Faculty of Engineering

Humanitarian Innovation Awards

Engineering solutions for the most vulnerable

Our Professor Ron Johnston Humanitarian Innovation Awards encourage and rewards students by challenging them to engineer cutting-edge solutions that positively impact people around the world.

With growing humanitarian needs and limited funding, innovative solutions are vital to assist the most vulnerable groups in new and efficient ways.

Our annual Professor Ron Johnston Humanitarian Innovation Awards is a means of doing just that, by encouraging and rewarding university students to create cutting-edge solutions that could save lives and make a positive impact on people around the world!

John Donohoe, Project Officer - Database Administrator
Email: engineering.external@sydney.edu.au
Address: J12 - School of Computer Science Building The University of Sydney NSW 2006 Australia

What is the Humanitarian Innovation Hackathon?

Our Humanitarian Innovation Hackathon is an annual event designed for undergraduate university students to work in cross-discipline teams to create technology-driven solutions for the most pressing humanitarian challenges.

The Hackathon is a weekend-long hybrid program open to all university students in Australia, New Zealand and The Pacific Islands.

TWC Hackathon 2024

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Watch the webinar

Learn more about the Hackathon

Register your interest

Past Hackathon winners

Hackathon Innovation Winner (Medal and $5,000)

"Team SydGong Solutions"

  • Casey Lockrey (University of Sydney)
  • Harrison Ledger (University of New South Wales)
  • Nicholas Chiaverini (University of Wollongong)
  • Liam Harvey (University of Wollongong)

Hackathon Innovation Runner Up Prize ($3,000)

"Team Kesh"

  • Ellie June (University of Sydney)
  • Hannah Poon (University of Sydney)
  • Sophia Lee (University of Sydney)
  • Kathy Kim (University of Sydney)

Hackathon Innovation 3rd Prize ($1,000)

"Team UC"

  • Wiseson Kuang (University of Canterbury)
  • Vaughan Smart (University of Canterbury)
  • Kien Ngo (University of Canterbury)
  • Jessica Dixon (University of Canterbury)

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

"Team 1A Heatbloc"

  • Adam Slimming (University of Adelaide)
  • Alex Hofman (Monash University)
  • Gemma Biezen (Monash University)
  • Sam Hillcoat (Monash University)

Hackathon Innovation Runner Up Prize (Medal and $3,000)

"Team 9A Nucleus"

  • Elvera Abdel-Messih (University of Technology Sydney)
  • Ji Han Qin (The University of Sydney)

Hackathon Innovation 3rd Prize ($1,000)

"Team 14C The IT Crowd"

  • Angus Henderson (The University of Sydney)
  • Wesley Henderson (University of Technology Sydney)
  • Franco Yemma (The University of Sydney)

Solarobotix Digital Innovation Prize ($1,000)

"Team 13B Pacific Green Machine"

  • Arushanan Prapakaran (University of New South Wales)
  • Connor Sinclair (The University of Sydney)
  • Zhiyu Cheng (The University of Sydney)
  • Ritvik Sharma (The University of Sydney)

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 Appointment

"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)

What is the Humanitarian Innovation Pitch?

Our Humanitarian Innovation Pitch is an annual national prize recognising postgraduate by coursework and higher degree by research (HDR) university students for conducting research that can be applied to address pressing issues facing underserved or marginalised communities.

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The Pitch is designed to raise the profile of Postgraduate and HDR student research that has made or has the potential to make contributions to addressing humanitarian or development challenges.

In particular, the Pitch seeks to encourage students to think about how governments, institutions, non-governmental organisations, and communities might apply their research.

  • Entrants must be a postgraduate coursework or higher degree by research (HDR) student currently enrolled at an Australian university or have completed a Postgraduate or HDR degree from an Australian university within the last 6 months
  • Entries must be individual - team submissions are not permitted 
  • An individual may only make one submission 
  • Entrants will be required to provide evidence of their eligibility under these rules as part of their submission. Example of evidence is a university ID card.

First place

  • Cash prize of $1,000 AUD.
  • One complimentary conference registration for the PTC Conference, held January 18 – 21 2026, with a travel stipend to help fund a round-trip economy class airfare from the winner’s closest major airport to Hawaii and five-night hotel accommodation.

