Achievements and awards

Dr Mitchell Adams, Senior Lecturer and LLB Course Director at Swinburne Law School, has been awarded the 2024 Pattishall Medal for Teaching Excellence by the International Trademark Association (INTA).

Dr Adams is celebrated for his innovative approach to legal education, incorporating immersive and experiential learning techniques to prepare students for real-world trademark law practice. He pioneered the use of Augmented Reality technology in legal education, developing workshops for high school students studying law, civics, and business.

“Receiving the Pattishall Medal for Teaching Excellence validates my commitment to reimagining how we teach trademark law. Throughout my career, I have strived to create authentic learning experiences that bridge the gap between theory and practice —through technology-enabled learning and hands-on simulations,” said Dr. Adams.

“The International Trademark Association has been invaluable in connecting me with a global community of practitioners who share my vision of preparing the next generation of trademark professionals.”

“Dr Adams’ impact on the instruction of trademark law and, therefore, on his students, is profound,” said INTA President Dana Northcott. “His work elevates the standard of teaching and fosters future generations of IP professionals who will excel in their practice.”

The medal, established by Pattishall, McAuliffe, Newbury, Hilliard & Geraldson LLP, recognises educators for exceptional teaching in the field of trademarks and trade identity. The award was presented at INTA’s 2024 Leadership Meeting in New Orleans.

Swinburne PhD student Lesley Luo has been honoured with the prestigious VicScreen Award for Best Director of an Australian Short Film at the 34th Melbourne Queer Film Festival (MQFF) Awards. 

Her film, Outpicker, is a short documentary that explores queer women, Chinese immigrants', environmental action and sense of belonging in the Australian landscape through litter picking across Victoria. The film impressed audiences, showcasing her exceptional talent and creativity. 

The award was presented at ACMI on Saturday 23 November at a ceremony recognising emerging filmmakers who push the boundaries of storytelling and representation.

“I would like to call this short documentary 'an environmental poem'. I feel so thrilled and glad that I was recognised as the Best Director of an Australian Short Film at MQFF. It means that our story of litter picking and queer women community building, got visualised and represented by other people. It's absolutely encouraging,” Lesley said.

“Being a PhD candidate and a queer filmmaker enhanced my understanding of the queer lived experience in the current societal climate and different cultural contexts.”

The MQFF is recognised for fostering local and international filmmaking talent through workshops, industry labs and festival prizes. These opportunities, made possible by the support of generous sponsors and donors, continue to spotlight innovative voices in queer cinema.

Outpicker will be available to stream until Sunday 1 December 2024

Distinguished Professor David Moss has been named as the world leader in Optics and Photonics research in The Australian’s Research Magazine 2025, while his colleagues, Professor Tonghua Zhang and Adjunct Professor John Dixon have been named the leaders in Australia for Nonlinear Science and Obesity, respectively. 

Distinguished Professor David Moss is a field leader in Optics and Photonics and has worked at Swinburne since 2016. This has included as Director of Swinburne’s Optical Sciences Centre since its formation in 2020 and, before that, Swinburne’s Centre for Microphotonics. He has more than 800 publications, and conference papers with over 42,000 citations, and leads extensive international research networks in nanophononics and other areas.

Professor Tonghua Zhang is a field leader in Nonlinear Science and is a mathematician interested in differential equations, nonlinear dynamical systems and mathematical biology. Professor Zhang’s work is helping us understand the behaviour of biological systems. 

Adjunct Professor John Dixon is a field leader in Obesity and is known internationally for his research and education programs related to severe obesity. His research at Swinburne’s Iverson Health Innovation Research Institute bridges the gap in communication between advances in surgery for weight loss, metabolic research, clinical practice and evidence-based medicine.

In addition to these achievements, Swinburne has been named as the leading Australian research institution in Computer Hardware Design and Automation & Control Theory. 

Swinburne Director of Employability, Professor Ruth Bridgstock's work to deliver a Work Integrated Learning experience to every Swinburne student has been recognised with an Excellence in Leadership Award at the 2024 ATEM Awards for Excellence.

The ATEM (Association for Tertiary Education Management) Awards recognises and celebrates excellence within our sector, with Professor Bridgstock's nomination exemplifying the highest standards of best practice in educational leadership. Under Professor Bridgstock's leadership in Employability, Swinburne has successfully integrated Work Integrated Learning (WIL) into every undergraduate degree across all disciplines and working towards a full progression of WIL and career development learning to be embedded throughout every level of curriculum in HE and VET. Professor Bridgstock was nominated for the award by the Employability management team.

The award was formally presented at the ATEM Awards for Excellence Online Ceremony on Monday 18 November 2024. As the award winner, she has received a plaque, $500 and a one-year ATEM membership.

