The Campus Life Awards 2021 were held virtually on the 22nd of October. We celebrated clubs and club leaders that accomplished their goals along through hard work, passion, and determination along with juggling work and studies.
On Campus Event of the Year
The On Campus Event of the Year honors clubs or societies making a genuine effort towards enhancing the campus culture and providing a vibrant campus experience for students. The on-campus event can be a social or a professional development opportunity for students, all on-campus club events are eligible, big or small.
Highly Commended:
UC Supporting Women in STEM (SWIS) - UC Science PanelSocial Activities Club (SAC) - Esports lockdown
Canberra Law Students Society (CLSS) - Clerkship Info Evening
Winner - UC Design Society
Typography T-Shirt Competition launch event
The Design Society has always channeled high levels of creativity towards any endeavor that they have undertaken in the past. The Typography T-Shirt Competition launch event captures the innovative spirit of their club. The competition provided their members with an opportunity to utilize their skills and creativity through designing their own t-shirts. Additionally, the participants developed a sense of entrepreneurship as they had the chance to sell their t-shirts as well. They aspire to hold the competition each year and we look forward to supporting them.
Online Event of the Year
Winners:
UC Supporting Women in STEM (SWIS)
Student Developers Organisation (SUDO)
UC Engineering Society
Start Up Industry Panel
UC Supporting Women in STEM, UC Engineering Society, and SUDO successfully worked together to implement the Industry Panel featuring representatives from a range of backgrounds currently working in the start-up industry.
They had the following entrepreneurs as keynote speakers:
⭐Matthew Wilson, CEO and Co-Founder at Penten
⭐Tessa Jensen, Technical Operations Manager, InstaClustr
⭐Kylie McDevitt, Managing Director at Infosect, Co-Founder BSides Canberra
⭐Rachel Greaves, CEO CastlePoint Systems
They were additionally able to help out international students that were struggling to find work experience opportunities in Canberra.
Off Campus Event of the Year
The Off Campus Event of the Year is designed to recognise clubs and societies that are willing to step outside the comfort of working with UC Life on campus and willing to stage physical events off campus.
Highly Commended:
Politics, International Relations, and National Security Society (PIRaNaS) - Lake CruiseUC Fellowship Of Christian Students (FOCUS) - Focal Point WInter Camp
Winner - UC Supporting Women in STEM (SWIS)
CISCO Industry Tour
The CISCO industry tour featured a tour of the CISCO offices in Canberra, canapes, and talks from the CISCO systems engineer and Cyber security specialist. In the usual SWIS style, the club went above and beyond to provide their members with a sense of direction with regards to their careers through a practical, hands-on learning experience. This tour even encouraged members to put their hand up for a position on the committee, which shows the impact that this event had on the SWIS community.
Best Physical Product
The best physical product award recognizes a club that has taken their branding to the next level or created a unique item for students.Highly Commended:
UC Design Society - Merchandise (made by the club members themselves!)Winner - UC Supporting Women in STEM (SWIS)
UC SWIS Webcam Covers
UC SWIS have taken their branding to the next level by creating a product that represents their club and protects students’ and staff’s privacy. These webcam covers are a hit among University staff and students and highlight the innovation, thought, and practicality that SWIS incorporates into each of their ventures.
UC Community Engagement Award
The community service award is to honor a club that has contributed to the UC community or has strived to improve connections within the UC community. Community Engagement can be demonstrated in a variety of ways, including clubs volunteering time towards multiple UC events or projects, Orientation Week, Open Day, faculty-led initiatives or even other clubs events.Highly Commended:
UC Supporting Women in STEM:SWIS have organised panels with keynote speakers at the forefront of the SciTech industry in science and technology that have had a commendable outcome in developing their community's professional lives and skills.
They have also provided some amazing networking opportunities for students at all levels by curating a list of accomplished guests in the STEM field.
They not only participated in R U OK? day but also raised $500 for Liptember, a movement that supports women's mental health. During lockdown in the ACT, their Discord server has had many different engaging events, such as a study session and a games night, with contact communications, puzzles, and trivia.
Winner - UC Nursing Society
Once again, the Nursing Society has been hugely active in the community this year. They have held direct intervention-based events such as Opioid First Aid, Mental Health First Aid, First Aid, CPR, and Yoga classes - which they continued to host online when the ACT went into lockdown.
In addition to this, they have given back to the community in the form of donations to UCX Food Pantry, food and beverages to other clubs, and cooked dinners for students in UC Accommodation.
Their regular events, including the Yarning Circle, BBQs, and Charity ball have fostered a multitude of connections between students and staff as well as ACT dignitaries. Their persisting dedication towards bringing the community together for a good cause shows how they rise through adversity and has earned them the Community Engagement award for the second year in a row.
Club Upstart Award
The Club Upstart Award is a long running award to recognise the best new club this year. The club must have affiliated for its first time in 2020 and made a genuine contribution to campus culture this year.Highly Commended –
UC Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums Club
Since GLAMS held their AGM at the end of Semester 1, they have held a number of workshops for their members and the general public to learn about the GLAM sector.
