Monday, 21 August 2006
UQ Business School graduate, Scott Griffin
Scott Griffin, UQ Business School graduate, has his sight firmly set on returning to Queensland after he completes his Harvard MBA in 2008.
Griffin, one of up to 10 000 applicants, is heading to Boston next week to take up his place at Harvard. Only approximately 800 students are accepted each year.
To add to his achievement, Griffin was awarded the Clendenin Memorial Fund grant by the Harvard Club of Australia.
But, he is coming back.
Working for the Boston Consulting Group in Sydney, Scott was sent on a three month assignment to Cape York in 2005 to work with the Mossman Gorge indigenous community and the Balkanu Cape York Development Corporation.
He fell in love with the place and people and remained in the top end for another seven months.
"The Mossman Gorge community had a business idea to become a self-sufficient community. I was sent to work with the elders to prove the business concept", Griffin said.
"There are 16 communities in Cape York that generally reflect the common statistics of indigenous communities across the country. Te life expectancy of an adult male is 45 years old and there are a host of social and health problems.
"The Mossman Gorge elders want to create a business based upon their culture - an indigenous art gallery, guided tours of the National Park and a visitor centre.
Scott said that the Mossman Gorge community business concept has been a controversial project affecting local, state and federal political agendas.
"On Wednesday the local council announced that the plans to build the visitor centre were approved. This is a fantastic outcome for the 200-strong Mossman Gorge community.
"The elders still speak their traditional language, have extensive knowledge of the plants, animals and medicines of the local area and already take a small number of people on guided tours", Griffin said.
Griffin said that the complex problems indigenous communities deal with deserve decades of attention. He sees his involvement with Cape York indigenous communities as continuing for years to come.
The entrepreneur launched an online tax service in 1998, with father Don, and brother Kent, all UQ Business School graduates. Griffin said the etax business was now the largest in Australia.
Media enquiries:
Cathy Stacey
Marketing Development Manager
Phone (07) 3365 6179
Mobile 0434 074 372
Fiona Sutton
Mobile 0423 637 699
Email media@business.uq.edu.au
