2022

Professor Jack Beetson
Bachelor of Education (Adult Education), 1993; Diploma of Adult Education & Community Education, 1989

Professor Jack Beetson has dedicated his life to Aboriginal rights advancement, with a focus on dramatically improving literacy rates for First Nations adults. A proud Ngemba man from Western NSW, Beetson strongly believes ending intergenerational illiteracy in Indigenous communities starts with empowering adults.

To accomplish this mission, Professor Beetson helped found the Literacy for Life Foundation in 2013. As Executive Director, he fights for funding so the Aboriginal-led charity can continue its vital work. Hundreds have graduated from the foundation’s programs – a testament to Beetson’s real-world impact.

After an interrupted high school experience, Beetson returned to learning at age 28 at Tranby Aboriginal College. His unexpected move into teaching there cemented his belief in education’s power to create opportunities. Beetson would later become the Executive Director of Tranby.

Seeking official teaching qualification, Beetson enrolled at UTS in 1986. He and his classmates fought to ensure they remained owners of their Indigenous cultural work – an effort encouraged by their teachers. This willingness to challenge norms, fostered during his time at UTS, has remained a constant in Beetson’s work.

Spurred by the steadfast belief that learning is a fundamental human right, Beetson has worked tirelessly on a wide range of initiatives and programs since. As a consultant at Beetson & Associates, he’s advised some of the biggest governmental and corporate organisations in the country. He also spent time as a member of the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) and was on the UTS University Council.

But Beetson’s influence expands outside Australia. In 1997, he represented the country at UNESCO’s CONFINTEA V conference in Hamburg, helping develop the organisation’s first Indigenous adult education framework. He was honoured with a United Nations Unsung Hero Award in 2001 for Dialogue Among Civilizations – one of 12 winners that year. And in 2019 he was inducted into the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame.

The key to improving the next generation’s literacy rate is having literate adults to set a good example. It’s about making community-wide changes – taking them from low literacy to ones that value learning. 

Transcript

This award I think it's very humbling. 

Whatever I do, you never do it for awards. But I think aknowledgement is important when you put your life into a particular area of work, like I have in terms of Human Rights.

It's been a big part of my life so it does mean a lot. 

What I'd like to achieve in the coming years is, I'd love to see the campaign the literacy campaign model that I'm working with rolled out across the country and not just be available to Aboriginal people but to non-aboriginal people as well. Human rights are a funny thing they have no race if your human rights aren't being met or they're being violated it doesn't matter who you are.So I think that's critically important.

I believe that our life is full of defining moments but none of us should be defined by any one moment. 

You get so many knockbacks in your life you know. So many people say no, so many people say we can't afford it, it's not in the budget it's not this, it's not that. My answer to that is we can't afford to do nothing. That's the thing we can least afford is not doing anything.

I'm a great believer that if you're not passionate about something step aside and let someone who is passionate about that do it and go and find something you are passionate about. That's the advice I give my kids today. It's the advice I give any young people. You know if you find something you're passionate about you'll automatically be good at it because you're passionate about it and you'll never work a day in your life.

Sumeet Tappoo
Master of Business Administration, 2003; Bachelor of Business, 2001

Sumeet Tappoo is an internationally acclaimed singer and performing artist with 30 albums, 1,000-plus concert performances and several prestigious awards to his name. But his work off the stage and outside the recording studio deserves just as much praise.

While music is the rhythm of Sumeet's life, community service and philanthropy are the songs of it. He lives a life guided by the Indian philosophy of ‘Vasudaiva Kutumbakam’, which teaches that the entire world is one family. Also inspired by Sathya Sai Baba, who preached to love all and serve all, Sumeet believes everybody must share the responsibility of addressing global issues affecting the underprivileged.

Sumeet is still recording music and performing, while also striving to use his celebrity status to drive change. Although he lives in Mumbai, much of his philanthropic energy is focused abroad. In his birth country of Fiji, inspired by Sri Madhusudan Sai, a global spiritual and social service leader, Sumeet helped establish the state-of-the-art Children’s Heart Hospital – a first for the Pacific Island region. He is also the Director of the Sai Prema Foundation, which serves Fiji and its South Pacific neighbours via healthcare, education, nutrition and social service initiatives.

