Mekong owner’s scholarship fund marks 20 years and opens 2026 applications

A Swanston St restaurant owner who arrived in Australia with little more than determination has spent the past two decades quietly building one of Melbourne’s most enduring scholarship programs.

Yin Choi Lam, founder of the iconic Mekong Vietnamese restaurant, established the Tertiary Scholarship Fund (TSF) in 2005 after reflecting on the limited access to education experienced by many in his generation.

Since then, the fund has grown from a modest family initiative into a statewide program recognising Victorian tertiary students for both academic excellence and community contribution.

Applications for the 2026 TSF Awards for Excellence are now open, with a total prize pool of $15,000 across two categories: a Main Category open to all areas of study, and a Chinese Medicine Category covering acupuncture and herbal medicine.

The top prize in the Main Category is $5000, with additional awards including two runner-up prizes and Community Vision Awards worth $500 each for students showing exceptional commitment to community impact.

Mr Lam said the idea for the scholarship came from his own lived experience.

In my generation, many of us missed out on education because of life’s circumstances, he said. Through the TSF Awards for Excellence, I wanted to encourage young people to value their education, use it well, and give back to society.

Mr Lam arrived in Australia in 1986 and built his business from the ground up, later choosing to channel that success into supporting students and encouraging community-minded leadership.

The program’s 20-year milestone was celebrated at the 2025 TSF Awards for Excellence ceremony, which marked two decades of giving and recognised the contribution of supporters from Melbourne’s business community and beyond.

The 2026 launch was held at Melbourne Town Hall on May 20 and attended by Melbourne Lord Mayor Nick Reece. This year’s theme, Celebrating Opportunity, reflected the migration, entrepreneurship and community spirit at the heart of the fund’s origins.

The TSF has become a quiet but meaningful fixture in Melbourne’s education and community landscape, supporting students not only for strong academic performance but for the broader ways they contribute to society.

Last year’s major award recipients came from Deakin University, the University of Melbourne and RMIT University, with winning fields of study ranging from occupational therapy and medicine to Chinese medicine.

Applications for the 2026 awards close on August 31.

More information, including eligibility details and application forms, is available at tsf.org.au •