InterRisk broker Emma O’Rourke has won this year’s Affiliated FM Scholarship.

She will learn more about property loss prevention at the FM Global Research Campus in Rhode Island, US, where fires, explosions, cyclone-force winds and flying debris are studied “up close and personal”.

“The scholarship really is a unique experience,” Affiliated FM director Lyndon Broad said. “There is nothing quite like witnessing first-hand the full-scale testing that drives our company’s loss-prevention focus.”

Ms O’Rourke was chosen from brokers across the country who submitted discussion papers on “the real cost of a major property loss”.

The runner-up was Ari Bitzilis (OAMPS). Entries from Nathan Brown (Coverforce), Liz Penfold (JLT) and Xavier Luscombe (Willis) were highly commended.