The informative workshop held online in Week 3 about the Burra charter and Significance 2.0 was well attended by members and first-year students too and focused inwardly on helping out students that were studying heritage.
Winner - UC Biomedical and Medical Science Society
BAMSS has created a tight-knit society for biomedical and medical science students, despite unsuccessful attempts over the previous years. They have held events with high engagement such as the coffee grounds meet up, alumni networking, and movie night. Their drive to contribute towards their community and make the most out of each opportunity is remarkable.
Unsung Hero Award
The Unsung Hero Award is to acknowledge individuals who may not hold a leadership position within their club, but have made a positive impact on the club or society. These are the people who can make a huge impact on leaders and members in the club without realising or asking for acknowledgement.
Highly Commended –
Natasha Nguyen (Canberra Forensic Students Association)
Natasha's efforts to make CFSA more inclusive for everyone as a stand-in executive committee member were outstanding.
Winner - Lilly O'Donnell (UC Psychological Society)
Lilly became a part of the UCPS just before market day and she jumped right in and spent hours shopping and organising things for O week. Always equipped with great ideas, she was ready to lend a hand and get things done the way that UCPS or any society would want.
Without Lily, the UCPS would not have been able to contribute to S2 market day and trivia night(s). She has also been key in some behind-the-scenes changes that will become apparent in the new year.
President of the Year
The President of the Year award has been established to recognize an outstanding individual who embraces the mission of their club while challenging its executive committee and members to advance new initiatives, acquire new skills, encourages engagement at all levels within the UC community and promotes an environment that inspires others to think outside the box. This can only be achieved if this individual shows great leadership qualities and commitment that spearheads the club and lays the foundations for ongoing success.Highly Commended –
Rahul Sundarjee (UC Optometry Society)
Rahul's proactivity in running the optometry society through reinforcing expectations, gaining sponsorships, and networking is commendable. He has gained recognition from optometry academics due to the high levels of activity within the club since he took on the role of president.
Winner - Ebony Heins (Politics, International Relations, and National Security)
Ebony always went out of her way to ensure that events ran smoothly, prioritizing her club while juggling academics and multiple jobs.
She made members' wellbeing a priority for the club and cared for them. This began when she ran for the position of president to create a position of a wellbeing officer within the committee.
Ebony always ensured that the right measures were taken at events to make everyone feel welcome and included.
Club Person of the Year
Highly Commended -
Josephine Julian (UC Design Society)Josephine went above and beyond to contribute to the marketing of multiple clubs. Having Josephine on the committee ensured timely social media posts of quality, high engagement, and a strong, unique online presence.
Winner - Julieanna Barrett (Social Activities Club, Biomedical and Medical Science Society, UC SWIS)
Julieanna was the Events Coordinator for BAMSS, SAC, and UC SWIS while managing a full-time study load and a tremendous amount of work.
Her dedication and enthusiasm for her clubs lead to high-quality and engaging events. She challenges other exec members to be better, repeatedly suggesting online alternatives during lockdown and being prompt to meetings. Her passion and enthusiasm to get the events organised and readiness to support her peers at market day is wonderful.
Club of the Year
The Club of the Year Awards are divided into three categories reflecting the vast array of clubs on campus at the university. They are: Academic, Social and Cultural clubs and societies.
The club of the year is awarded to a club working at its best in each category. These clubs have practiced and refined the ways in which they engage with students and members to create an exceptional student experience.
Cultural:
Winner - UC Japan Club
The UC Japan Club has been a strong club in 2021 and contributed weekly events both online and on campus as restrictions allowed. To continue to engage their members during COVID, the club created a Discord server which has been very successful and keeps members active within the club. The Japan club also runs regular language and cultural classes, grammar and conversational classes and cooking workshops.
Social:
Winner - UC Recreation and Entertainment Club (UC REC)
UC REC has been running traditional Friday Night Games events every Friday from 5pm until 10pm even throughout lockdown, through various online platforms, along with multiple other social recreational events in between.
They held a big inter-club event on their own Minecraft server alongside UC Japan, ENGSOC, SAC, UC Design, and UC Psychology Society. They consistently been able to engage their members with a variety of events and have upheld strong bonds with other clubs.
Academic:
Winner - UC Supporting Women in STEM
The major events organised by SWIS were Industry Panels for Science (50-person attendance), Technology (80-person attendance), and Start-ups (40-person attendance).
Since the lockdown, they have held online games and created an active discord server that includes trivia, online puzzles, study sessions, and a 24/7 Hamilton Soundtrack channel.
It is important to note a multitude of collaborations with societies and community groups including CFSA, UCITSA, Engineering Society, SUDO, the Film Society, UCOMMS, and the Psych Society.
We look forward to their upcoming magazine ‘WiSTEM Mag’ and a podcast named ‘The Student Experience’, set to launch in 2022.
