2025 Employability Excellence awards
Hunter businesses and student entrepreneurs honoured at University of Newcastle Employability Excellence awards
The University of Newcastle has recognised its next generation of change-makers, from student entrepreneurs tackling waste and sustainability, as well as companies making a transformative impact on employment in the region.
Celebrating the achievements of seven students, and invaluable staff and industry partners, the Employability Excellence awards highlight the meaningful impact of Career-ready Placements, extracurriculars and innovative teaching.
University of Newcastle Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Alex Zelinsky, says the awards reflect the University’s commitment to producing life-ready graduates who can make an impact from day one.
“These students are already at the forefront of innovation and creativity in their respective fields. Our University is proud to offer a wide range of opportunities that enable students to develop their employability skills and gain professional experience, such as Career-Ready Placements,” Professor Zelinsky said.
“The awards recognise students who’ve not only demonstrated leadership, but the curiosity and courage to turn their ideas into meaningful action, with over 90 students nominated this year.”
PhD candidate in Biological Sciences Claudia Bruinsma has been named Student Entrepreneur of the Year for her pioneering work in sustainable biotechnology.
While studying her PhD, Claudia founded Zyora, a startup turning brewery and biotech by-products into skincare.
Inspired by a desire to rethink how society uses waste and resources, Claudia has built on her previous venture experience, where she attracted support from the CSIRO, Federal Government, and the University’s Integrated Innovation Network (I2N) Accelerator program.
“The impact I'm hoping to create with Zyora is getting rid of one of our major waste streams. Breweries and wineries create hundreds of thousands of tonnes of bio waste every year, we’re using that to create everyday products,” Claudia said.
“We're enabling that circular economy in an industry where that probably wasn't thought about. As a scientist, you don't think you're going to be winning entrepreneur awards. I'm grateful I can take this and show people that the pathway to commercialisation is a real one, and not a scary one.”
See the full list of winners and find out more about the awards here.
