The David Philp Scholarship

This scholarship was established in memory of David Philp who passed away suddenly in 2021. As a Senior Manager in government for over 30 years, David was extremely passionate about public service and was recognised with various awards and accolades during his distinguished career. David was responsible for several significant achievements regarding identity management, including introducing electronic passports, online passport applications and providing international leadership around passports and identity. The purpose of this scholarship is to continue David's legacy and support students undertaking research aligned with his career as a leader in the field of identity management. David's perspectives with regard to identity management were broad including driving development around effective and inclusive identity policy (both nationally and internationally), leading technology innovation (including modernisation of core identity systems and use of biometric technologies) and advocating and improving the customer experience of key identity and life events for all New Zealanders. The scholarship aims to ensure New Zealanders trusted and received the benefits of new technology, which has advanced rapidly in recent years. Research that seeks to better understand the impacts and experiences of New Zealand citizens and residents resulting from their interactions with identity services/systems should be central to the research.