2024 UTS Alumni Awards program
Congratulations to our UTS Alumni Award recipients for 2024.
Our outstanding recipients come from a diverse range of professional backgrounds and demonstrate the immense talent that exists within the UTS alumni community. They all share our UTS core values – a commitment to excellence, innovation, entrepreneurship, and social justice.
Read more about our inspiring alumni
Celebrating our game-changing alumni
Since its inception in 2009, the UTS Alumni Awards program has recognised over 100 graduates – trailblazers, innovators and pioneers.
These inspiring graduates epitomise the immense depth of talent within the UTS alumni community – high achievers who are professionally distinguished in their fields and driven by a desire to create a lasting impact in the world.
Each year we invite the UTS community, members of the public, and colleagues to nominate UTS alumni for the awards during our nomination campaign between April to May. From these nominations, a judging panel selects the winners for each category. Recipients of the awards are announced at an annual celebration in October.
Judging criteria
There are four types of judging criteria:
- Evidence of outstanding achievement in the nominee’s chosen field or profession
- Demonstrated impact of nominee’s work or contributions
- Demonstrated leadership, innovation and creativity attributes
- Outstanding contributions to the community (civic, cultural, sporting, charitable, volunteering)
Types of Awards
Seven Faculty Awards:
In addition to the four key judging criteria, nominees for awards in the seven UTS faculties must demonstrate focus on critical needs in the profession, and/or professional achievement more broadly at a local, national or international level.
Our faculty awards are:
- Arts and Social Sciences
- Business
- Design, Architecture and Building
- Engineering and Information Technology
- Law
- Health
- Science
Five Special Awards:
In addition to the four key judging criteria, nominees in the below categories must demonstrate focus on critical needs or representation in their community, impact in their field of endeavour, and/or societal achievement more broadly at a local, national or international level.
Alumni Community Award
This award recognises the significant involvement of UTS alumni in projects that enrich the community at a local, national or international level. This contribution could be in a professional, charitable, cultural or sporting capacity.
Indigenous Australian Alumni Award
This award recognises outstanding achievement by a UTS graduate who is an Aboriginal person or Torres Strait Islander. The category celebrates exceptional professional achievement and/or significant contribution to Indigenous communities and/or Australian society more broadly.
International Alumni Award (sponsored by UTS College)
This award recognises outstanding achievement by a graduate enrolled as an international student while attending UTS. Candidates may currently reside in Australia or overseas.
Young Alumni Award
This award recognises outstanding achievement by a graduate aged 35 years or younger (at close of nominations).
Chancellor’s Award for Excellence
The Award is personally selected by the Chancellor from the faculty or special awards recipients, in honour of their sustained record of outstanding achievement and leadership in their field or community.
The recipient, who is selected by UTS Chancellor Catherine Livingstone AO, will join a group of exceptional graduates who have a sustained record of achievement and earned them national or international prominence.
Eligibility and the selection process
Eligibility criteria
- Nominees must be graduates of UTS or one of six antecedent institutions:
- Acupuncture Colleges Australia
- Balmain Teachers’ College
- Kuring-gai College of Advanced Education
- New South Wales Institute of Technology
- Sydney College of Advanced Education
- The School of Design, Sydney College of the Arts. - Nominees do not have to be working in the discipline from which they graduated.
- Self-nominations are not accepted.
- Previously nominated alumni who were unsuccessful can be nominated again.
- Honorary award recipients are not eligible. Nominees must have been enrolled as a student at UTS or one of the antecedent institutions listed above.
- Nominees for the Young Alumni Award must be aged 35 years or younger at the close of nominations.
- Nominees for the International Alumni Award must have been enrolled as an international student while attending UTS. They may currently reside in Australia or overseas.
- Previous award winners are eligible for nomination after five years.
Determination of awards
Nominees for each category will be considered by the individuals listed below, who will then shortlist three candidates to present to the Selection Panel for final consideration.
- Faculty Awards: the Dean of the respective faculty
- Alumni Community Award: a UTS representative
- Indigenous Australian Alumni Award: a representative from the Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research
- International Alumni Award: a representative from UTS College
- Young Alumni Award: the UTS Young Alumni Committee
- Chancellor’s Award for Excellence: personally selected by the UTS Chancellor
Selection panel
The Alumni Awards selection panel includes eight UTS representatives. They will look for nominees who have:
- Achieved success in professional, academic or research areas (please provide evidence of outstanding achievement in the nominee’s chosen field).
- Demonstrated exceptional leadership, innovation and creativity (please provide evidence of impact).
- Contributed to the community through their work and life (please provide evidence to show involvement in civic, cultural, sporting, charitable or volunteer activities). The panel reserves the right to reallocate nominations between categories, in consideration of eligibility and other criteria. All decisions are final and conclusive.
Trophy design
The UTS Alumni Award trophies were created by award-winning UTS Industrial Design graduate Brad Stebbing, who generously donated his time and passion to the project.
A recipient of the Belle Georg Jensen design competition, Brad has his own design company and also works as a freelance design consultant on a diverse range of projects, from lawnmowers to oyster farms.
The trophies were inspired by the UTS Tower and the university’s unique practice-oriented learning model.
Contact us if you have any questions:
alumniawards@uts.edu.au