The annual Staff Awards ceremony shone a spotlight on the remarkable achievements we have seen in 2025.

Each year, the Staff Awards recognise and celebrate achievements across the University, from teaching excellence, outstanding research, and the vital support work of professional staff. The event also honours the individuals and teams leading initiatives to advance reconciliation and recognises the longstanding commitment and contributions of staff that have reached 25 years of service.

To see more photos from the event, visit the staff awards page.

 

Following a Welcome to Country, Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Romy Lawson reflected on the achievements at Flinders across 2025 before the awards were presented.

The Staff Service Awards were presented by our new Vice-President Corporate Services Jonathan Pheasant.

The 2025 Staff Service Awards recipients are:

• Professor Eva Kemps
• Kiley MacDonald

Jonathan also presented the 2025 Professional Staff Awards to individuals and teams that embody and exemplify the Flinders University ethos and values in everything they do.

The 2025 Flinders Professional Staff Award winners are:

Flinders Student-Centred Award

• Jose Paulino

Flinders Innovation Award

• Kylie Sappiatzer

Flinders Integrity Award

• Yaz Dedovic

Flinders Courage Award

• Shanti Omodei-James
• Jessica Williams

Flinders Excellence Award

• Diana Mosca

Flinders Wellbeing Award

• Gareth Furber

Dream Team Award

• Exams, Achievements, and Graduations Team

 

The Flinders Reconciliation Awards were presented by Professor Simone Tur and Jonathan Pheasant, acknowledging individuals and teams whose leadership and dedication are advancing reconciliation at Flinders.

The 2025 Flinders Reconciliation Award winners are:

Flinders Reconciliation Individual Award

• Liz Hounslow
• Aunty Mayalil Marika

Flinders Reconciliation Team Awards

• Indigenous Workforce Strategy Team
• Trauma and Injury Team
• Maritime Archaeology Program Team

Professor Tim Cavagnaro presented the 2025 Vice-Chancellor’s Researchers Awards celebrating researchers across their career journeys who are making remarkable contributions to Flinders’ research endeavours, and making a difference to lives around the world.

Early Career Researchers

• Dr Matthew Firth
• Dr Georgia Middleton
• Dr Imogen Ramsey
• Dr Miia Rahja
• Dr Annabelle Small

Mid-Career Researchers

• Associate Professor Ching Li Chai-Coetzer
• Professor Daniel King
• Dr Feargal Ryan
• Associate Professor Mihir Wechalekar
• Dr Jean Winter

Research Leadership

• Professor Rebecca Golley
• Professor David Lewis

Research Impact and Engagement (Early Career Researcher)

• Dr Jake Robinson
• Dr Claudia Virdun

Research Impact and Engagement (Mid-Career Researcher)

• Associate Professor Ryan Balzan
• Dr Amir Zanj

Research Impact and Engagement (Research Team)

• Professor Svetlana Bogomolova
• Dr Tahna Pettman
• Professor Ian Goodwin-Smith
• Professor John Coveney
• Professor Jon Buckley
• Associate Professor Carmel Williams
• Dr Sahar Faghidno
• Dr Diana Eyers-White

2024 Vice-Chancellor’s Excellence in Higher Degree Research Supervision Award

• Professor Udoy Saikia

Professor Michelle Picard presented the 2025 Vice-Chancellors Awards for Excellence in Teaching in recognising teaching excellence that has occurred in 2025.

Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching went to:

• Dr Samantha Kontra
• Dr Dani Milos

Commendation: Liz McNeill

The following teams received Commendation Team Award:

Team 1

• Dr Annabelle Neall
• Professor Lydia Woodyatt
• Elli Kolovos
• Christiana Harous
• Melanie Deek

Team 2

• Dr Liu Fei Tan
• Associate Professor Werner Botha
• Dr Brett Wilkinson
• Professor Ingo Koeper
• Dr Kung-Keat Teoh

The 2025 Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Innovation in Teaching was awarded in recognition of recent responsive and sustainable educational initiatives.

2025 Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Innovation in Teaching:

Team 1

• Dr Liu Fei Tan
• Professor Ingo Koeper

Team 2

• Dr Tom Cochrane
• Dr Gareth Furber

Congratulations to all our 2025 Staff Award winners – what a wonderful recognition of the contributions you have made to Flinders University. Thank you for you everything you do at Flinders.

We also extend our appreciation to all staff who were nominated this year. While not every nomination could receive an award, each one reflects meaningful contributions that strengthen our University community.