Whether entertaining fans or helping those in need, Sumeet lives life in the pursuit of excellence and with an attitude of gratitude – both things instilled in him while studying at UTS. Driven by educators to think outside the box, Sumeet continually redefined what he was capable of. For Sumeet, this award caps off an amazing learning journey and motivates him to push himself even further in all aspects of life. He looks forward to working with UTS on philanthropic initiatives in the future.  

The entire world is so deeply connected and interdependent – any problem anywhere in the world becomes our problem. We cannot simply ignore it. It is like our body – even the smallest toe injury disturbs the peace of our entire body, and to some extent, our existence. Therefore, it is time that humanity comes together as one and solves the problems that exist globally to alleviate the sufferings of the underprivileged.
 

Belinda Bentley
Master of Property Development, 2010

In her mid-20s, Belinda Bentley learned philanthropy is about more than money and your background. It’s also about time and talent – using your skills and capacity to help those in need.

Today, Belinda does that in a variety of ways. One avenue is 9Springs, the independent property investment, advisory and project management group she co-founded in 2016. As Director, Belinda uses her extensive knowledge and experience in the built environment sector as a force for good, spending much of her time helping not-for-profits unlock their potential.

This passion for positive change is deeply informed by her family’s experience. Her grandparents lived in social housing in Hong Kong. When her mother first arrived in Australia, she barely spoke English, and both she and Belinda’s father worked blue collar jobs. The support she and her family received from their community drives Belinda to fight for better affordable housing options and wrap-around services for all Australians. She does this in her Non-Executive Director role on the board of Link Wentworth Housing, one of Australia’s largest community housing providers.

Whilst studying at UTS, the theoretical concepts and practical insights she was exposed to helped Belinda understand the power of the built environment and better see the big picture.

Belinda is empowered by the idea of leaving a legacy of positively effecting communities through her projects. But her commitment to the social good goes far beyond that. She is passionate about diverse representation in leadership, and community housing. She fights for these causes as an active member of the Urban Development Institute of Australia NSW Diversity and Inclusion Committee and various roles with the Urban Land Institute (ULI), a global multidisciplinary research and education non-profit. This includes work with the ULI Asia Pacific Housing Council and the Sydney District Council.

Looking at past winners of this award gives me confidence that, if I stay on this trajectory, I can continue making positive change. I want to look back and see that I made a positive contribution on people’s lives. They don’t need to know that I even exist – it’s more just knowing that I helped.

Jaime Cheuk
Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) Diploma in Professional Engineering Practice, 2016

It hasn’t taken Jaime Cheuk long to make a huge impact on how Sydney looks, feels and operates.

The seeds of her impressive engineering career were planted early. Growing up in Baulkham Hills, Jaime found herself gravitating toward maths and science classes in school. After spending her day with facts and figures, she would walk home past construction crews building impressive new developments. Those two factors, and a love of LEGO, helped trigger her interest in civil engineering.

These days she does much more than admire from the footpath. As a Project Engineer for John Holland Group, Jaime has helped bring some of Sydney’s biggest mega infrastructure projects to life. The gratification of being involved from initial permit approvals through to handover is something she doesn’t take for granted.

Before she helped transform the city, Jaime studied a Bachelor of Civil Engineering at UTS. She points to two six-month internships during her degree as pivotal steppingstones that let her experience how engineers problem solve. These experiences equipped her with the tools to play crucial on-site roles, including planning and managing the operation of a slurry tunnel boring machine while working on the Sydney Metro City and Southwest projects.

Jaime doesn’t see herself as a trailblazer in the traditionally male-dominated fields of engineering and construction. But she does appreciate the importance of having a diverse range of people and voices in the industry. As somebody who was introduced to the profession by women, Jaime points to strong females in the sector for inspiration. She knows more representation increases the chances of people finding their passion for engineering and building.

UTS helped me realise the importance of continuous learning. Sites are filled with new knowledge and experience – there’s always new technology and techniques being used. And being willing to learn encourages innovation. Engineers are problem solvers, and a diversity of ideas from people of different backgrounds is vital for doing that.

Clarence Slockee
Bachelor of Business Administration (Indigenous), 2018

For more than 30 years, Clarence Slockee has poured his efforts into growing Australians’ knowledge of our First Nations culture and unique flora.

