Voting open in Shaping Australia Awards
The Shaping Australia Awards recognise academics for transforming Australian lives for the better.
Instant cancer detection on a glass slide, coffee-infused concrete and a world-first approach to saving crops from diseases are among the incredible projects the community can vote for in the People’s Choice portion of the Shaping Australia awards.
A public vote for academics transforming Australian lives for the better will decide winners in three categories – teaching, research and community service – from five finalists.
Among the finalists is a world-first project by the University of Sydney protecting wheat, barley and oats from rust diseases, which cause annual losses of 5.47 million tonnes worldwide.
“Cereal rusts are the most important fungal diseases of our most important agricultural plants such as wheat, barley and oats, and can cause complete devastation to crops,” Professor Robert Park of the University of Sydney said.
Last year, University of NSW professor Guan Yeoh won the People’s Choice award in the Problem Solver category for his fire-retardant paint, which insulates buildings from flames.
The Community Champion Award recognises life-changing community service.
The finalists are:
● La Trobe University: Instant cancer detection on a glass slide.
● The University of Queensland: Treating heart attack and stroke with drugs from spider venom.
● The University of Sydney: Fungal infection prevention saving cereals.
● RMIT University: Coffee-infused concrete.
● The University of Wollongong: Producing the world’s cheapest green hydrogen.
The Problem Solver Award recognises world-class research. The finalists are:
● University of Technology Sydney: UTS shopfront students drive social change.
● Griffith University: Student-managed investment fund.
● The University of Melbourne: Developing the next generation of medical technology leaders.
● University of South Australia: Delivering the future of our space and security sectors.
● University of South Australia: An Australia-first university apprenticeship and pathway to a career in STEM.
The Future Builder Award recognises inspired teaching initiatives. The finalists are:
● The University of Newcastle: Indigenous partnerships to provide speech pathology.
● UNSW Sydney: First Nations Molecular Point-of-Care (POC) Testing Program for infectious diseases.
● The University of Sydney: Students with intellectual disabilities experience uni life.
● University of Wollongong: All Ages, All Abilities Playground.
● University of Wollongong: iAccelerate’s RISE program empowers rural NSW entrepreneurs.
Read more about the finalists and vote here until January 19, 2025: www.shapingaustraliaawards.
com.au
More Coverage
De facto student cap would be ‘illegal’
A former Immigration Department deputy executive made the claim as the government vowed to manage numbers ‘in a fairer way’ after the Coalition blocked its controversial student caps legislation.
ACU ‘committed to Catholic identity, but challenged by it’: Priest
An new advisor of Catholic Identity and Mission at the university disagreed that the university was ‘ambivalent about its Catholic identity’ following a series of public controversies.