David Gardiner Teacher of the Year
Associate Professor Michael Guihot
Michael has demonstrated sustained excellence in teaching through leadership, innovation, and a future-focused approach to legal education. His contributions have measurable impact: student feedback consistently highlights increased engagement, improved critical thinking, and enhanced digital literacy. Colleagues cite his work as shaping their own adoption of technology in teaching, leading to wider curriculum innovation.
Leadership excellence
Professor Elle Gregory
Elle is a leader in digital transformation, guiding a multidisciplinary team to address the urgent need for digital capability development in health education. Her strategic vision equips students with authentic digital skills tailored to their future professions.
Professor Jonathan Roberts
Jonathan leads nationally significant initiatives in collaborative robotics. Balancing dual leadership roles, award-winning teaching, and innovation, his strategic foresight ensures the Centre’s legacy and strengthens Australia’s global robotics standing.
Student Sport Operations Team
Under the leadership of Ben and Nicky, QUT’s student social program has seen a huge transformation. Their work provides pathways for students to remain engaged through an expanded 'Social sport' offering, ensuring both inclusion and wellbeing.
Office of the DVC, Indigenous Australians team
The team exemplifies leadership by supporting Indigenous Australians and communities both within the university, and beyond. Their work encompasses a broad range of initiatives, ensuring continued positive impacts and ongoing success for QUT.
Research and innovation excellence
Professor Anne Chang AM
Anne's work has led to improved clinical outcomes for children in both urban and First Nation settings. In addition, she has mentored and supervised 8 post-docs and 30 PhD students, showing her dedication to capacity building in child health research.
Professor Deepak Dubal
Deepak has achieved global recognition for pioneering sustainable energy storage solutions. Deepak has advanced global knowledge while delivering tangible innovations in batteries, supercapacitors, and clean energy technologies.
Quantitative Applied Spatial Ecology Group
This team have developed wildlife conservation designs through pioneering integration of drone technology, thermal imaging, and machine learning algorithms for koala detection and monitoring.
Integrating Indigenous and western methodologies to hear children’s voices on Growing Up Strong
Guided by an Indigenous strengths-based framework, the team combined Indigenous and western research methodologies in innovative ways to elevate the voices of 1,700 youth. Ministerial engagement and pre-release feedback indicates far-reaching policy and practice impact.
External partnership and engagement excellence
Dr Lyndall Bryant
Lyndall has bought together researchers from different disciplines and made housing a key research priority at QUT. Her expertise has been recognized through several media releases, attracting policy attention and having broad impact.
Dr Therese Gunn
As co-founder of medspace.VR, Therese has transformed simulation-based education by creating a computer-based learning solution now embedded in more than 50 institutions across the world. Her global partnerships strengthen Australia’s contribution to international healthcare research and drives improved understanding of person-centred care locally.
QUT Robotics Reef Restoration Team
QUT Robotics has built enduring partnerships with the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, the Australian Institute of Marine Science, Indigenous custodians, government, and industry, delivering a pipeline of innovations to protect and restore the reef.
Public Sector Digital Transformation Capacity Enhancement Team
Collaborating with government agencies, industry leaders, and the Supreme Court of the Philippines, the team trained over 100 public sector staff in advanced digital transformation strategies.
Disaster Resilience Project for Multicultural Communities
Through partnerships with governments, NGOs, and culturally and linguistically diverse communities in Northern Queensland, this project applied participatory co-design and leadership capacity-building to embed resilience at grassroots and community levels.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander excellence
Dr Emily Darnett
Emily is committed to strengthening psychologists' and higher education's cultural responsiveness to better support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander wellbeing.
Dr Bridget Hughes
Bridget works closely with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, particularly in regional centres such as Mount Isa, to co-design initiatives that improve educational outcomes for First Nations Australians.
Walking on Country teaching team
This team supports culturally responsive learning and creates a meaningful platform for Indigenous leadership and mentorship within the university setting.
Inclusion and diversity excellence
Mr Guy Roberts
Guy’s work has set a new benchmark for accessibility in STEM education, proving that with the right support and collaboration, even the most complex learning environments can be inclusive.
Associate Professor Vivien Challis
Through bold, practical initiatives, Vivien creates opportunities, recognition, and lasting change for underrepresented groups. Through a range of initiatives, she has directly strengthened women’s career trajectories while reshaping representation in the field.
Student Services Disability and Accessibility Team
This team have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to inclusion and diversity, resulting in meaningful improvements in service delivery, accessibility, awareness, system integrity, and data-informed reporting.
Domestic Student Priority Groups Dashboard Initiative
The project has been an important first step in the development of a Student Inclusion Action Plan for the university and will help to inform new strategic directions in our programs and services for underrepresented students and communities.
Professional staff service excellence
Ms Katherine Gibson-Beier
Katherine has made outstanding contributions to improve the experiences of students making enquiries and complaints through the QUT Student Ombudsman Office. Through a range of innovations, Katherine has halved the complaint resolution time.
