- Posted on 14 Nov 2025
- 3 minutes read
UTS has taken out two national 2025 Engagement Australia Excellence Awards, recognising its work in partnership with communities to address important challenges.
The UTS SOUL Program won the Award for Excellence in Community Engagement and Dr Joshua Pate the Award for Outstanding Leadership in Engagement at a ceremony in Sydney.
UTS Vice-Chancellor, Professor Andrew Parfitt, hailed the outstanding work of both the award winners.
“We often talk about the how universities have the power to deliver outcomes for communities by engaging closely with them. These are two great examples of us doing just that," he said.
"Congratulations to the SOUL team and Josh for their outstanding achievements and national recognition."
UTS Soul: Excellence in community engagement
The SOUL initiative is a flagship co-curricular program that cultivates social responsiveness and leadership by connecting students with community organisations driving social impact and civic participation.
Through hands-on volunteering and a series of leadership development workshops, students build the skills, confidence and networks to create meaningful change.
Since its launch in 2013, SOUL has grown into one of UTS’s most successful and transformative programs, engaging around 5 per cent of the student population each year. In 2025, SOUL enrolled 2,657 current students, awarded 383 graduates of the program, and logged 24,322 hours of social impact action.
The award recognises SOUL’s contribution to authentic, reciprocal partnerships between the university and the community, and its success in embedding social impact into the UTS student experience.
Dr Joshua Pate: Outstanding leadership in engagement
Dr Joshua Pate is a physiotherapy academic who works closely with healthcare and education organisations to engage communities with the best ways to help children experiencing pain.
He has championed the issue of children in pain through a wide range of public education activities including the publication of his Twirl series of children’s books, speaking engagements including TED-Ed and SXSW Sydney appearances, and extensive media outreach engagements.
Dr Pate has been a key contributor to a successful pilot program in NSW and Queensland schools on supporting teachers educate children about pain and help those experiencing it feel supported by their peers.
His academic contributions have included being involved in a review team for the World Health Organisation Guideline for Chronic Pain in Children and has authored more than 40 academic research papers.
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