Pro Vice-Chancellor, Student Success, Professor Jessica Vanderlelie won the Emerging Leader Award and the Community Engagement Award was awarded to La Trobe’s Accelerator Program.
Vice-Chancellor Professor John Dewar congratulated both winners on their significant achievement.
“To win two AFR Higher Education Awards is a fantastic achievement and recognises the significant contribution both Professor Vanderlelie and our Accelerator Program have made to the Australian Higher Education sector and, most importantly, to the lives of our students and graduates,” Professor Dewar said.
Professor Vanderlelie was awarded the Emerging Leader Award, recognising “transformational leadership” in any aspect of teaching or administration.
“Throughout her career Professor Vanderlelie has demonstrated sustained and outstanding leadership in learning and teaching in Australian Higher Education making a real difference to student and graduate success,” Professor Dewar said.
The Community Engagement Award was won by La Trobe’s Accelerator Program; a unique initiative run across Melbourne and regional Victoria, funding entrepreneurial innovation. The program provides La Trobe students, researchers, alumni and the wider community with the opportunity to develop their ideas into viable businesses.
“I congratulate Accelerator Director Dr Cerasela Tanasescu and her team on winning this award for an initiative which truly reflects the University’s focus on supporting innovation, especially in regional Victoria,” Professor Dewar said.
Professor Dewar also acknowledged the University’s Autonomous Bus team who were finalists in the Industry Engagement Award.
The ARF Higher Education awards were judged by an independent panel of eminent higher education veterans and are an AFR initiative to highlight, at a national level, the tremendous contribution that the Higher Education sector makes to Australian prosperity and quality of life.
Media Contact: Claire Bowers – c.bowers@latrobe.edu.au - 9479 2315 / 0437279903
