Queensland Women in STEM Prize
About
2023 entries have now closed
The Queensland Women in STEM prize recognises Queensland women who make an outstanding contribution in the fields of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and inspires women and girls to get involved!
Every day, our internationally renowned leaders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are applying their expertise to ensure economic prosperity and sustainability and enhance community wellbeing. Advancements in gender equality have supported more women and girls to be able to fully and freely participate in the vast opportunities Queensland has to offer. The contribution of women and girls to the STEM field in Queensland is profound. However, women continue to remain underrepresented as leaders and under recognised for their contribution across many domains. This particularly includes the STEM industries.
The 2023 Queensland Women in STEM Prize recognises the valuable contribution of Queensland women working in STEM careers and aims to inspire women and girls to start and thrive in STEM careers for the benefit of the whole community.
This state-wide competition is open to women working in STEM careers in Queensland who have made an outstanding contribution to STEM fields and who proactively support women and girls in STEM through engagement activities.
Celebrating Queensland Women in STEM
Previous winners have been recognised for their work on new health initiatives, green energy technology, nurturing diversity in STEM spaces, future-proofing against climate change, protecting ocean health through mathematics, inspiring the next generation of women in STEM, delivering support and mentorship for other women, and science communication.
To be eligible to enter, applicants must be within the first 15 years of their STEM career and are required to provide a written application and a short video.
What prizes are awarded?
The Queensland Women in STEM Prize includes two categories:
- Judges’ Award ($5,000), presented to a STEM professional who identifies as a woman
- Breaking Barriers Award ($5,000), presented to a STEM professional who identifies as a woman and:
- is of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander heritage; and/or
- has a disability (as defined under the Disability Services Act 2006); and/or
- is a carer (as defined under the Carers (Recognition) Act 2008).
Highly Commended Award(s) will be bestowed at the discretion of the judging to panel to applicant(s)deemed to have demonstrated enthusiasm, dedication and commitment in their chosen field.
Finalists must attend the awards ceremony at which time the winners will be announced.
What are the key dates?
- Submissions open - 10 February 2023
- Submissions close - 24 March 2023 (4pm AEST)
- All entrants contacted and finalists informed – 8-12 May 2023
- Award ceremony - 13 July 2023
The 2023 Queensland Women in STEM Prize is presented by Queensland Museum Network, the Office of the Queensland Chief Scientist, and the Office for Women and Violence Prevention.
2023 entrants
Past winners
1 of 6
2022 winners
Depolymerisation of waste natural zeolite rock and green conversion to synthetic zeolite
Transforming Spaces in STEM through Play and Purpose
Plenty of fish in the sea? Using mathematics to save the ocean, educate, and communicate with the masses.
The unexpected value of climate change adaptation heuristics
From molecules to the mind: using big data towards earlier autism diagnosis
Securing food for future generations
Inspiring tomorrow's innovators
Impacts of biochar on soil carbon pools and nitrogen transformation in viticulture of South East QLD
Taking Cutting-Edge STEM out of the labs and onto the streets!
Fighting creepy with crawly: using spider venoms to make next-generation antiparasitic drugs
Trimming the Fat: targeting novel genetic factors and molecules that drive obesity
Indigenous climate change adaptation
2019 winners
Fishing for plastics: from ocean to plate
Taming weeds without herbicides
People in focus: protecting the eyesight of people with diabetes
2018 winners
Sustainable livestock production and gender equity, hand in hand
Mission inflammation: guarding against collateral damage in infection
2017 winners
Spinifex grass: hidden gold in the Australian landscape
Investigating the effect snake venom has on our blood to help develop new life-changing medicines
2016 winners
Saving the ageing brain
STEM education and engagement
Sticky toffee causing power "outages" in diabetes
FAQs
The 2023 Queensland Women in STEM Prize offers cash prizes:
- Judges' Award - $5,000
- Breaking Barriers Award - $5,000
- Highly Commended Award(s) - at the discretion of the judging panel.
