With curriculum time getting busier and busier, a great way to inspire and empower students is before and after school with extracurricular programs for students. Our after school programs are fantastic at doing this and allow us to get students thinking big and focussing on cross-curricular, project-based learning as they tackle challenges, build skills and work on projects that get them thinking about the world around them and the exciting opportunities open to their generation.
With everything from designing future cities to launching influencer brands, building businesses, working with technology and more, we have a range of standard programs to choose from, or we're able to customise a program to your school community. Our after school programs typically run for 6-8 weeks and cost $30 per student per week.
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The Young Innovator Of The Year award will go to a young person who has demonstrated the ability to think big and innovate as they have developed an out-of-the-box solution to a challenge they have identified.
A young innovator is a curious thinker who uses their creativity and problem-solving skills to find new ways of doing things. Innovators love to challenge the status quo and think outside of the box as they work to design impactful solutions to problems presented to them.
For our Young Innovator Of The Year Award, we're looking for young people who love to dream up new ideas before then finding ways to turn these ideas into reality. Young innovators can often be found building their skills at hackathons and workshops, working with others to improve things around their school and local community, or working with organisations big and small to develop innovative ideas for them.
Whether you're an aspiring inventor who loves to create new things, an expert hacker who is always working on a new project, or a big-picture thinker who is always finding ways to solve problems for people in their community, this is the category for you!
Nominations Open Monday the 28th of April
Nomination Questions:
As part of the Young Innovator Award Category, all nominees will be asked to provide answers to the following questions in 800 characters or less per question:
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What is the innovative projects you are working on, and how do they work?
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What problems or challenges did you identify that led to your innovative solutions, and what inspired you to address these issues?
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Can you explain how your solutions have or will impact your community or intended user?
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What have been some of the biggest obstacles you have faced along your journey, and how have you overcome them?
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How have you collaborated with others, to develop and implement your innovative solution? This could be working in a team, asking for support from mentors, attending networking events or something else!
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Is there anything else you wish to share?
Eligibility Criteria:
To be able to nominate for the Young Innovator Of The Year award category, you must meet the following eligibility criteria:
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Must live in Australia
Must be a enrolled in a primary or high school
Must have the approval of a parent or guardian to nominate
Showcase Your Skills & Promote Your Projects
Judging Criteria:
All nominations for the Young Innovator Award Category will be judged by a panel of industry innovators using the following criteria. Each criterion will be weighted equally:
Skill Building
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How has this young person worked to develop their innovation skills? Has this young person worked to refine their skills and access opportunities for skill development?
Application & Implementation
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How has this young person worked to apply their innovation skills? Have they been able to bring their ideas to life? What impact have their innovative projects made?
Passion & Drive
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Has this young person demonstrated a passion for their work and projects? How has this young person shown resilience along their journey when things haven't gone to plan?
Future Focus
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Has this young person demonstrated a desire to continue developing and implementing their innovation skills? Where do they hope to go next and do they have a clear path to get there?
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Become Australia's Next Young Innovator Of The Year
Meet Our Past Finalists:
Since launching, the Next Gen Awards have seen some outstanding nominations from young innovators and emerging STEM leaders from across the country. To meet past finalists for the Young Innovator Of The Year, make sure to click on their graphics below:
Nominations:
If this award category sounds like you, we would absolutely love to see your nomination! Nominations for this award are open to all primary and high school students in Australia in 2025. You are able to nominate yourself or someone you know for this award.
If you're not sure whether or not this is the category for you, nominate anyway as you never know, you could be Australia's next Young Innovator Of The Year!
Nominations for the 2025 Next Gen Awards will be opening on the 28th of April. Stay tuned for updates!
Other Categories:
The Young Innovator Of The Year Award is just one of the four awards up for grabs as part of the Next Gen Awards in 2025. To see what other categories are open for nomination, click the button below.