Alibaba chief Jack Ma hosts Ma & Morley scholars at China HQ

An 11-day immersion experience in China was offered to students in the first cohort of Ma & Morley scholars.

Alibaba executive chairman Jack Ma with University of Newcastle students at his headquarters in Hangzhou last week. Picture: University of Newcastle

University of Newcastle students met their benefactor, Chinese billionaire Jack Ma, in Hangzhou last week at the headquarters of his e-commerce firm Alibaba.

The group of 30 students are in the first cohort of Ma & Morley scholars, a $26 million program funded by Mr Ma’s foundation in memory of Ken Morley, an Australian who befriended Mr Ma when he met the future tycoon as a penniless teenager during a trip to China in 1980.

In 1985, Morley, a Newcastle electrical engineer, brought Mr Ma to Australia on his first overseas trip, during which he spent a month in Newcastle.

Mr Ma, who is now worth more than $50 billion, has said that the trip “totally changed his future”, and last year he partnered with the university to found the scholarship.

The 11-day immersion experience in China was offered to students in the first cohort of scholarship beneficiaries. They saw the main sights, visited universities, and spent a full day at ­Alibaba where they met Mr Ma, the company’s founder and executive chairman.

The Ma & Morley Scholarship, which is available to University of Newcastle students, offers financial support as well as an engagement and enrichment program to prepare the scholars for leadership roles.

It is awarded both for academic excellence and to help promising students overcome educational disadvantage.

The university’s vice-chancellor Caroline McMillen, who accompanied the students on the Alibaba visit, said it was heartwarming to witness the unfolding of Mr Ma’s selfless and fitting tribute to his friendship with Morley.

“The origins of the Ma & Morley Scholarship Program are built on some of the most basic of human needs — love and friendship,” she said.