A proud Cudgenburra/Bundjalung man, Clarence’s passion for biodiversity shines through in many ways. Perhaps the avenue dearest to his heart is Jiwah, the 100% Aboriginal-owned company he founded in 2020.

As Director, Clarence and his team incorporate Indigenous cultural perspectives into green space urban design under their motto of ‘Native by design, nature by necessity’. He also works with other design teams to instil Connection to Country principles across medium- and large-scale developments around Sydney.

Clarence has also shared knowledge whilst an Education Officer with Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens and as Team Leader with the Barangaroo Delivery Authority through many years of environmental and cultural education,.

Clarence is driven to create development opportunities for young (and young at heart) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander entrepreneurs, whilst also increasing awareness and appreciation of our native species ecosystems and the threats of climate change, population growth and overdevelopment. He feels the experience of First Nations people caring for our Earth Mother for thousands of years, and their knowledge and connections, are crucial for rebuilding biodiversity in our urban ecologies. And  in turn develop a better appreciation of the diversity of Indigenous cultures.

His long list of achievements and accolades include a Public Service Medal during his time at the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney, being named 2020 Horticulturalist of the Year by the Australian Institute of Horticulture. As well as earning the 2021 Sustainability Future Shaper Award from Time Out magazine and the 2022 Chapter Presidents Award from the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects. Clarence also appeared at TEDxSydney in 2019 and has been seen on several popular TV shows, including Gardening Australia and Playschool.

UTS provided the foundation for Clarence’s success and helped sow the seeds of his work, exposing him to the business skills and frameworks that helped him launch Jiwah. He hopes to commence a Master of Environmental Management to continue these studies soon.

Australia’s native flora and fauna is unique and vital. Unfortunately, it’s under threat. We need to better understand and appreciate our local ecosystems and ecology. Through this, we can minimise our impacts, restore bushland and rejuvenate our natural systems.
 

Transcript

As any award it's nice to have recognition of hard work really but quite a long road to get to where I am now and I have quite a bit of that to having studied here at UTS so it's really nice to be able to share in some of that hard work through recognition of alumni award.

Generally from a business perspective I think it's just trying to support other young indigenous business people, entrepreneurs or people working in in a similar space in particularly in the infrastructure whether it be green infrastructure or whether it be various areas of construction and hopefully treading a little bit lighter.

My extended family aunties and uncles and my parents and grandparents always instilling in us that you know education is key there's no substitute for hard work really if you put your mind to something you can achieve it to have that that sense of purpose, but also the support of family and my immediate family now my wife and my children have been able to not only support me but of you know probably put up with quite a bit in the working full-time studying full-time and then you know just trying to make a difference and trying to remember that work-life balance and and the family time.

Aisha Jalil
Master of Management (Sport Management), 2010 

Aisha Jalil has dedicated her career to helping close the gap in women’s sports in her home country Pakistan. She strives to break attitudinal barriers and inspire other girls to enjoy the sport she loves so dearly – cricket.

Aisha’s love for cricket blossomed early. She fondly remembers playing street cricket with her brothers and family. Aisha’s love of sport is in her very DNA. Her mother was a college athlete, her dad played college volleyball and her uncle was a member of the domestic cricket set up in Lahore.

Soon, Aisha moved from the street to the pitch, playing as a bowler and tail-end batter, polishing her skills until she was selected for Pakistan’s first Women’s International Cricket Team in 1997. With the team, she set off on tour to play against New Zealand and Australian Teams. On tour, Aisha was promoted as an opening batter – making her the first woman to face the cricket ball on an international stage for Pakistan.

On the last stop of that tour, Aisha visited Australia and vowed to return to study, and help other sports-loving girls like her achieve their dreams. Twelve years later, she was back for her Master of Management at UTS. Here she gained a multitude of experiences to improve her sports management skills. Including the opportunity to organise a sports showcase event that hosted delegates from around the globe.

Today, Aisha works to make women’s sport more equitable as a Player and a Game Development and Team Manager for Women’s Cricket at the Pakistan Cricket Board. She also continues to develop talent programs for young girls in cricket. They prepare the girls for a career as an elite athlete while teaching them life skills. Currently, she is also preparing an under-19 women’s team for the 2023 U19 Cricket World Cup.

