Student Leadership Awards

Award categories - individuals

Volunteer of the Year Award 2026

This award recognises a current Victoria University student who has made an outstanding contribution to the university and/or the broader community through volunteering. The recipient of this award will receive a $500 prize.

Eligibility criteria: You must have completed a unit of study during 2026 at VU or VU TAFE. You must have completed a volunteer activity either through VU or in the community during the 2026. Previous award recipients cannot apply for the same award in the subsequent year.

 Apply for Volunteer of the Year Award

 VU Spirit Award: International Student 2026

This award recognises a current VU international student who has made an outstanding contribution to the VU community; this student embraces what it means to be an international student at Victoria University: the University of Opportunity and Success. The recipient of this award will receive a $500 prize.

Eligibility criteria: Must be an international student enrolled at an Australian VU campus in 2026. Previous award recipients cannot apply for the same award in the subsequent year.

 Apply for International Student award

 VU Spirit Award: Undergraduate Student 2026

This award recognises a current VU undergraduate student who has made an outstanding contribution to the VU community; this student embraces what it means to be an undergraduate student at Victoria University. The recipient of this award will receive a $500 prize.

Eligibility criteria: You must have completed a unit of undergraduate study during 2026 at an Australian VU campus. Previous award recipients cannot apply for the same award in the subsequent year.

 Apply for Undergraduate Student award

VU Spirit Award: Postgraduate Student 2026

This award recognises a current VU postgraduate coursework or research student who has made an outstanding contribution to the VU community; this student embraces what it means to be a postgraduate student at Victoria University. The recipient of this award will receive a $500 prize.

Eligibility criteria: Must be either a coursework or research postgraduate student enrolled at an Australian VU campus in 2026. Previous award recipients cannot apply for the same award in the subsequent year.

 Apply for Postgraduate Student award

VU Spirit Award: TAFE student 2026

This award recognises a Victoria University TAFE student who has demonstrated an ability to assist and lead within the classroom and practical environment or displays leadership and involvement in co-curricular and/or extracurricular activities. The recipient of this award will receive a $500 prize.

Eligibility criteria: Must be a current Victoria University TAFE student. Previous award recipients cannot apply for the same award in the subsequent year.

 Apply for TAFE student award

Outstanding Student Award 2026

This award, proudly sponsored by the Alumni Relations team, recognises a graduating student who has excelled academically and contributed to their community. It includes a 12-month alumni mentorship and a cash prize to support your professional journey.

Eligibility criteria: Must be a student at Victoria University completing or just completed their final year of study in 2026. Must have participated in at least one VU Leadership Activity.

 Apply for Outstanding Student Award

Raj Kannan Leadership Scholarship 2026

Mr Raj Kannan is one of Victoria University’s distinguished 90 Legends. He graduated from Footscray Institute of Technology (FIT) in 1988 with a Bachelor of Engineering. He is currently Partner and Executive Director, Deloitte Consulting South East Asia.

Mr Kannan believes that the leadership experience he gained at FIT was invaluable to his later career and as such he is passionate about giving back to the University. This award comes with a prize in the form of a $5,000 scholarship.

 Apply for Raj Kannan Leadership Scholarship

Award categories - teams

Team Award: Best New Student Group 2026

This award recognises the outstanding achievements of a Student Group that was established in 2026 and has benefited its members and the wider VU community. The recipients of this award will receive a $500 team prize.

Eligibility criteria: Must be a VU Student Club, Society or Student Association that newly affiliated in 2026. Must have had no breaches of the VU Student Leadership & Representation Policy. Must have hosted at least one event (including online events) in the current year.

Apply for Best New Student Group

Team Award: Student Group of the Year 2026

This award recognises an outstanding student group for their achievements and success in meeting their mission in 2026. The recipients of this award will receive a $500 team prize.

Eligibility criteria: Must be a VU Student Club, Society or Student Association that newly affiliated in 2026. Must have had no breaches of the VU Student Leadership & Representation Policy. Must have hosted at least one event (including online events) in the current year.

 Apply for Student Group of the Year

Team Award: Most Successful Event 2026

This Award recognises the most creative and successful Student Group event in 2026. The recipients of this award will receive a $500 team prize.

Eligibility criteria: Must be an affiliated VU Student Club, Society or Student Association. Must have had no breaches of the VU Student Leadership & Representation Policy. The event must have occurred this year (2026). There must be a registered attendance for the event.

 Apply for Most Successful Event

Awards ceremony

The Student Leadership Awards Ceremony will be held on Thursday 26 of November 2026.

Awards finalists are invited to attend the Student Leadership Awards ceremony to enjoy an evening celebrating our amazing student leaders with delicious food, drinks, networking, music and of course, the presentation of the Student Leadership Awards! 

Eligibility & supporting documents

Who is eligible? 

All students enrolled in any unit of study during the 2026 calendar year at Victoria University and Victoria University Polytechnic (VU) are eligible to apply for a Student Leadership Award. 

The Student Leadership Awards do not cover sporting or academic achievements, please refer to the VU Sport Awards, or contact your discipline college for information about college academic awards. 

Applicants must be prepared to give evidence that: 

• they are enrolled or have been enrolled in the current year 
• they have not been the subject of any substantiated misconduct claims. 

Previous award recipients cannot apply for the same award in the subsequent year. 

Application writing assistance 

Drop-in sessions with the Student Leadership team will be available via Zoom if you have any questions about the process or would like some assistance with your application. 

Supporting documents 

You must submit 2 references and/or testimonials as part of your application. You may also submit one A4 page of supporting evidence (e.g. testimonials, references, photographs, press cuttings etc).  

Links to external sources (Dropbox, Google Docs etc.) will not be considered. 

