John Kirke was a municipal and transportation engineer who, from a background in local government in the UK, spent much of the latter part of his professional life working at improving urban infrastructure and services in developing countries worldwide. John’s particular interest was in creating the conditions that would ensure that the benefits of urban infrastructure investment would be enjoyed across all socio-economic groups in
a city. At the end of his career, he was an internationally recognised urban infrastructure and institutional development specialist; and Chairman of the multidisciplinary consulting firm GHK, of which John was a founding partner.

The objective of the John Kirke Scholarship is to provide support to students from developing countries who share John’s interest in the provision of urban infrastructure and services. The hope is that they will continue to support developments which seek to deliver the benefits of good quality and reliable urban services to all within their communities and countries.