Humanitarian Innovation Awards

• Cardno
• GHD
• Laing O'Rourke
• RedR

First Prize: RedR Ron Johnston Rapid Response Prize (Prize: Medal and $5,000)

"Team Ashaway"

• Henry Howard (University of Sydney)
• Vicky-Rae Reed (Western Sydney University)
• Hogun Lim (University of Queensland)
• Nadia Akbar (Monash University)

Vonwiller Humanitarian Innovation Runner Up Prize

"Team Alma Aqua"

• Alex Hofman (Monash University)
• Alex Qin (Australian National University)
• Nyamjargal Namsraijav (University of Adelaide)
• Shute Zhang (University of Sydney)

Laing O'Rourke for Best Presentation (Prize: $1,000)

"Team Alma Aqua"

First Prize: RedR Ron Johnston Rapid Response Prize (Prize: Medal and $5,000)

"Team Aegis"

• Edith Lume (University of Wollongong)
• Mansour Adie (University of Sydney)
• Thomas Sau (MacquarieUniversity)
• Ivy He (University of Sydney)

Vonwiller Humanitarian Innovation Runner Up Prize

"Solomon Says"

• Emily Sacks (University of Sydney)
• Gayathri Aranhiyullathil Pradeep (University of New South Wales)
• Rebecca Kung (University of Sydney)
• Akrita Singh (Macquarie University)
• Aishwarya Kathikeuan (Macquarie University)

Engineers Australia People's Choice Award

"Solomon Says"

• Emily Sacks (University of Sydney)
• Gayathri Aranhiyullathil Pradeep (University of New South Wales)
• Rebecca Kung (University of Sydney)
• Akrita Singh (Macquarie University)
• Aishwarya Kathikeuan (Macquarie University)

First Prize: RedR Ron Johnston Rapid Response Prize (Prize: Medal and $5,000)

"H2ArchipelagO"

• Alex Hofmann (Monash University)
• Allan Soo (University of Technology Sydney)
• Ben Hofmann (Australian National University)
• Emily Unewisse (University of Adelaide)
• James Hurst (Australian National University)

Pacific Telecommunications Council / Beyond Essential Humanitarian Internship Appointent

"Winter is not Coming"

• Katia Moors (University of Sydney)
• Thomas Sau (Macquarie University

Pacific Telecommunications Council First Prize for Best Humanitarian Digital Innovation

"Greys Humanity"

• Alida Fois from (University of Melbourne)
• Celina Dhobbie (Monash University)
• Charvi Mamidi (University of Sydney)
• Portia Sihvola (Queensland University of Technology)

Pacific Telecommunications Council Second Prize for Best Humanitarian Digital Innovation

"Fortitude"

• Avanish Shrestha (University of Sydney)
• Isabella Notarpietro (University of New South Wales)
• Rafe Skidmore (University of Sydney)
• Meg Phillips (University of Tasmania)
• Syed Emaad Rizwan (Macquarie University)

First Prize: RedR Ron Johnston Rapid Response Prize (Prize: Medal and $5,000)

“Fran’s boys” 

• Cameron Choi (University of Sydney)
• Fransiska Bekti (University of Sydney)
• Kevin Miao (University of Sydney)
• Mark Cavanna (University of Sydney)
• Terrence Darma (University of Sydney)

Second: “whereto”

• Aisha Warsame (Deakin University)
• Brittany Gardner (University of Sydney)
• Harshita Jyoti (Australian National University) 
• Madeline Liddle (Australian National University) 
• Seo Woo Bae (University of Sydney)

Third: “Illuninate”

• Adele van der Winden (Queensland University of Technology)
• Liam McAllister (Queensland University of Technology)
• Riley de Jong (Queensland University of Technology)
• Tasfia Quader (Macquarie University)
• Thomas Larkin (Australian National University)

Laing O’Rourke best presentation: “Rafts & Rails”

• Boran Wang (University of Sydney)
• Jasper Rasmussen (University of Sydney)
• Joseph Malicdem (Macquarie University)
• Qiting Huang (University of Sydney)
• Victor Zhuang (University of Sydney)

Professor Ron Johnston Prize in Humanitarian Innovation Winner (Prize: Medal, $2,500, Cardno internship and automatic entry into hackathon)

"Team Flux"

• Mansour Adie (University of Sydney)
• Jimmy Deng (University of Sydney)
• Ivy He (University of Sydney)
• Sharon Davids (University of Sydney)

Runner Up (Prize: GHD internship and automatic entry into hackathon)

"Team Collectous"

• Katherine Feng (Australian National University)
• Shaoheng Xu (Australian National University)
• Hang Sheng (Australian National University)
• Zirui Chen (Australian National University)

Professor Ron Johnston Prize in Humanitarian Innovation Winner (Prize: Medal, $2,500, Cardno internship and automatic entry into hackathon)

"Team Orinum"

