Engagement Awards recognise inspirational work of staff and students

The awards (formerly the KT Awards) highlighted the achievements of University staff and students who engaged with external partners and the wider community.

Addressing a capacity audience, Vice-Chancellor Professor Glyn Davis emphasised the importance of the event, which he said was “an occasion when the whole University could get a snapshot of the great engagement work being done across many disciplines, with many different partners in communities beyond the campus, from people just a few hundred metres up the road, to communities on the other side of the world”.

Professor Davis said the awards helped build a picture of the University’s work which was encouraging and inspiring.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (University Affairs) Professor Warren Bebbington acted as Master of Ceremonies and chaired the selection panel for all award categories. “The high standard and diversity of both staff and student applications builds on a now established tradition of quality,” he said.

The awards were in three categories; the Dreamlarge student grants, staff project grants, and staff excellence awards.

Projects led by academic staff and recognised this year included health projects in Vietnam, a school design project in Victoria, the creation of a new arts hub in Carlton, a project which enhanced international tobacco control, one which improved medical infrastructure in post-war Cambodia and a project which helped the Red Cross Service refine its donation strategy.

The Dreamlarge student grants were awarded to students who worked in communities in New Guinea, in school science classrooms around Australia, conducted literacy work with sick children, found fairer ways to deal with criminal record checks, and worked in an Indigenous protected area in Western Victoria.

Professor Davis said, "such inspiring stories help to bring us back to a sense of why we are here”.

The ceremony concluded with the presentation of the staff excellence
awards by the Executive Director of the Knowledge Partnerships Office, Jerry de la Harpe.

Winners of the awards were:

Academic teams led by Dr Helen Cahill of the Graduate School of Education for ‘Creating Connections: from Vietnam to the Asia-Pacific Region’;

Dr Dominique Hes of the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning,
who represented the team which won for ‘Smart Green Schools: Educational and Environmental Outcomes of Innovation in School Building Design’; and

Professor Cathy Humphreys of the School of Health Sciences for ‘Who am I? Making records meaningful: research to support archiving and recordkeeping in Victorian out-of-home care’.