Professor Bridgstock says, “It’s a great honour to be recognised by the sector for the work I’ve been leading at Swinburne over the last four years. It has been a whole- of institution effort to transform curriculum, educator professional learning, industry engagement, and enabling systems to embrace WIL and employability, and we’re seeing the results of this effort now in our students and graduates. It’s been a great privilege and pleasure to work with forward-thinking colleagues across Swinburne to make it happen, and to contribute to Swinburne’s students’ career and life successes. Thank you to ATEM, and to Swinburne’s Employability Management team, who nominated me.”  

Distinguished Professor Qing-Long Han, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research Quality) at Swinburne University of Technology, has been awarded the 2024 Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Industrial Electronics Society Dr -Ing. Eugine Mittelmann Achievement Award. This prestigious award recognises outstanding contributions to the field of industrial electronics and was established in 1975.

In particular, the major award recognises Distinguished Professor Han’s outstanding and innovative technological contributions to networked control systems and multi-agent systems and applications to smart grids. 

Distinguished Professor Han is a highly cited researcher in both engineering and computer science, and a highly-awarded Fellow of the IEEE and the IFAC. His research expertise spans networked control systems, cyber physical systems, time-delay systems, multi-agent systems, smart grids, offshore structure, uncrewed surface vehicles, cyber security and neural networks.

The IEEE Dr. -Ing. Eugine Mittelmann Achievement Award was awarded at the gala dinner of the 2024 Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society (IECON 2024), held on 5 November 2024 in Chicago, Illinois, US. 

Children's University has been recognised as an ABA100® Winner for Community Contribution [CCA] in The Australian Business Awards 2024. This prestigious recognition underscores the significant impact Children’s University is collectively making in providing educational opportunities for children, young people, and families, reinforcing the importance of the work we do across our regions.

Children's University Swinburne nurtures a love of learning through extracurricular opportunities for students aged 7-14, and engaging volunteer programs for students aged 15-18. The program encourages children to aspire to new heights, try out new activities, discover new passions, visit new places and have fun whilst learning.

Manager of Children’s University at Swinburne, Vera Gin, emphasised how the award demonstrates the importance of commitment and collaboration.

“This award highlights the hard work and dedication of our Swinburne Children’s University team in supporting our 500+ Victorian students this year. We would also like to extend our thanks to our Swinburne academics, students and staff who support our program and contribute to the development and delivery of new learning activities and experiences for our members."

This recognition underscores the exceptional work Children’s University has been doing to promote educational access and community engagement.

Explore more about Children's University Swinburne.

An innovative Swinburne University of Technology education and employment partnership, Deloitte Cyber Academy, has won the award for the Best Program for Empowering Young Individuals in Cybersecurity at the Australian Women in Security Awards.

The recognition demonstrates Swinburne's commitment to celebrating and supporting young women and non-binary individuals during the initial phases of their cybersecurity careers.  

As a partnership between Deloitte, Swinburne and the University of Wollongong, the Academy's degree-apprenticeship program allows school leavers to gain real-world experience while pursuing their education.  

Students work part-time in the cybersecurity industry, earning a diploma in their first year that contributes to their Bachelor of Cyber Security, which they complete over the next two years. This approach has attracted a high 38 per cent of women into a cyber security career (double the industry average) and boasts an impressive 93 per cent retention rate.  

A team of Swinburne University of Technology green steel researchers has won the Best Contribution to Industry-Research Collaboration Award at the Heavy Industry Low-carbon Transition Cooperative Research Centre (HILT CRC) 2024 Annual Conference: De-risking Decarbonisation. Their winning project tested Australian iron ores in a hydrogen flash smelting process, and was led by Swinburne with primary partners Calix, a global environmental technology company, and the University of Adelaide, alongside industry partners FMG, Roy Hill, Liberty and Grange Minerals.

The project saw Calix run over 80 tests in a pilot plant at their Bacchus March facility. The Swinburne team analysed the results and also carried out high temperature experiments focused on key aspects of the new 'ZESTY' process in Swinburne’s High Temperature Processing Facility. The results will inform a new Swinburne project to further de-risk flash reduction processes, and a demonstration-level version of the 'ZESTY' process by Calix.

The award-winning research team included Swinburne/CSIRO joint Chair of Sustainable Mineral Processing, Professor Geoff Brooks, Professor Akbar Rhamdhani, Dr Shabnam Sabah and PhD candidates Made Natha, Belinda Rich and Tiara Triana.

"Swinburne’s green steel researchers are one of the biggest groups in Australia working towards zero emissions iron and steel, driving Australia’s iron ore industry to adapt to a decarbonised future. My fullest praise goes to Dr Sabah for her key role in the project’s success,” Professor Brooks said.

“Through this industry-research collaboration, we’ve gained invaluable knowledge as to how Australian ores behave in hydrogen direct reduction iron processes. Swinburne is grateful for the support and guidance of our industry and university partners, as well as the HILT CRC.”

