Meet the 2024 Shaping Australia Award winners
Three winners were chosen from the categories of research, teaching and community service by a judging panel of eminent Australians, with another three winners chosen by the public.
Highly accurate sexually transmitted infection testing with results in just 90 minutes, improving outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in remote communities, is among the winners of this year’s Shaping Australia Awards.
Three winners of Universities Australia’s Shaping Australia Awards, in partnership with The Australian, were chosen from the categories of research, teaching and community service by a judging panel of eminent Australians, with another three winners chosen by the public.
Other winners include a rust lab at the University of Sydney which saves Australian agriculturalists many millions of dollars every year, and an employer-sponsored degree-apprenticeships that covers university fees as well as allowing students to earn a salary while they complete the degree.
Universities Australia Chief Executive Officer Luke Sheehy said these projects were “changing lives, driving economic growth and securing Australia’s future”.
Nearly 32,000 people voted for their favourite project for the People’s Choice category.
The winners include RMIT’s coffee-infused concrete, a space and security sectors MBA program, and the University of Wollongong’s All ages all abilities playground for young adults with intellectual disabilities.
Chair of the judging panel Lisa Paul said the judges “had the privilege to learn about and fully appreciate the ways Australia’s universities are shaping our country’s future”.
“The finalists are truly inspiring,” the former secretary of the Department of Education said.
Shaping Australia Awards – Judge’s choice
Problem solver award – University of Sydney’s ‘Saving our cereals’
The ‘Problem Solver’ award for groundbreaking research was won by University of Sydney researchers for an innovation that protects Australia’s crops and saves the economy over $600 million a year. Robert Park and his team developed breeds of wheat, oats and barley that are resistant to the devastating parasitic fungi known as rust.
Future builder award – University of South Australia’s Degree apprenticeship program
The ‘Future Builder’ award, which celebrates an individual or a team who has gone above and beyond to equip their students with the skills to make a positive impact, went to an Australia-first employer-sponsored degree apprenticeship program by University of South Australia, and is breaking down financial barriers for students.
Community champion award – UNSW Sydney Point-of-care testing in remote First Nations communities
The point-of-care STI program, which won the ‘Community Champion’ award, has led to a forty per cent drop in pelvic inflammatory disease and a thirty per cent reduction in preterm births among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. It is now operating in over 100 remote communities across Australia, and has saved Australia’s health care system up to $1.8 billion.
People’s Choice Awards
Problem solver award (4,116 votes) – RMIT’s Latte-street innovation: coffee-infused concrete
More than 4,110 people voted for an RMIT innovation that uses coffee waste to increase concrete’s ability to withstand loads by 30 per cent. The project is already in use in Victoria’s Big Build projects.
Future builder award – University of South Australia’s Delivering the future of our space and security sectors MBA program
More than 2,420 people voted for a cutting-edge program from the University of South Australia, training future leaders in cyber security, space systems and defence procurement, which won the people’s choice award for the Future Builder category. It comes amid the growing need for leadership skills following the massive Australia-UK-US AUKUS defence agreement.
Community champion award - University of Wollongong’s All ages all abilities playground
In the community champion category, the public chose (with 4,646 votes) a first-of-its-kind playground for young adults with intellectual disabilities designed by a non-verbal communication expert and disability play advocate from the University of Wollongong Shoshana Dreyfus.
Anti-Israel academic’s $870k taxpayer grant frozen
Controversial anti-Israel academic Randa Abdel-Fattah has had her $870,000 taxpayer-funded research grant suspended.
Private school funding row flares
Taxpayers have been handing $10m a year to a private school embroiled in legal action over allegedly unpaid taxes and teacher wages, prompting demands for better oversight of private schools.