Shaping Australia Awards: High achievers in the tertiary world put nation in great shape
The Shaping Australia Awards will celebrate the significant contribution universities and the people within them make to the nation.
A new award program, the Shaping Australia Awards, will celebrate the significant contribution universities and the people within them make to the nation.
The awards, presented by Universities Australia in partnership with The Australian, will recognised excellence across the range of areas in which universities operate – teaching, research and community service.
Universities Australia chief executive Catriona Jackson said the awards would shine a light on the extraordinary work universities and the people who work in them do to shape Australia’s future.
“From performing research and development to educating skilled workers and serving communities through good and bad times, universities play a significant role in shaping Australia’s future,” she said.
“We’re delighted to be delivering our new awards program to honour the people who go above and beyond for their students, for their communities and for the nation.
“These are the people who help make Australia a modern, progressive and prosperous nation.”
Individuals and teams from Australian universities are invited to submit entries to the Shaping Australia Awards in one of three categories:
• The Future Builder Award for teaching recognises an individual or a team that has gone over and above to equip their students with the knowledge and skills they need to make a positive impact in the world.
• The Problem Solver Award for research recognises an individual or a team’s work, research or otherwise, that has changed or has the potential to change the lives of Australians for the better.
• The Community Champion Award for community service recognises an individual, team or university with strong links to its community and the people who call it home, not just those who attend the institution.
The Shaping Australia Awards will be judged by a panel of eminent Australians including:
• Lisa Paul AO PSM (former secretary of the Department of Education and recently appointed chancellor of the University of Canberra)
• Kurt Fearnley AO PLY (chairman, National Disability Insurance Agency, and former Paralympian, 2019 NSW Australian of the year)
• Sir Peter Cosgrove AK CVO CNZM MC (former governor-general of Australia and former chief of army)
• Nicholas Moore AO (special envoy for Southeast Asia and former CEO of Macquarie Group)
• Brian Schmidt AC FAA FRS (vice-chancellor, Australian National University and Nobel Laureate); and
• Michelle Gunn (editor-in-chief, The Australian).
Submissions are now open and will close on November 20, 2023. Australians will be able to get behind their favourite entries when People’s Choice voting in each of the three categories commences on November 22, 2023.
The awards ceremony will be held at February 27, 2024 at Parliament House Canberra.
Further information and entry criteria are at: shapingaustraliaawards.com.au
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