The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering’s (ATSE) 2024 Batterham Medal has been awarded to Swinburne’s Dr Scott Menegon.

The Batterham Medal recognises an early career Australian engineer who has achieved considerable peer and industry recognition for their work over the past five years. In addition to recognising outstanding achievement, the award also aims to promote the profession of engineering, by promoting the contribution it makes to Australia.

As a Senior Lecturer in Civil and Construction Engineering, Dr Menegon’s research studies existing buildings to quantify how they behave in earthquake scenarios, as well as new structural systems that will respond well to earthquakes.

“I'm really passionate about ensuring that our buildings are safe for the public,” he says. “Earthquakes can be incredibly damaging events.”

The Batterham Medal and $5,000 prize was formally presented during the ATSE Awards Gala Dinner on Thursday 17 October.

Dr Menegon says, “it is a great honour to receive the award, to be recognised by my peers and by other senior academics, engineers and scientists in the academy”.

“It really does give me encouragement to continue to move forward and push on with my research.”

Swinburne University of Technology’s Innovation Studio has won the Best Knowledge Exchange Award at the 2024 Knowledge Commercialisation (KCA) Awards. The award recognises Swinburne Innovation Studio's high-impact knowledge transfer programs.

In the past 18 months, Swinburne Innovation Studio has expanded its program offerings, increased student and staff participation, and developed new ecosystem partnerships while providing more work-integrated learning (WIL) opportunities for students within startups and spinouts.

A key objective has been to build a pipeline for Swinburne Ventures Limited, the university's in-house VC fund, with more startups progressing through multiple programs, increasing touchpoints, and driving startup growth. This has resulted in program alumni securing funding from Swinburne Ventures Limited, as well as from external investors.

KCA is the peak body for Australasian research organisations involved in knowledge commercialisation and technology transfer. The annual KCA Awards recognise the high-impact and innovative outcomes from member organisations, including universities, with a focus on contributions made by research commercialisation teams. 

Professor Rachael McDonald, Director of Swinburne’s MedTechVic research hub, has been jointly awarded the Allied Health Impact & Innovation Excellence award at this year’s Allied Health Awards.

This award recognises excellence across the breadth of the allied health workforce and brings into focus the key role of innovative practice within the sector.

With qualifications in occupational therapy, biomechanics and higher education, Professor McDonald is dedicated to positively contributing to the allied health workforce through her directorship and her supervision of higher degree by research students. She has supervised more than 30 students, specialising in the care of people with complex disabilities and the evaluation of assistive technologies’ effectiveness.

At MedTechVic, Professor McDonald oversees a team of research professionals from diverse backgrounds who bring together individuals with lived experience of disability, their supports, health professionals, engineers and designers to co-create life-enhancing assistive technologies and services.

“Co-creation and collaboration are at the heart of inclusive health care,” says Professor McDonald. “By uniting diverse perspectives at MedTechVic, we are able to ensure that our innovations are tailored to the real needs and challenges of end users, ultimately leading to more meaningful and impactful outcomes.”

“I’m very honoured to have been recognised at the awards, and hope to continue to work with industry professionals from across healthcare and beyond to bring impactful innovations to end users.”

Swinburne alum Fazil Mohammed has been awarded the Emerging Leader - International Alumni of the Year award at the Victorian Government's International Education Awards.

This award recognizes the achievements and contributions of Victoria’s recent alumni, highlighting those who serve as role models for international students. Recipients demonstrate exemplary leadership, career success and significant community involvement.

"It was like getting a 'pat on the back'…the community is recognising me for the work I so passionately do. It’s a full circle moment where my hard work has paid off," Fazil says.  

Fazil is a distinguished leader and community advocate from India, excelling in both community and industry engagements. After graduating with a Bachelor of Information and Communication Technology at Swinburne, Fazil is now a Cloud Operations Engineer at PwC Australia.  

An avid content creator, Fazil’s YouTube channel promoting the life of international students in Melbourne has received more than one million views. His initiatives make him a recognised figure in Victoria’s international student community.  

Director of Swinburne’s Optical Sciences Centre, Distinguished Professor David Moss, has been elected as a 2024 Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) Fellow.

Elected by peers, Distinguished Professor Moss will join the Academy to help Australians understand and use technology to solve complex problems.

Distinguished Professor Moss has made seminal contributions to photonics and optics, particularly his work with microcombs – devices that can link the electronic and optical frequency regimes. 

He reported the first integrated microcomb in 2010, a game-changing advance with potential applications across spectroscopy, communications and optical clocks, among many fields. This breakthrough addressed energy and bandwidth bottlenecks for on-chip and chip-to-chip communications.

“I’m greatly honoured to be elected a Fellow of the ATSE,” says Distinguished Professor Moss.