Mr Keith Alexander
Keith leads the engineering faculty’s student engagement strategy - from high school outreach to university transition and industry pathways. Each year, he engages more than 2,500+ students via workshops, site visits and events.
Mr Kosta Meltzinitis
Kosta has achieved significant success in delivering several of QUT's most technical and challenging building projects, including the Mackay Large Scale Pilot Plant Expansion, Zero PC Hub Lab and electrical infrastructure upgrades in M Block and the Renewable Energy Lab in Q Block.
Questo: Student Support Guide Project Team
This team co-designed an intuitive, quiz-style tool that connects students to the right services in under two minutes. Fully SSAF-funded and requiring no system changes, Questo is sustainable, privacy-assured, and future-ready.
HiQ Staff Community Website Design Team
This project has ensured that staff access accurate, timely information with ease, reducing frustration, improving confidence and enhancing the user experience.
Graduate Research Centre Client Services Team for Faculty of CIESJ
This team have demonstrated outstanding dedication to providing responsive, professional, and, above all, caring support for HDRs and supervisors through all stages of candidature.
Wellbeing, safety and environmental excellence
Mrs Sharon Dakis
Sharon promotes wellbeing and ensures safety through her compassionate, student-centred approach. Her practical guidance assists in reducing student anxiety, supporting continued study, and reinforcing a sense of safety and agency.
Mr Scott Hookway
Scott has demonstrated excellence in promoting wellbeing and ensuring safety through his empathetic consultation style. His actions clearly reflect a commitment to student wellbeing and resilience, ensuring students feel safe, supported, and empowered.
United Nations SDG Academy Online Course
This team created a world-class online course for the United Nations SDG Academy: 'Managing Innovation and New Technologies in the Extractive Industries'.
Electrical, Electronic and Instrumentation Technical Team
Collectively, their actions have delivered measurable impact in safety, sustainability, and positive student experience across the faculty. By developing safe environments such as drone flight zones, battery charging and storage stations, and electrical safety enclosures, they minimise risks while enabling innovation.
Professional staff mentorship excellence
Mrs Annie Tyhuis
As a long-term leader within the Oodgeroo Unit, Annie has consistently demonstrated dedication, integrity, and cultural awareness, serving as a role model for others. Her leadership enhances the university’s cultural landscape and contributes to a more inclusive, supportive and respectful community.
Academic staff mentorship and sponsorship excellence
Professor Christine Morley
Chrstine invests time in developing others’ confidence, skills, and academic identity - often behind the scenes and without recognition.
Professor Jill Willis
Jill actively mentors 12 Early Career and Mid Career Academic colleagues, supporting grant applications, research strategy, and career development.
Early career teaching excellence
Dr Mazlan Maskor
Mazlan is a passionate educator, who transformed student engagement by fostering social identification with QUT Business, instilling higher performance standards, and influencing proactive student participation.
Dr Ronan Kelly
Ronan is a leader in inclusive education and belonging and deeply committed to developing the practice of peers. His work with the First Year Experience Community of Practice has informed unit design and teaching for culturally and linguistically diverse students.
Sessional staff excellence
Mr Rashan Senanayake
As founder and CEO of Inspired Education Australia, Rashan brings industry expertise and leadership directly into the classroom, translating complex theories into practical, inspiring insights.
Ms Grace Robinson
Grace leads workshop classes across many units, and student feedback consistently emphasises her engaging, approachable and supportive teaching style.
Teaching excellence
Dr Penny Wild
Penny is known for innovative, practice-oriented pedagogy. Her students are more confident, capable, and professionally prepared because of her teaching.
Associate Professor Elise Pelzer
By applying evidence-based pedagogy and creating immersive, real-world learning environments, she breathes life into her classes; allowing students to bridge the gap between fundamental bioscience concepts and healthcare practices.
Associate Professor Pascal Buenzli
Pascal has been fundamentally addressing low engagement and low achievement on assessment in the largest and most challenging unit of the School of Mathematical Sciences.
Embedding Indigenous Perspectives into Curriculum Community of Practice
This Community of Practice group provides a safe, collegial space for nursing academics to explore unconscious bias, challenge assumptions, and consider ways to decolonise nursing education. This fosters a more inclusive and culturally responsive learning environment.
BSB399 Real World Ready Business Capstone Development Team
The team delivered a bold new curriculum, adopting authentic, multi-modal assessments that challenge students to showcase real-world business skills. Through a novel 'Iconic Business' partnership strategy the team have demonstrated their commitment as connected, proactive, and innovative educators who inspire students.
Exercise and the Human Body Teaching Team
This team exemplifies sustained scholarly teaching excellence, underpinned by data-driven curriculum design, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and a deep commitment to student learning and professional preparedness.
Previous years' recipients
View our Vice-Chancellor's Awards for Excellence recipients from previous years.