare and universal access for future generations, Genevieve was recently named by The Australian newspaper as one of eight “rising stars” of Australian research. The ‘rising stars’ are “young researchers whose papers so far put them in the vanguard of the coming generation of academics who will expand our knowledge and build a better Australia.”
Reflecting on her Ramsay Postgraduate Scholarship, Genevieve is grateful for the opportunities it afforded her, saying Cambridge was unlike any experience she had ever had. Whilst there, she studied under an admired academic whose work she had followed for years, and she recently travelled to Geneva to attend the 89th session of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination.
Beyond the books, the Ramsay Scholarship gave her the freedom to soak up campus life. She attended talks and debates on a variety of issues, was the coxswain for a college rowing crew and even participated in leadership committees for a college ball once named by Time Magazine as the “seventh best party in the world.” She also made life-long friends with the evergrowing community of Ramsay Postgraduate Scholars abroad.
In her own words:
There were several things that drew me to the Ramsay Postgraduate Scholarship. I really liked that the scholarship wasn’t tied to one university, so I would have the chance to meet and be part of a community that is global. Reading about the events that scholars held and attended was really appealing to me, as it was clear that there was a thriving social side that came with being a Ramsay scholar! I applied to the scholarship when I realised how difficult it was to fund international study, realised I was an eligible candidate, and saw the number of social and cultural activities available to scholars.
I am very grateful for the scholarship. Thanks to my scholarship I was able to study a Master of Philosophy in Population Health Sciences at Cambridge which had both a taught and research component. My research focussed on understanding how the general public respond to campaigns aimed at reducing violence against women and girls. To do this, I analysed posts and comments from a social media platform (Reddit) which were made in direct response to a public service announcement from the Mayor of London: the ‘say maaate to a mate’ campaign. Throughout my research, I focussed on framing violence against women not only as a legal and human rights issue, but also a public health crisis.
I was extremely fortunate to be taught by Professor Mary Dixon-Woods, a researcher whose work I have followed closely for years prior to coming to Cambridge! This was definitely an academic highlight for me.
Studying at Cambridge has been unlike any experience that I have ever had. Everybody is so passionate about their work, and there is such a diversity in the student body, both in terms of their academic fields and their personal and professional backgrounds. The days at Cambridge are very long and always packed with things to do! My days would often start around 6am where I would head to the river Cam for a rowing outing, followed by classes from 9.30am-5pm at the Addenbrookes hospital site, or a full day of studying in the library. At around 6pm I would rush back into town for an Evensong service (usually at Trinity College), dinner in my college dining hall, and then either more studying, attending a debate at the Union, or volunteering to run our college bar! There was certainly never a dull moment!
Thanks to the support from Ramsay, I was able to really immerse myself in college and university life without worrying about supporting myself. For two terms I was a coxswain for one of my college rowing crews – something that I had always wanted to try – and I was on the leadership committee for the 2024 St Johns College May Ball as the Head of Drinks. The Ball was once named by Time Magazine as the “seventh best party in the world” and took nine very busy months of planning. When I wasn’t on the river or planning the ball, my friends and I would head to Grantchester meadows for a picnic or go for a swim at the Jesus Green Lido.
Early on in my first term at Cambridge I attended a talk from Sam Altman, co-founder of ChatGPT, at the Cambridge Union. This was such an incredible and unique experience – even more so because the event was disrupted by student protestors! Other highlights included travelling to London to watch Cambridge compete at (and win!) the Boat Race, attending weekly Evensong services, and of course going to May Balls during May Week.
There are many Ramsay Postgraduates studying in the UK and it has been fantastic to be part of such a wonderful community. I had the great pleasure of attending several formal dinners with Ramsay scholars both in Cambridge and Oxford, and it was always lovely to catch up and hear more about what they were doing. I was also lucky to have a fellow Ramsay scholar, Dr Chris Watson, on my master’s course, so we spent a lot of time chatting about our experiences and plans for when we return to Australia. Over summer we even took a cultural trip to Türkiye together with some other peers from our MPhil course and had a great time exploring the country.
In sum, the Ramsay Scholarship and Cambridge have really opened up a world of opportunities for me! I have been fortunate since finishing my degree to travel to Geneva as an intern to Ms Natasha Stott Despoja AO for the 89th session of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and I look forward to returning to Geneva in February for the 90th session. In addition to this, I am hoping to continue my research work, both in population health and violence against women prevention here in the UK for a few years before eventually heading home to Australia, where I hope to advocate for an improved healthcare system, balancing work in academia and industry.
Interested in a Ramsay Postgraduate Scholarship? Our scholarships support outstanding, thoughtful and imaginative young Australian leaders to study at the world’s best overseas universities and are valued at up to AUD$90,000 p.a. For more information go to: https://www.ramsaycentre.org/scholarships-courses/postgraduate-scholarships/
To read more about Genevieve Dammery and her cohort of 2023 Ramsay Postgraduate Scholars go to: https://www.ramsaycentre.org/scholarships-courses/postgraduate-scholarships/2023-ramsay-postgraduate-scholars/
Media contact: Sarah Switzer 0407 816 098/ sarah.switzer@ramsaycentre.org
For more information on the Centre please visit our website: www.ramsaycentre.org