In the future, Aisha hopes to help create a dedicated women’s cricket facility in Pakistan, where women can hone their skills and be seen as equals inside and outside the boundary. She also plans to work within the international cricket scene – of both genders – to break the stereotypes about women in sports. Aisha dedicates this award to her loving mother, who supported her sports career and made her the person she is today.

Women should have the right to pursue their dreams and passions. I want to make sure other girls who want a cricket career have that pathway, and the support to reach their goals.

Transcript

It’s almost been 12 years since I have been working with sports and especially with cricket.

It feels just great because it's been so many years and I've been working and I've you know there's hardly any recognition anywhere. So the only recognition or probably the inspiration and motivation that I had was seeing the players come through the pathway programs.

So, this is just amazing that a country like Australia recognising my efforts.

UTS provided me the platform to actually outshine in my career because professors and the teachers over here they they were very open to me doing any kind of projects that I wanted to really that you know my heart was into it. So they they just you know gave me that platform okay fine Aisha you want to do this go for it. So this is something that you know once once you have that liberty to exercise your ideas you tend to create good things.

Women who aspire to be a part of the sporting circle may be cricket or maybe any other sport, it's a difficult journey if we expect people to get results instantly or you know get recognitions and all it doesn't happen that fast. So what you need to have your internal motivation to do and you know a drive to make sure that you continue doing what you're doing. This is something that I tell people and you know one day you will be recognised for whatever you've done in in your life in your career.

Dr Sabera Turkmani
PhD Health, 2020

The 2000s were a time of extreme violence and inequality for Afghani women living under Taliban rule. After escaping to Iran before age of 2, Dr Sabera Turkmani returned home to Afghanistan in 2003 as a fresh midwifery graduate eager to help millions of women in need. For the next 12 years she worked with USAID, establishing midwifery practices throughout the country through initiatives such as the Afghan Midwives Association, the Afghan Midwifery & Nursing Council and the Nursing and Midwifery Act.

Her life-saving efforts helped increase the number of midwives in the country from 460 to 4,500, while the maternal mortality rate dropped from 1,800 per 100,000 births to 300. The program transformed lives – in myriad ways. With their new midwifery skills and knowledge, women who previously felt helpless and invisible instead became inspiring role models.

But Dr Turkmani realised she could have an even bigger impact if she combined her extensive experience in the field with research skills. So she moved to Australia to pursue a life in academia in 2013, when she began as a research assistant at UTS.

Her first project centred on female genital mutilation (FGM). The use of her findings around the world showed her the power of academia in action – the magnitude with which data can be shared with other organisations fighting for justice.

Dr Turkmani then pursued her PhD at UTS, exploring how to improve maternity care for FGM victims. Empowered by the university’s strong culture of guidance and support, she built the competency and confidence to make an impact on her own. She developed a range of training materials and eLearning content that women and health providers around Australia now use to provide culturally appropriate care to victims from various backgrounds.

Her work at UTS continues today with an exploration into the power of midwifery-led birthing centres in low-resource settings. Dr Turkmani is also sharing her knowledge and expertise working as a Research Fellow with Burnet Institute.

The publications and evidence-based reports I’ve been able to do are like my language to talk with the rest of the world – asking them to do something better for society.

Rebecca Dominguez
Master of Law and Legal Practice, 2009

Rebecca has always walked through life with the belief that if you have the capacity to help someone, you should. It’s what inspired her to work as a lawyer. Today she fights for human rights and access to justice through pro bono and community legal services, law reform work, and her roles on committees and advisory groups.

But before Rebecca was championing human rights, she was debating in mock trials in high school and discussing literature and art in her first university degree. After graduating, she began working as a law clerk and fell in in love with the legal world, leading to her pursuing a Master's of Law and Legal Practice at UTS.

Rebecca remembers her time at UTS fondly. It was there she learned the value of connecting and collaborating to achieve a bigger goal. She was also thankful that everyone at the university – from professors to students – encouraged her to bring her whole self to her work. To dive in, be passionate and care. It’s a belief she still stands by as she fights to give refugees, victims of family and sexual violence, human trafficking and modern slavery the life they deserve and the power to carve their own future.

