Future You: Year 11s & 12s picture life after school
More than 300 high school students have arrived at QUT to spend the first week of their school holidays test-driving possible careers at the 2026 QUT Future You Summit.
Queensland Deputy Premier and QUT law graduate Jarrod Bleijie opened the summit this morning with a keynote about his own career journey from campus to parliament.
The future-focused teens also received a warm welcome from QUT Vice-Chancellor Professor Margaret Sheil and summit coordinator Simone Long.
The Year 11s and 12s from 148 city and regional schools are spending four days connecting with QUT academics and students, hearing from industry professionals and alumni, tackling real-world challenges, and getting a taste of life after high school.
They are taking part in workshops covering fields ranging from robotics, cyber security, aerospace engineering and biomedical science, to privacy law, exercise science, fashion and animation.
The group includes high schoolers from Brisbane, the Gold and Sunshine Coasts, Cairns, Mackay, Rockhampton, Gladstone, Bundaberg, Maryborough, Gympie, Dalby, Toowoomba and Goondiwindi. (See full list below.)
QUT Pro Vice-Chancellor (Entrepreneurship and Regional Innovation) Professor Rowena Barrett said the program included a choice of practical and fun workshops on science, engineering, business, health, law and creative industries.
Students will also hear from alumni panels and keynote speakers, and take part in an entrepreneurship and innovation team challenge on Friday led by Professor Barrett.
“These four days are designed to help students explore who they want to become and how QUT can help them get there,” she said.
“It’s about giving them practical, supported access to university experiences before they make big study and career decisions at the end of Year 12.”
Participation in the Future You Summit – including transport and board for 85 regional students – is heavily subsidised by QUT, with students only paying a $50 registration fee.
2026 QUT Future You Summit program highlights
Tuesday, June 30
- Opening ceremony with Vice-Chancellor’s welcome and Deputy Premier keynote
- Hands-on workshops across 10 streams: Impactful Engineers, Scientific Explorers, Design Disruptors, Advocators, Advanced Technologists, Business Mavericks, Creative Collective, Storytellers, Diagnostic Thinkers, Health Heroes
Wednesday, July 1
- Alumni guest speaker panels
- QTAC information session
- Hands-on workshops across 10 streams
Thursday, July 2
- Alumni guest speaker panels
- Hands-on workshops across 10 streams
Friday, July 3
- Parents insight session (in-person & online)
- Entrepreneurship and innovation team challenge and pitches
- Closing ceremony, including pitch showcase
Architecture graduate, designer and educator Rashan Senanayake is one of the QUT alumni who have returned in 2026 to share their expertise at the summit.
His role includes delivering a keynote today, working with students through the week, and facilitating a parents’ insights session on Friday.
Each summit participant will also receive a copy of his goal-setting book, Inspired Success: Designing Your Own Definition Of Success.
“In today’s world, success looks different for every person,” he said.
“I studied architecture, but the true value of my degree was learning ‘design thinking’ – a creative problem-solving skill built into every QUT program.
“I’ve been able to build on those skills and design my own definition of success for myself, which is to empower capability in Australian educators. The summit is an incredible educational experience and I am honoured to share unique skills with the amazing young people at Future You.
“Seeing students take these strategies and later walk into my QUT guest lectures, studios and tutorials, proves how powerful this summit is for launching a purposeful career pathway, at a one-of-a-kind university.
“My core philosophy is to treat your life and career as your ultimate design project.”
Other QUT graduates talking at the summit include sustainability advocate Lottie Dalziel, who studied heath science and media and communication.
Ms Dalziel founded the Banish recycling and education program and is a QUT Young Alumnus of the Year, former New South Wales Young Australian of the Year and Forbes 30 under 30 honouree.
Drawing on her own entrepreneurial journey, she will offer inspiration and real-world perspective to students participating in the innovation challenge.
QUT teachers and researchers working with the high schoolers include digital media and AI expert Distinguished Professor Jean Burgess, cryptographer Professor Craig Costello, law lecturer Katherine Keane, aerospace engineer Professor Aaron McFadyen, plant biotechnologist Dr Marion Bateson, architecture lecturer Sheona Thomson and robotics PhD researcher Sarah Baldwin.
QUT student ambassadors (current students who share their uni insights with high schoolers year-round) are also helping the Year 11s and 12s this week.
They include IT and design student Chloe Flintoff (pictured below right), who said the Future You Summit was a milestone experience for her back in Year 12.
“I actually chose my degree through the Future You Summit,” Chloe said.
“I was talking to my stream leader, who told me all about the benefits of incorporating user-centred design concepts into IT software.
“I chose QUT because I loved the real-world learning: the courses are constantly evolving to match industry standards.
“The practical design experience I’ve had has included spending three days last year designing directly for a real organisation, Orange Sky, and developing a washing/community space that fits into a shipping container!”
Student ambassador and pharmacy student Kiarnah Lee loved the summit so much she went twice – in Year 11 in 2021 and Year 12 in 2022.
“I chose to study at QUT because I loved the beautiful campus, and because attending both those summits allowed me to network with some of my future lecturers and ask questions about pharmacy,” she said.
“Now, I love that that the lecturers keep our experience as true to the real world as possible. The staff are all very supportive and understand that being a uni student can be difficult, especially during that transition from high school to university.
“In pharmacy you complete 400 hours of student placement while studying and get to work in real-life community or hospital pharmacies. I have completed placements in Gympie, Emerald, Brisbane, Bundaberg and Darwin, which have given me the chance to travel while in uni and connect with many pharmacists around Australia. It’s helped me really know what kind of pharmacist I want to be in the future.”
QUT Future You Summit participants – the class of 2026:
- South-East Queensland: 100 schools from Brisbane, Moreton Bay, Ipswich, Redland, Logan, the Gold Coast, Scenic Rim, and the Sunshine Coast
- Central Queensland: 17 schools from Emerald, Gladstone, Mackay, Rockhampton and Yeppoon
- Darling Downs South-West: 5 schools from Goondiwindi, Kingaroy, Lockyer Valley and Toowoomba
- Far North Queensland: 6 schools from Cairns, Atherton and Innisfail
- North Coast: 10 schools from Bundaberg, Gin Gin, Gympie, Kilcoy, and Maryborough
- North Queensland: 4 schools from Bowen, Charters Towers and Ingham
- Northern NSW and Norfolk Island: 5 schools from Northern NSW and 1 school from Norfolk Island.
This year’s QUT Open Day on July 26 will be another opportunity for people to experience the university’s campuses, talk to staff and students, and learn more about courses and careers.
Check out the Open Day program before visiting, along with the Match My Skills quiz for course inspiration.
Main image at top of page: Queensland Deputy Premier and QUT law graduate Jarrod Bleijie snaps a souvenir of the 2026 QUT Future You Summit opening ceremony, with visiting students, summit organiser Simone Long, QUT Vice-Chancellor Professor Margaret Sheil and guest speaker Rashan Senanayake.
Media contact: Mechelle McMahon, QUT media officer, media@qut.edu.au