Tips for completing your application

When answering the Selection Criteria it is recommended that you apply the STAR technique. 

The STAR technique provides a framework for presenting information in response to Selection Criteria. It’s a way of providing clear examples or evidence of your skills, knowledge and approach to work. For each criterion, use the following elements to structure your answers. 

• Situation: Describe the situation/environment you were in. 
• Task: What goal were you working toward? 
• Action: What did you do? Set out the steps you took to achieve the result. Be detailed. 
• Result: What was the outcome? What did you accomplish? Did you achieve the goal you set out to achieve? What did you learn? Promote yourself and your achievements.

Individual awards

Moondani Balluk Aboriginal Student Award

This award recognises a current Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander VU student for their contribution to Victoria University and to the wider Aboriginal community.

The recipient of the Moondani Balluk Aboriginal Student Award will be selected by Moondani Balluk.

The recipient will receive a $500 prize.

Moondani Balluk Aboriginal Student Award 2025 – Adam Read, Bachelor of Education (EBED)

 

Volunteer of the Year Award

This award recognises a current Victoria University student who has made an outstanding contribution to the university and/or the broader community through volunteering. 

The recipient of this award will receive a $500 prize. 

Volunteer of the Year Award 2025 – Hai Pham, Master of Business Analytics (BMBU)

VU Spirit awards

VU Spirit Award: International student

This award recognises the outstanding contribution of a current VU international student to the VU community; this student embraces what it means to be an international student at Victoria University: the University of opportunity and success.

The recipient of this award will receive a $500 prize.

VU Spirit International Student Award 2025 – Ivy Fiecas, Master of Business Analytics (BMBU)

VU Spirit Award: Undergraduate student

This award recognises a current VU undergraduate student who has made an outstanding contribution to the VU community; this student embraces what it means to be an undergraduate student at Victoria University: the University of Opportunity and Success.

The recipient of this award will receive a $500 prize.

VU Spirit Undergraduate Student Award 2025 – Victor Hong, Bachelor of Information Technology (NBIT)

VU Spirit Award: Postgraduate student

This award recognises a current VU postgraduate coursework or research student who has made an outstanding contribution to the VU community; this student embraces what it means to be a postgraduate student at Victoria University: the University of Opportunity and Success.

The recipient of this award will receive a $500 prize.

VU Spirit Postgraduate Student Award 2025 – Saman Bakhtawar, Master of Education (EMED)

VU Spirit Award: TAFE student

This award recognises a TAFE student who has demonstrated an ability to assist and lead within the classroom and practical environment or displays leadership and involvement in co-curricular and/or extracurricular activities.

The recipient of this award will receive a $500 prize.

VU Spirit TAFE Student Award 2025 – Young Kwan Yun, Certificate IV in Plumbing and Services (CPC409220) 

Special awards

2025 Outstanding Student

This award is sponsored by Alumni Relations. The recipient of this award will receive a $500 prize.

The Victoria University Alumni community includes 301,000 graduates living and working in over 136 countries. If you are a graduate from VU, our TAFE division (formerly VU Polytechnic) or any of our predecessor or offshore institutions you automatically become a lifelong member of our alumni community.

Our alumni live the VU values of Always WEST: Welcoming, Ethical, Shaping the future, being Together. This award, proudly supported by the Alumni Relations team, has been designed to help the recipient receive the best chance of achieving their goals as they transition from student to employee.

This peak award includes a 12-month mentorship from an alumni leader in your chosen area and a cash prize to help you kick start your professional wardrobe or invest in some tech.

2025 Outstanding Student – Marcellia Veronika Jonathan, Bachelor of Business (BBNS)

 

Raj Kannan Leadership Scholarship

Mr Raj Kannan is one of Victoria University’s distinguished 90 Legends.

He graduated from Footscray Institute of Technology (FIT) in 1988 with a Bachelor of Engineering. He is currently Partner and Executive Director, Deloitte Consulting South East Asia. He was President of the Overseas Student Association and Co-President of the Student Representative Council and involved in other student leadership activities.

Mr Kannan believes that the leadership experience he gained at FIT was invaluable to his later career and as such he is passionate about giving back to the University.

As a result Mr Kannan has established a scholarship that will support and encourage students to undertake leadership activities at VU. This prestigious award comes with a prize in the form of a $5,000 scholarship.

Recipient obligations

• The recipient will be required to provide a report to the Scholarships office for VU and the donor showcasing their activities and impact of receiving the award.
• The recipient will be required to sit on the Selection Panel to determine the Raj Kannan Leadership Scholarship recipient for the following year.
• The recipient will also have the opportunity to participate in the Student Leadership Awards ceremony as a presenter or student host.

Raj Kannan Leadership Scholarship Award 2025 – Olive Mboya, Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Architectural Engineering) 

Team awards

Best New Student Group

This award recognises the outstanding achievements of a Student Group that was established in 2025 and has benefited its members and the wider VU community.

The recipients of this award will receive a $500 team prize.

2025 award: VU International Affairs Club: Trong Nhan Nguyen , Chanamon Wichaiphrom, Hoor Ethar

Student Group of the Year

This award recognises an outstanding Student Group for their achievements and success in meeting their mission in 2025.

The recipients of this award will receive a $500 team prize.

2025 award: Women in Tech – Jie (Summer) Xia, Deanne Pereira,  Ana Pieters

Most Successful Event

This Award recognises a student group that has delivered an outstanding event which significantly contributed to the student experience at Victoria University. The winning event will demonstrate strong planning, meaningful student engagement, positive impact, and alignment with the values of the Clubs Program and the broader university community.

The recipients of this award will receive a $500 team prize.

2025 awards: Victoria University Computer Science Society– Pankaj Bansal, Amandeep Kaur