The awards are part of the Young Australian Space Leader awards, organised by the Australian Youth Aerospace Association (AYAA). The winners of the scholarships will receive funding to attend the Space Generation Congress and the International Astronautical Congress held in Paris, France in September this year.
The prizes were awarded to young Australians based on their contribution to the local space industry. There were three categories of awards: impact, excellence and industry.
Each was decided by separate independent panels consisting of industry figures and representatives, including astronauts, executives from prominent Australian space companies and former Young Australian Space Leader award winners.
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Factors taken into account when deciding award winners included work done in support of community outreach, involvement in interdisciplinary initiatives and engagement with the space industry.
The winners were:
- Myrthe Snoeks – Excellence Award – University of Queensland, Deloitte Consulting;
- James Orman – Excellence Award – University of Queensland, UQ Innovate (Makerspace);
- Alison Lockley – Impact Award – University of Sydney, Defence Science and Technology;
- Daniel Wikner – Impact Award – University of Queensland, University of Queensland;
- Laura Breckon – Industry Award – Monash University, European Space Agency; and
- Gavin Choong – Industry Award – Monash University, Macquarie University.
The Australian Youth Aerospace Association was a previous winner of the Industry Association/Not-for-profit of the Year award at the 2020 Australian Space Awards hosted by SpaceConnect.
Aside from their Space Leader scholarships, the association runs several other initiatives and programs aimed at engaging young people in Australia within the space industry. These include the Astra program, the Australian Universities Rocket Competition, the Australian Youth Aerospace Forum and the Aerospace Futures conference.
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Two years of the global pandemic have made it difficult to run these events consistently, but AYAA is aiming to return to its usual programming with enthusiasm.
This year will mark the first time the Young Australian Space Leader Awards have run since 2019, representing a return to the usual for the Australian Youth Aerospace Association.
Liam McAneny
Liam McAneny is a journalist who has written and edited for his University International Relations journal. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (International Relations) and Bachelor of Laws from the University of Wollongong in 2021. He joined Momentum Media in 2022 and currently writes for SpaceConnect and Australian Aviation. Liam has a keen interest in geopolitics and international relations as well as astronomy.
Send Liam an email at: [email protected]
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