Student Awards

UNSW Master of Architecture graduate Samantha Rich was awarded the 2023 NSW Architects Registration Board Architect’s Medallion, opens in a new window.

The jury citation reads: “Samantha Rich is a proud Wiradjuri woman, dedicated to embedding a First Nations worldview in the built environment. She is driven by a genuine belief in the ability to make positive change and committed to listening and engaging with community to effectively do so. She believes in the need to “go slowly, thoughtfully, carefully and respectfully”.

“For her graduation design studio Samantha initiated a community-partnered approach to address systemic housing needs with and for Aboriginal people in regional and remote NSW. Working closely with Yuwaya Ngarra-li (a partnership between the Dharriwaa Elders Group and UNSW) she responded to the urgent priority of creating Elders’ housing that can enable Walgett Elders to age well with family and community on Country.”

UNSW Architecture students were also successful at the NSW Australian Institute of Architects Awards, opens in a new window, with Natalie Wing Sum Ho winning the Graduate Medal, Tyla Venish winning the Architectural Technologies Award and Flyn Fielding winning the NSW Student’s Choice Award.

In 2023, students from the Bachelor of Industrial Design (Honours) featured weekly on the ABC television series, War on Waste, opens in a new window. The students were challenged to redesign a range of problematic single-use plastic packaging into more circular and less wasteful products. For instance, Maoxin Yuan developed a powdered soy sauce pouch, opens in a new window that dissolves in water (to replace the ubiquitous plastic fish-shaped containers).

Bachelor of Interior Architecture (Honours) student Sandra Srun, opens in a new window was awarded the Australian Design Graduate of the Year, Madeline Lester Excellence Award, by the Design Institute of Australia. Sandra was also the ‘Place’ category award winner. 

UNSW Bachelor of City Planning (Honours) graduate Henry Black was awarded the Young Planner of the Year Award, 2023. The judges described Henry as “an outstanding role model and inspirational for young planners emerging into the industry. The Judges were impressed by “his involvement in the profession, for his advocacy and the important role he has played in inspiring young planners and his innovative thinking.”

UNSW Bachelor of City Planning (Honours) graduate Eloise Reddy was awarded the ‘Tertiary Student Project’ award, opens in a new window, for her project ‘Artidote: The Public Art of Healing’. Eloise’s work explored the link between the arts and mental wellbeing in the built environment. The project investigates how local government can facilitate a new type of ‘trauma-informed public art’ to support community healing following a collective tragedy.

2023 Bachelor of Industrial Design (Honours) graduate, Aidan Whitby, was awarded ‘Best in Class’ in the Next Gen category at the Good Design Australia Awards, opens in a new window. Aidan's project, Supersend, is a cutting-edge technology tailored to enhance the efficiency of commercial beekeeping in Australia. 

Bachelor of Industrial Design (Honours) graduate and UNSW Medallist, Dorcas Chu, also received the prestigious Gold Winner accolade in the Next Gen category. Dorcas's project, Hearthub, opens in a new window, is a fully implantable left ventricular assist device (LVAD) aimed at enhancing the quality of life for patients with end-stage heart failure by reducing clinical complications and simplifying the therapy process.