Second place

  • Cash prize of $2,000 AUD.

Third place

  • Cash prize of $1,000 AUD.

Entrants must put forward a submission in which they connect their postgraduate coursework or HDR degree research to a real problem in a humanitarian or development context (post-disaster, protracted crisis, development assistance or otherwise). Basic or applied research will be considered, but there must be a connection made to practical solutions for communities. 

The research must make a clear connection to one or more of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The submission is to be made up of: 

  • Individual details 
  • Portrait photo 
  • An abstract of the research of up to 200 words, including an accompanying optional graphical abstract
  • A video (aka The Pitch), up to a maximum of 5 minutes 
  • Supporting the documentation (optional), limited to one published journal article, conference paper, or other written work, and 
  • Acceptance of the terms and conditions.

Video criteria: 

  • Submitted in MP4 
  • Wide frame orientation (no reel/story/TikTok orientation)
  • File size of 500-600MB
  • Maximum 5 minutes in duration 
  • File name must be the full name of the participant.

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 that do not fit conventional and 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.

  • Submissions open: 12 May to 8 September 2025
  • Judging: 22 September to 5 October 2025
  • Winner’s Announcement: 14 October 2025
  • PTC Conference: 18 January to 21 January 2026

The judges will place emphasis on the Pitch video. The applicant may elect any form of content within the Pitch. This may include slides, animation, or other graphics. Applicants are advised to ensure that their Pitch is clear and definitive in describing the problem and research within the nominated time limits. Videos must not exceed 5 minutes in duration. 

Submissions must be concise and demonstrate the contributions of the research to both theory and practice. Evaluation criteria will be the degree to which the research:

The problem 

  1. Addresses a real and pressing humanitarian or development problem;
  2. Identifies a clear gap in knowledge with existing literature.

The research 

  1. Uses appropriate and clear research methods;
  2. Is novel, original and innovative.

The benefits

  1. Describes clear recommendations for practice with defined target end-users;
  2. Considers cross-cutting sectoral issues such as localisation, disability inclusion, gender, and protection.

Communication

  1. Tells an effective and clear story of need and impact for the research

Past Pitch winners

Professor Ron Johnston Prize in Humanitarian Innovation Winner 

Emily Nabong (The University of Sydney): "Empowering Climate Resiliency with an Interactive Policy Tool"

Second place

Phyllis Wairimu Ngugi (Bond University): "Tackling Food Insecurity Through Traditional Preservation Methods"

Third place 

Mahima Pivithuru Herath Herath Mudiyanselage (Griffith University): "Barrier-free Medical Services; Enhancing the accessibility to Primary Healthcare services in Zaatari Refugee Camp, Jordan"

Professor Ron Johnston Prize in Humanitarian Innovation Winner 

Arvin Hadlos (The University of Sydney): "Analysing multi-hazard housing reconstruction strategies in the Philippines"

Second place

Sabita Adhikari (The University of Sydney): "Sanitation: Latrine front-end characteristics"

Third place 

Isaac Besarra (The University of Sydney): "Flood risk for residential buildings in the Philippines"

Professor Ron Johnston Prize in Humanitarian Innovation Winner 

"Team Lumos"

  • Jimmy Deng (The University of Sydney)
  • Layla Eddie (University of Technology Sydney)
  • Hassan Al Hassan (The University of Sydney)

Runner up

"Team Cloudburst"

  • Maya Weston (Monash University)
  • Kalutotage Sineka Bihiduni Sirinada (Monash University)
  • Alistair Wastlhuber (Monash University)

Professor Ron Johnston Prize in Humanitarian Innovation Winner 

"Team Flux"

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

Runner Up 

"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 

"Team Orinum"

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

Runner Up 

"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 

"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)

About Ron Johnston

Professor Ron Johnston

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Professor Ron Johnston, the former Executive Director of the Australian Centre for Innovation (ACIIC), has worked for more than 30 years to pioneer a better understanding of the ways that science and technology contribute to economic and social development, the characteristics of the global knowledge economy, and the processes and culture of innovation.

His special skill is based on the breadth of his knowledge across technologies and his ability to integrate them into a socioeconomic and environmental context.

These annual awards are named in honor of him, to recognise his outstanding contributions as Director of ACIIC for some 20+ years.