2021

Our 2021 UTS Alumni Award winners achieve excellence across a range of professional and academic backgrounds. They demonstrate the immense talent that exists within the alumni community, both professionally and in the broader community and exemplify the UTS core values — commitment to excellence, innovation, entrepreneurship and social justice.

Meet your winners

Chancellor’s Award for Excellence

For the first time, the UTS Chancellor’s Award for Excellence has been awarded to two separate recipients, with accomplished playwright Alana Valentine and distinguished forensic scientist, Dr Sarah Benson both being recognised by the UTS Chancellor, Catherine Livingstone AO, for their outstanding contribution to their fields. 

Sarah and Alana are both exceptional women who are leading the way and encouraging others to follow in their footsteps. 

You can read more about Sarah and Alana here and watch the announcement via Zoom featuring all our 2021 Award recipients below.

The UTS Alumni Awards are a wonderful reminder of what a privilege it is to be Chancellor of our amazing university.

Thank you all for the vital contributions that you’re making and for changing our world for the better and thank you, too, for bring such outstanding role models.

Choosing just one recipient for the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence from this group was an incredible challenge. So great a challenge in fact I have chosen two individuals to share the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence.

So I’m delighted to announce that our winners of the Chancellor’s Award for 2021 are Ms Alana Valentine and Dr Sarah Benson.

 So please join me in congratulating Alana and Sarah.

I’m overwhelmed by the honour of this award. I would really like to thank UTS in a year when workers in the performing arts are suffering so much, for UTS to award this accolade to me and to all my colleagues who are working in the performing arts, I offer it up in recognition of them.

Having this recognition is an opportunity and it certainly provided an opportunity to reflect on my time at university, but specifically, all that UTS has to offer to produce us workforce ready graduates. And I think by receiving this award, my colleagues in the AFP and the broader community are looking at the value of UTS and the graduate and the education that UTS provides. So it’s a great opportunity to reinvigorate that partnership, shine a light on UTS and all that they have to offer. So thank you, it’s a huge honour and it has taken me by surprise, but a huge thank you.

Congratulations to every winner here this evening and I have to say on behalf of UTS that we are very proud that you are UTS Alumni.

For more information about previous Award winners visit our UTS Alumni Awards Honour Roll.

Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the Boorooberongal people of the Dharug Nation, the Bidiagal people and the Gamaygal people, upon whose ancestral lands our university stands. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands.