A gala event to celebrate the most influential Queenslanders under the age of 40 has seen awards given to eight QUT alumni and academic leaders.
More than 300 nominations were received for the 40 Under 40 Awards which is a globally-recognised program to celebrate the state's leading entrepreneurs, innovators and future business leaders aged less than 40 years old.
QUT has featured prominently in the awards for the second consecutive year with a fifth of this year's 40 recipients linked to the university as either alumni or currently serving academic staff.
Lifting the profile of academia in the top 40 this year is QUT School of Electrical Engineering and Robotics Senior Lecturer, QUT Centre for Robotics Chief Investigator and ARC DECRA Fellow Dr Tobias Fischer, whose groundbreaking work in robotics is equipping robots with abilities to safely navigate and intelligently interact with humans.
The top award of the evening was won by 2023 QUT Outstanding Alumni Award recipient, Like a Photon Creative CEO and co-founder Kristen Souvlis.
Ms Souvlis' multi award-winning studio has produced $52m worth of feature films for international industry giants including Disney, Sesame Street and the Universal Pictures Content Group.
Other QUT alumni to make the 40 Under 40 list for 2024 include:
- Anaphora Productions Director Amy Parry
- Access Arts Festival Director Madeleine Little
- Propel Health AI Founder and CEO Navid Toosi Saidy
- Dead Puppet Society Co-Founder and Executive Producer Nicholas Paine
- The Tides Creative Production Co-Founder and Director Rowena Taylor-Griffiths
- Discount Drug Store Managing Pharmacist Martinique Aprile
The 40 Under 40 Awards are presented by independent news organisation InQueensland and The Weekend Edition.
QUT supported the program this year as the platinum sponsor with QUT Vice-President Engagement and Chief Marketing Officer Professor Mark Harvey representing the university at the gala event and celebrating the many QUT alumni in the audience as well as those receiving awards.
Professor Harvey said the impact of QUT alumni across communities and the globe reinforced the university's real-world reputation and commitment to providing a transformative learning environment through work integrated learning and the development of entrepreneurial skills.
"Our graduates are changing lives and making a real-world difference in ways that demonstrate the truly international standing of our university," he said.
Professor Harvey said the awards were a welcome counterpoint to the negativity and global unrest being felt around the world.
"With all the negativity and challenges the world has at the moment, 40 Under 40 brings the focus to the young people in our community and how they are trying to change the world for the better," he said.
"This is the best therapy for the troubles of the world right now. This is what gets me out of bed in the morning, this is what gives me faith in the future, faith in our youth."
Dr Fischer said he was humbled to be the only academic to be included in the globally recognised awards program celebrating the finest young Queensland leaders and entrepreneurs and hoped the representation of academics increased in future years.
"This is a very important award, it's not one of the usual academic awards," Dr Fischer said.
"It is great to be acknowledged in a wider scope by people outside of academia, people who feel connected to my story, my research and my passion as well."
Professor Harvey said academics were the quiet achievers behind much of Queensland's business success and he welcomed the increased profile brought to the profession through the award program this year.
"There are academics in our universities that drive success and prosperity in many Australian businesses," Professor Harvey said. "If we can continue to harness this amazing asset, then the sky is the limit."
QUT Centre for Robotics Director Professor Michael Milford said now was the time for university researchers and academics to prioritise telling their stories to a wider audience.
"What we were doing as academics 40 years ago was fine but we're in 2024 now and the onus has really changed," Professor Milford said.
"It's important for researchers and academics to really engage and show the world why what they're doing is really important, and Tobi is a fantastic example of doing this."
"Tobi has this amazing halo effect and it rubs off on everyone around him. Everyone is more positive, enthusiastic and passionate about what they do."
The 40 Under 40 Award event was held at the Howard Smith Wharves, with famed Indigenous artist and elder Maroochy Barambah welcoming the 250 attendees to lands that have been places of teaching and learning for thousands of years.
QUT alumnus, Australian actor and singer Naomi Price, was the Master of Ceremonies while multi-award-winning educator and entrepreneur Nicole Dyson gave an address as the founder of Future Anything which advocates for project-based learning and youth entrepreneurship.
Professor Milford said the strength of all award recipients was in the fact that they were not driven by award accolades.
"Awards are fantastic and we should celebrate them but I would bet that everyone in this room who was a finalist would have done what they have done even if they were guaranteed never to get a reward," he said.
"That philosophy is going to serve them well going into the future. But they should stop for a moment and smell the roses."
Main image: QUT Vice-President Engagement and Chief Marketing Officer Professor Michael Milford with 40 Under 40 winners Kristen Souvlis of Like a Photon Creative and Dr Tobias Fischer, of the QUT Centre for Robotics.
