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Meet the incredible panel of judges for the Shaping Australia Awards, before you cast your won vote.

Jayani Galketiya, student in new postgraduate program BioDesign Innovation, which is a finalist in The Future Builder Award.

The 2024 Shaping Australia Awards – presented by Universities Australia with The Australian as its media partner – will celebrate the significant achievements of universities in three key areas.

Two of them, teaching and research, are the traditional areas of university achievement.

The Future Builder Award is presented for teaching excellence and innovation and the Problem Solver Award honours researchers who are using their expertise to create positive change.

A third area of university activity – community service -– is becoming increasingly important.

Successful universities must be closer to their communities than ever before, using their skills and resources for local benefit.

In each of the three categories, the panel of seven eminent judges was asked to choose a winner from the six finalists.

There is also a People’s Choice award for each of the three categories, which is to be decided by the votes of tens of thousands of ordinary Australians.

Shaping Australia has extended the People’s Choice deadline to midnight Sunday, January 26, hoping to crack 35,000 votes.

In each category, the winner selected by the judging panel and the People’s Choice winner each receive $2500 in prize money.

Meet the incredible panel of judges for the Shaping Australia Awards, before you cast your vote HERE.

CHAIR OF THE JUDGING PANEL

Lisa Paul
(Chancellor of the University of Canberra)

Lisa Paul had career exceeding 30 years in the public service, both state and federal levels. She is Australia’s longest serving Secretary of the Federal Department of Education, serving five Prime Ministers and nine cabinet ministers between 2004-2016.

Since leaving government, Lisa has been a director of listed and private companies, several not-for-profits and is sought after for executive education and speaking engagements.

She is an Enterprise Professor at the University of Melbourne, a Councillor of Bond University and commenced as the Chancellor of the University of Canberra last year.

Ms Lisa Paul AO PSM – Chair of the judging panel.

General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK AC (Mil) CVO MC (Retd).

MEMBERS OF THE JUDGING PANEL

Sir Peter Cosgrove
(former Governor-General of Australia)

Peter Cosgrove came to national attention in 1999 when he was appointed as Commander of the International Task Force East Timor. He was awarded the Companion in the Military Division of the Order of Australia.

Promoted to Lieutenant General, he was appointed Chief of Army in 2000. After further promotion to General, he served as Chief of the Defence Force from 2002-2005. He retired from the Australian Defence Force in 2005.‍

Subsequently, he accepted positions on several boards, including QANTAS, Cardno and the Australian Rugby Union.

From 2007 to 2012, he chaired the Council of the Australian War Memorial, and served as Chancellor of the Australian Catholic University from 2010 until early 2014. On 25 March 2014, Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced that General Cosgrove would become a Knight in the Order of Australia when sworn in as Governor-General.

Charlene Davison
(CEO, GO Foundation)

Charlene is a proud Biripi and Gadigal woman. With 20 years’ experience working in NSW government, Charlene brings a wealth of experience, knowledge and strong leadership from her various senior management roles with the NSW Public Service Commission, Department of Industry and Department of Education.

Charlene has led the implementation of sector-wide programs and strategies focused on driving cultural change and improving outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in NSW in education, training, employment, leadership, and business development.

CEO, GO Foundation, Charlene Davison

Editor in Chief, The Australian, Michelle Gunn.

Michelle Gunn
(Editor in Chief, The Australian)

Michelle Gunn is the editor-in-chief of The Australian, the first woman chosen for the role since the masthead was created.

A journalist for more than three decades, Michelle was previously editor of both The Australian and The Weekend Australian.

Under her leadership, the masthead was named PANPA Weekend Newspaper of the year four times as well as 2018 overall News Brand of the Year.

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Nicholas Moore
(Special Envoy for Southeast Asia)

Special Envoy for Southeast Asia, Mr Nicholas Moore AO

Nicholas Moore is a former chief executive of Macquarie Group Limited. He retired in 2018 after 32 years at Macquarie, including 10 years as CEO.‍

He is chair of The Centre for Independent Studies, The Smith Family, Willow Technology Corporation, the National Catholic Education Commission, Aldus Group, and the Financial Regulator Assessment Authority and Markets Taskforce Expert Advisory Panel (both within the Department of the Treasury).

He is also a member, and former chair, of the UNSW Business School Advisory Council.‍ In November 2022, Nicholas was appointed as special envoy for Southeast Asia by the federal government.

Professor Brian Schmidt
(2011 Nobel Prize Laureate Physics)

Brian Schmidt is a Distinguished Professor of Astronomy at the Australian National University. Professor Schmidt was awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the accelerating universe.

Receiving his PhD from Harvard University in 1993, Professor Schmidt joined the staff of the Australian National University in 1995.

He served as the 12th Vice-Chancellor and President of the Australia National University from 2016-2023 and is currently Chair of the Australian-American Fulbright Commission, and the Singaporean Government’s Academic Research Council.

2011 Nobel Prize Laureate Physics, Professor Brian Schmidt AC FAA FTSE FRS

Paralympic Gold Medallist, Annabelle Williams OAM.

Annabelle Williams (Paralympic gold medallist)

Annabelle Williams is a Paralympic gold medallist, international motivational speaker, business owner, TV presenter, lawyer, board director and mum.

Annabelle captained the Australian Paralympic swim team and managed to balance her sporting career with her profession as a lawyer. Annabelle competed in two Paralympic Games, broke five world records and won numerous medals for Australia, including gold at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

Annabelle was an M&A lawyer at Allens Linklaters, and in-house counsel for the Australian Olympic Committee. She is a strong advocate for the rights of athletes and, at the age of 24, was awarded with the prestigious Medal of the Order of Australia for her service to sport. Annabelle is the founder and chief executive of “Grit & Gold”, a director of Bond University, a member of the World Athletics Disciplinary Tribunal and International Cricket Council Code of Conduct Commission.