Rebecca’s work has been pivotal in guiding both international and domestic legislation around global social issues. It’s helped examine the intersection between family violence, forced marriage and modern slavery legislation in Australia. And assisted in legal, cultural and social reforms for victim-survivors of those crimes, and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Currently, Rebecca is the Principal Solicitor and Clinical Supervisor at the Western Sydney University Justice Clinic, where she passes on her knowledge to the next generation of lawyers. She continues to guide victim-survivors of human rights injustices through the legal system and is also piloting health and justice partnerships to give vulnerable people in the community access to legal counsel.

I’m forever grateful for the life I have. I have good health, an education, a loving family and ultimately the freedom to make my own decisions. I want this for others – I want to help people live the free and fair life they deserve.

Transcript

Nominations are now open for the 2023 UTS Alumni Awards. Rebecca Dominguez, UTS Alumni and proud recipient of the 2022 Law Award, encourages the alumni community to nominate candidates for this year's Awards. 

Tania Notaras
Bachelor of Applied Science (Applied Chemistry), 1989

Tania Notaras is a qualified, skilled, and highly respected analytical chemist. She has made significant and sustained contributions to the chemistry field while taking the time to collaborate with the Royal Australian Chemical Institute. A champion and role model for women in STEM, Tania is determined to break the bias and support the next generation of scientists.

Growing up, Tania's Eastern-European family adhered to more traditional beliefs regarding gender roles. But as she grew older, Tania defied these norms and pushed into the traditionally male-dominated STEM field – starting with her degree at UTS.

While there, she fell in love with the practical elements of learning. Today, she attributes her professional success to hands-on learning experiences – including a year-long industry placement that prepared her for her career. Inspired by these opportunities, Tania wants to ensure all students have the same experience.

Tania began her career with an industry traineeship where she demonstrated a passion and talent for chemistry. Here, she quickly displayed a real understanding of its practical applications in industry. After her traineeship, she progressed through senior technical and management roles in the profession and has emerged as a successful business leader in her field, locally and overseas.

Notably, Tania has made an impact by establishing and growing a successful commercial enterprise with laboratories across Australia and New Zealand known as the Envirolab Group. Tania and her team’s reliable and quality services are sought after thanks to their expert technical advice which is provided to industry and government body decision-makers. These services have also extended to assisting in setting industry standards and offering advice on regulations – and they’ve been recognised through nominations for industry awards.

As Managing Director of Envirolab Group, Tania actively creates equal opportunities for students and graduates in the STEM field through the organisation's industry placement programs. Tania plans to continue fostering more industry placements with university programs, opening more opportunities for networking, and gaining real-world experience for students and graduates.

As a woman, it is hard to have it all. A career, family and to give back to society. Support is required for women to provide them with a choice and flexibility to allow them to advance their careers.

Nicky Sparshott
Master of Business (International Marketing), 1998; Bachelor of Business (Marketing), 1995

With great power comes great responsibility. Unilever CEO Nicky Sparshott firmly believes in the power of business to use its global reach to do good – for people and the planet.

This belief and interest in the intersection of business and activism – being good and doing good – grew in Nicky from an early age where she married her love for trading with her equal passion for advocating with Greenpeace & on Aboriginal land rights.

Following roles with Procter & Gamble, The Coca-Cola Company and George Patterson Y&R, Nicky joined Unilever in 2006. Since 2020 she’s been the CEO of Unilever Australia & New Zealand. Using this platform, Nicky has played the role of agitator and accelerator, looking to drive a strong triple bottom line imperative locally, driving profitable growth whilst simultaneously having a regenerative impact on the planet and building a more socially inclusive society. She’s proudly helped Unilever ANZ earn Certified B Corp status – something she also did as the former Global CEO of T2.

Nicky credits the international exposure her two UTS degrees provided for inspiring her curiosity in how overseas businesses operate. Travelling to countries such as China, Hong Kong, South Africa, Brazil and the Czech Republic, Nicky was able to see how the nuances and complexities of politics, religion and environment impact how companies serve people.

Nicky also benefitted greatly from the real-world experience of UTS professors and guest speakers, who generously shared their time and knowledge with students. Now in a position to do the same, Nicky is a member of the UTS Vice-Chancellor’s Advisory Board and hopes to inspire the curiosity of the next generation of responsible business leaders.