- Submissions open - 10 February 2023
- Submissions close - 24 March 2023 (4pm AEST)
- All entrants contacted and finalists informed – 8-12 May 2023
- Award ceremony - 13 July 2023*
* Finalists must be able to attend the award ceremony to be eligible to receive an award.
The Queensland Women in STEM Prize includes two categories:
- Judges’ Award: open to STEM professionals who identify as a woman
- Breaking Barriers Award: open to STEM professionals who identify as a woman and:
- are of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander heritage; and/or
- have a disability (as defined under the Disability Services Act 2006); and/or
- are a carer (as defined under the Carers (Recognition) Act 2008).
Highly Commended Award(s) will be bestowed at the discretion of the judging panel to applicant(s) deemed to have demonstrated enthusiasm, dedication and commitment in their chosen field.
The 2023 Queensland Women in STEM Prize is open to any person who:
- identifies as a woman; and
- works or studies in a science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) field; and
- resides and undertakes STEM activities or research in Queensland; and
- is within the first 15 years of their STEM career.
Applicants may include professionals, scientists, researchers, educators or students from any company, institute, government, university, not-for-profit or educational institution.
The Prize is open to any person within the first 15 years of their STEM career. The following will be considered towards 15 years of STEM career:
- Paid or volunteer work in a STEM role
- Time spent undertaking any formal STEM education or research, including TAFE, undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications.
These 15 years are exclusive of time spent on leave, career breaks and study/work outside a STEM field.
To be eligible for the Breaking Barriers Award the entrant must also identify as an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person, as having a disability (as defined under the Disability Services Act 2006); ) or be a carer (as defined under the Carers (Recognition) Act 2008).
Prize money must be spent on professional development – this could be a conference, research field trip, internship, purchasing new software etc. Winners are required to acquit their prize within 12-months.
Applications must be submitted by an individual. Teams are ineligible to apply. Entrants working as part of a team are encouraged to apply as an individual by focusing their application on their contribution to the team project.
Previous winners of the Queensland Women in STEM Prize are ineligible. If you have entered a previous Queensland Women in STEM Prize, but did not receive an award, you are welcome (and encouraged!) to enter again.
Submitting a video is required for your entry to be deemed eligible.
Try contacting your organisation's media and communications department who may be able to help in producing and creating your video. Or you can do it yourself by following some of the tips below. You could also review some of the past winners' videos for inspiration.
Here are a few tips for filming your video. Remember, the judges will be assessing your content and your ability to articulate your work in STEM, not your video production skills.
- Use simple, clear, plain English and avoid jargon and acronyms.
- Have only a few key messages in mind which you would like to get across in your video.
- Try to ‘pitch’ your idea in your first sentence. Explain the problem you’re trying to solve, or the ‘why we should care’ aspect of your research, similar to how TEDx or 3 Minute Thesis talks are scripted.
- Standing outdoors or in front of a window on a sunny day will give you great natural lighting.
- Make sure you film video horizontally, not vertically.
- Use a tripod or ensure your assistant holds the phone in both hands. For even better stability get your assistant to lean against a wall or pillar.
- If anyone else is going to appear in your video, make sure you have permission to film them.
- You can save your film in MP4, MOV or AVI file format.
- You may need to borrow a microphone if the camera or phone microphone is low quality. You could use a lapel microphone (pinned on to your collar), or a directional microphone (placed next to or above the camera, pointed at you).
- Use a video editing program such as VideoPad for PC, Apple iMovie for macOS and iOS, HitFilm Express 12 for PC and macOS, and InShot or FiLMiC Pro for iOS and Android.
- When creating your final video, you can insert visual aids (video/still images) of your work place, specimen, locations etc. to help the audience visualise your work and what you do.
- Add captions for accessibility, if possible.
Embedding your video is the only way to present your video. You must upload your video to another site like Youtube, Vimeo or Google Drive first - then follow their instructions to copy the embedding code into the application when it asks you. Links to the help guides to help you find the right code to embed are below:
The awards will be determined by a panel of judges, including representatives from:
- Queensland Museum Network
- Office of the Queensland Chief Scientist
- Office for Women and Violence Prevention
- Queensland science community
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