• Vanathy Arudselvan (University of Sydney)
• Yeeun Cho (University of Sydney)

Runner Up (Prize: GHD internship and automatic entry into hackathon)

"The Double A Team"

• Ally Moodie (Queensland University of Technology)
• Adele van der Winden (Queensland University of Technology)

Professor Ron Johnston Prize in Humanitarian Innovation Winner (Prize: Medal, $2,500, Cardno internship and automatic entry into hackathon)

"Team GB"

• Georgia Odlin (University of Sydney)
• Ella Lambert (University of Sydney)

Runner Up (Prize: GHD internship and automatic entry into hackathon)

"Monica’s Peers"

• Mark Cavanna (University of Sydney)
• Kevin Miao (University of Sydney)
• Cameron Choi (University of Sydney)
• Terrence Darma (University of Sydney)

"Bio-Engineering for River Banks"

• Riley de Jong (Queensland University of Technology)
• Liam McAllister (Queensland University of Technology)
• Adele van der Winden (Queensland University of Technology)

"Team Sloth"

• Ethan Hastings (Charles Sturt University)
• Zac Stanford (Charles Sturt University)
• Marcus Dege (Charles Sturt University)
• James Griffiths (Charles Sturt University)

• International and national university students, domiciled in Australia and studying at any Australian University;
• Students studying in any discipline but preferably “STEM-capable participants” studying for degrees in engineering and/or computer science; the reason for this preference is because of the emphasis on “engineering” innovations;
• Full-time and part-time students can participate;
• Entry may be made by groups of 2 to 4 individuals working as a team;
• Entrants will be required to provide evidence of their eligibility under these rules as a part of their submission.

Participants of the Humanitarian Innovation Pitch must follow the below rules and guidelines: 

• participants must be national and international university students studying at any Australian university for the entirety of 2023
• entries must be made by a group of 2-4 individuals working as a team
• teams must include strong STEM capabilities and it is recommended to include members studying for degrees in technology or engineering programs
• teams can also include appropriate non–STEM skills as needed to create, deliver and implement the innovative solution
• entrants will be required to provide evidence of their eligibility under these rules as a part of their submission (example of evidence is a university ID card), and a
• an individual may only participate in a single team. She/he cannot work across multiple teams.

See the full list of terms and conditions in the awards portal.

To enter in the Humanitarian Innovation Pitch, register through the awards portal and submit your pitch by the closing date.

Participants must submit:

• their team details
• a summaru of the problem they are trying to solve and the solution (up to 100 words)
• a five minute video (the Pitch)
• a digital A3 poster which defines the problem statement and proposed solution
• a group photo of the team
• a reference file, and
• acceptance of terms and conditions.

Judging will take place once submissions close. Full submission details and requirements are available through the awards portal. 

Participants should look to select a focus area which:

• presents a real problem in a humanitarian or a developing country context
• has a connection to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
• addresses needs which do not fit conventional commercial finance driven markets and are therefore “orphans” to traditional market solutions, and
• the solution aims to alleviate or address the needs of disadvantaged communities or groups that may be overlooked by traditional engineering and technology projects.

Submission dates for 2023 will be available soon.

First place (the Professor Ron Johnston Prize in Humanitarian Innovation winner) will receive:

•  $2500 cash (split evenly among the winners)
• a “Professor Ron Johnston Prize in Humanitarian Innovation” medallion
• a UN SDG pin for each team member, and
• and 80-hr internship with GHD for each team member.

GHD has the desire to provide a meaningful opportunity, and propose each intern can select from the following placements:

• an intern within the International Development Assistance team
• an intern within GHD Advisory business (likely re economic business case development)
• an intern with GHD internal charity organisation - GHD Foundation (supporting GHD funded community legacy projects)
• interns with internal step up initiatives including Future Energy, Future Communities or Future Water, or
• an intern with GHD indigenous services team

Each team member of the runner up team will receive:

• a UN SDG pin
• a 4-week Cardno internship

All participations of the Pitch will receive automatic entry into the 2022 Humanitarian Innovation Hackathon.

Submissions will be evaluated on the degree to which the humanitarian innovation addresses the below criteria.

The pitch:

• addresses a real and pressing problem
• analyses the context of the problem and develops a practical solution for the target community or persons

The innovation:

• uses appropriate engineering skills, knowhow and technologies
• is novel, original and innovative
• is environmentally sound and sustainable
• is technologically sound, cost effective and workable in proposed environment
• includes an evidence-based mechanism to assess the value/efficacy of their innovation, and
• demonstrates familiarity with humanitarian quality measures, such as the Sphere Standards

The benefits of the innovation:

• must consider the vulnerable, including disability, diversity & gender protection, and
• must consider the number of people helped and the alleviation impact (initial severity/improvement of condition) of the solution.

An actual demonstration or other proof of practicality of the solution will be highly considered.