Alumni Awards 2024
At UNSW Sydney, we take pride in our heritage of fostering progress and innovation. For 75 years, we've been at the forefront of education and research, dedicated to leaving our world better than we found it. Our alumni are pivotal to this mission—sharp minds that have taken brave ideas and turned them into actions with momentous impact worldwide.
Learn about the nomination process and discover the stories of our past winners.
2024 winners
Seb Chan - Art and Culture
"My world for the last 30 years has been about taking advantage of technological change, shifts in media, and how we interact with each other, to open up culture to more people."
Seb Chan is Director & CEO of ACMI, guiding a museum focused on screen culture and the intersection of media, technology, worldbuilding and storytelling. Prior to this, Seb was ACMI’s and the museum field’s first Chief Experience Officer (2015-22) and a key part of the team expanding AC...
Dr Kirstin Ferguson AM - Professional Achievement
"I really believe that leadership is simply a series of moments, and every moment offers us the opportunity to lead with impact."
Dr Kirstin Ferguson is an internationally acclaimed leadership expert, author, columnist, and keynote speaker. Ranked as one of the top 50 management thinkers in the world by Thinkers50, Kirstin was also awarded the Thinkers50 Distinguished Leadership Award in 2023.
Kirstin began her career as an officer in the...
Dr Jessie Christiansen - Research and Teaching Achievement
"If everybody is given the opportunity to do that one thing that they're good at, then all of society benefits."
Dr. Jessie Christiansen is the Chief Scientist of the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute. After searching for exoplanets - planets around other stars - for four years at UNSW and obtaining her PhD in 2008, she accepted a postdoctoral research position at Harvard University and moved to Boston, Massachusetts.
Dr Christiansen...
Yao May Wong - Research and Teaching Achievement
"For me, progress for all means for more people to teach. To have that opportunity to share knowledge and passion to the younger generation and contribute to society."
Yao May Wong is an accomplished educator with a passion for mathematics and science. Born in Malaysia, she moved to Australia to pursue her tertiary education at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). She holds three qualifications from UNSW: a Master of Education (Assessme...
Adjunct Professor Kieran Hynes - Social Impact and Service
"For people who have opportunity, they don't understand how challenging it can be for those who don't have the same opportunities."
Professor Kieran Hynes is a veteran with Aboriginal and Irish heritage. With over 35 years of experience in national security, he is a passionate cybersecurity advocate with a keen interest in the security of the national supply chain, from small businesses up to the primes. Kieran spent 13 years in th...
Chanel Contos - Young Alumni Award
"The normalisation of sexual violence is upheld by attitudes and expectations that we have towards gender and sexuality. These attitudes and expectations are changeable."
Chanel Contos founded Teach Us Consent, a campaign that mandated consent education in all Australian schools, and later criminalised 'stealthing' in two Australian states. In order to achieve this, she worked closely with politicians from across the political spectrum, including prime ...
Alexis George - Chancellor's Award for Exceptional Alumni Achievement
"When I first got promoted, there were hardly any women in senior executive roles. So, for me, gender equality is very important."
Alexis was appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of AMP Limited in August 2021 and is responsible for leading the AMP business.
Alexis has extensive experience in the financial services industry in Australia and overseas.
She spent seven years at ANZ, including as the Deputy CEO, working wit...