“I look forward very much to contributing to the Academy and continuing my 30-year contribution to science and engineering in Australia generally. This recognition means a great deal to me.”

Swinburne second year Bachelor of Media and Communications student Marika Tsourekis is the national and Victorian winner of the 2024 Ad Student X TikTok Competition.

Majoring in Advertising herself, Marika had to create a video to inspire high school students to make an advertising major their first preference for university education. Marika has won an internship at Melbourne Advertising Agency Cummins&Partners, a career guidance chat/mentoring with Paul Nagy (Chief Creative Officer of VML) and free entry to an IAB Industry event in Melbourne.

Marika says that the competition was initially quite intimidating, as she had never actually created a TikTok before. 

“Navigating TikTok helped me bring my creative ideas to life and pushed me out of my comfort zone. I was excited to find out that I have won both state and national awards and feel very grateful and look forward to these amazing opportunities!” 

Swinburne Advertising Lecturer and Academic Lead for Victorian competition entrants, David Reid, says the competition ignited a spark in the next generation, showcasing how creativity can drive real-world impact. 

"By crafting captivating TikTok videos targeting prospective students, current university students successfully promoted advertising undergraduate study at universities across Australia, unveiling the exciting career paths awaiting them in the dynamic world of advertising."

Swinburne University of Technology, along with partners Pacific Energy and CSIRO, has been awarded the 2024 Engineers Australia Victorian Project of the Year for our Victorian Hydrogen Hub (VH2) and CSIRO Hydrogen Refuelling Station.

The award was part of Engineers Australia’s annual Engineering Excellence Awards, which recognise Australia’s most outstanding engineers and engineering projects, and showcase the profound impact their work has on society.

Launched in 2023, the $2.5 million state-of-the-art Hydrogen Refuelling Station uses green hydrogen produced with electricity from renewable sources, allowing hydrogen cars to travel over 600km emissions-free on a full tank.

As one of Australia’s first all-in-one fast hydrogen refuelling stations, the Hydrogen Refuelling Station represents a major step forward in decarbonising transport.

The innovative facility enables the production and dispensing of green hydrogen for fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) and provides critical infrastructure for the future of hydrogen-powered transport.

With its compact, integrated design, the station also serves as a scalable model for hydrogen refuelling, offering a solution to one of the key challenges in transitioning to a low-carbon economy. 

Swinburne’s winning VH2 team will go on to represent the Victoria division at Engineers Australia’s national awards gala dinner on 21 November 2024.

Swinburne’s Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research Quality), Distinguished Professor Qing-Long Han, has been named President-Elect of the Asian Control Association (ACA) at the ACA Steering Committee Meeting. He will serve as the 11th president of the ACA in 2026-2028 and will be the first Australian to serve in the role.

The ACA, formed from the Asian Control Professors Association (ACPA) established in 1996, promotes control science and engineering in Asia. It consists of volunteers dedicated to supporting these fields.

Reflecting on his election, Distinguished Professor Han said, “I am very pleased to be elected as President-Elect of the ACA. I'm honoured to be recognised for my contributions to control communities in Asia and Oceania, and proud to represent Swinburne — a leading university in the area of control engineering."

Swinburne has won an approximately $25 million tender to expand a ground-breaking program that is helping job seekers build their skills and secure jobs through stronger reading, writing, maths and computer skills.

The Commonwealth Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) has awarded Swinburne a new contract to continue delivering the Skills for Education and Employment program (SEE) for 10 years at Croydon and Wantirna. The program will also expand to Hawthorn.

Skills for Education and Employment training has helped more than 3,000 students over the past 16 years. It has provided a personalised and tailored approach for each student’s abilities and goals. It has helped students like young mum Emily Foster-Davies, who went from being lost and in limbo, to completing a Certificate IV in School-based Education Support in 2023 after completing SEE at Swinburne in 2022. Emily is now working as a teacher aide at a primary school and credits SEE with providing the “breakthrough” she needed to reach her education goals.

Anthony Green-Cooper had a disrupted primary school experience and ‘dropped out’ of school in Year 7 due to patchy attendance. By undertaking SEE at Swinburne, Anthony has been able to complete his VCE and is considering studying psychology at university – a goal that would have been unattainable without SEE.

45-year-old Darren Cop was a disengaged secondary student and drug and alcohol user from an early age.  He made several unsuccessful attempts at getting back into education before finding SEE at Swinburne’s Croydon campus. Fast forward to 2024 and Darren has graduated with a Certificate IV in Youth Work. Like other SEE students, Darren benefitted from support from a SEE Life Mentor, who helped him access support to overcome housing instability and tackle mental health issues.

Swinburne is proud to have supported more than 3,000 students on their educational and career journey through SEE over 16 years, and looks forward to continuing this important work for the next decade.