I love that a commitment to sustainability is a competitive advantage for us, but it shouldn’t be. We want to set an example around business as a true force for good and enable the ceiling to be raised for the industry overall.

Transcript

I feel so incredibly honored and humbled to be here amongst such incredible alumni who are also receiving Awards.

I feel really proud actually to be associated with UTS because it's influenced so much of the choices I've made over the course of my career and we have such shared interest in wanting to make business a Force for good so I am really proud but really delighted to be here tonight.

Human-centric leadership for me is as simple as recognizing that you can have the best strategies in the world or brands or processors but at the end of the day you need remarkable people not only with great capability but with great mindset to realize the potential and the opportunities that exist everywhere.

I'm incredibly passionate about demonstrating that business can be a force for good by truly demonstrating that you can deliver to triple bottom line impact that we can deliver profitable growth which any business needs to do and we shouldn't apologize for that because that fuels the investment to be able to do in equal measure, have a regenerative impact on the planet and contribute to a fairer and more socially inclusive world and when we do that well and consistently and with intention and with impact then we create a new form of capitalism that is much more sustainable for everybody that shares in the good fortune that business can bring.

The secret of my success quite honestly is that I've had the really good fortune of having some incredible people that have supported me along the way you know from my mum and dad who always encouraged me to reach for the moon and you might get the stars support, of my siblings my husband and he's sometimes too honest, but it's given me the courage to do things I wouldn't otherwise do for my children who allow me to see things with new eyes and fresh perspective and for the very very many mentors and coaches along the way.

Angelique Wan
Bachelor of Accounting, 2018 

Angelique Wan is an inspirational young leader driving social change through consent education. Through her work, she gives young people the tools to navigate consent in their sexual experiences through engaging, evidence-based, inclusive workshops and lectures.

After graduating high school, Angelique realised how ill-equipped many young people are to navigate consent, boundary setting and sexual harassment and assault. So, while Angelique was a student at UTS, she and her friend Joyce Yu founded Consent Labs.

Consent Labs is a not for profit organisation driven by young people. It strives to spark vital conversation around consent, not just for students, but also for the people around them – such as teachers, parents and educators.

While at UTS, Angelique also gained key experience in the classroom and through internships. And the practical nature of her degree equipped her with the industry skills and confidence to tackle big-picture problems.

Upon finishing her degree, Angelique immersed herself in her career, working at Macquarie Group as a financial analyst. But after four years she stepped away to follow her passion and become the full-time CEO of Consent Labs.

In this role, Angelique works with her team to further develop their workshops and teach valuable lessons around consent to young people. And today, Consent Lab has worked with over 22,000 students. Angelique and her team are working to extend their reach to regional schools to provide access to this vital information to more people. The team hopes to launch this program in term one of the 2023 school year.

In the future, Angelique hopes Australia’s consent education will be more accessible and inclusive of all cultures and expressions of gender and sexuality. She believes this is an important step towards lowering Australia’s sexual assault rates – especially for minority groups whose presence is so pronounced in these numbers.

It takes commitment and education of all stakeholders in a young person's life to really push for this systemic social change – to make sure we’re giving our young people the correct knowledge to protect themselves and respect others.

Transcript

It feels really special to be able to be honoured at UTS with this award and to celebrate the achievements and the success of consent Labs which feel like UTS has been pretty integral to the journey of consent labs in its entirety you know we first started having conversations about Consent Labs while I was living on campus here and I feel like I took a lot away from my degree while studying at UTS.

There was a lot of really practical support a lot of personal professional development that I received during my degree and I've been a part of UTS Startups since the inception of consent Labs which has been a massive support throughout the whole journey.

So changes that we've seen in terms of consent education the laws around affirmative consent have happened because of young people the most rewarding thing is seeing how passionate and vocal they are about receiving this education for the very first time because it's been something that they've been calling for for years or for decades and they haven't been heard up until now so I think the passion of young people is really behind us.

I think the recipe for my success or the success of Consent Labs has been finding a good team so making sure that you surround yourself with a team that also believes in the mission or the vision of what you're working towards and that really empowers and uplifts you.

You have no idea what the future will hold but as long as you believe in yourself and believe in the power of your voice particularly in the power of your voice as a young person then you will achieve success.