QUT student Madison Birtchnell has been recognised as one of Australia’s top future graduate talents in a national award.
Madison received the ‘BP Marketing and Sales’ award in the Top 100 Future Leaders Competition, a national competition showcasing the most promising future leaders graduating from Australian universities.
The second-year Bachelor of Business student said she was honoured to receive such a prestigious award.
‘I was honestly very surprised when I was announced as the winner, due to the calibre of the competition in my category, but it was very exciting to know that all of my hard work paid off,’ Madison said.
The nationwide competition aims to connect Australian University students with top graduate employers, allowing them to develop their application, communication and personal skills.
The overarching application process lasted six months and involved many assessment stages, from initial written application through to psychometric testing, video interviews and a cumulative assessment centre.
‘The judges in my category communicated that they were looking for us to demonstrate a customer focus, integrity, courage, natural leadership, empathy and teamwork.’
As an active member of the QUT community, Madison recognises that the opportunities that QUT has presented to her have contributed to her success.
‘QUT has provided me with a myriad of worthwhile professional and personal development opportunities including Leadership and Development workshops, Business Advantage workshops and work-integrated learning experiences. All of these experiences have helped me to provide detailed, effective responses to questions in the interview and they have enhanced my capabilities as a future industry leader.’
Berni Cooper, Strategic Lead, Career Development and Engagement at QUT agreed Madison worked hard on developing her employability by engaging with QUT’s co-curricular development opportunities.
‘Madison has been committed to developing her employability through QUT’s co-curricular development opportunities such as Leadership and Development workshops, Business Advantage, Careers Coaching and so much more. I am proud to see Madison win this award and of all three QUT students nominated in the Top 100 Future Leaders of Australia Competition.’
Madison plans to commence her career in management consulting, strategy development or marketing following her graduation from QUT this year.
‘I am excited to enter the workforce as one of the nation’s top future leaders, and to apply all of the knowledge that I have gained during my time at QUT.’
The Top 100 Future Leaders Competition is run annually by GradConnection in conjunction with Chandler Macleod and the Australian Financial Review (AFR).