On Thursday, CQUniversity announced four inspiring recipients of its 2024 Alumni Awards, and paid tribute to their impacts driving children’s rights and justice, inclusive technology, leadership, sustainability and citizen science.
The recipients are:
Outstanding Alumnus of the Year: Dr Wendy O’Brien, Bachelor of Arts (Hons) and PhD (1994, 1999)
A legal scholar and human rights specialist with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC, Vienna), Dr O’Brien works towards equal access to justice, particularly through technology, and has contributed significant new knowledge in the fields of children’s rights, gender justice, violence prevention, and human rights-led law reform.
Alumnus of the Year for Industry Excellence: Sarah-Jane Peterschlingmann, Bachelor of Information Technology (2005)
Award-winning founder, CEO and managing director of mission-critical web development and cloud service company ATech, Ms Peterschlingmann has worked with more than 600 local and international clients, and is an advocate for women in technology and entrepreneurship, and wholehearted leadership.
Alumnus of the Year for Social Impact: Swapnil Gadgil, Master of Information Systems (2001)
Co-founder and managing director of multi-award-winning technology company Therapy Box Ltd, Mr Gadgil and his co-founder and wife Rebecca Bright MBE have developed communication aid app Predictable, giving a voice to more than 50,000 people with speech difficulties.
Alumnus of the Year for Early Career Achievement: Misty Neilson, Bachelor of Science (Ecology and Conservation Biology) (2021)
An experienced business leader and passionate environmentalist, Ms Neilson is driving sustainability and citizen science as co-founder of Thriive Consultancy, at Burnett Catchment Care Association, and as Chair of Forever Wild (Global), an innovative wilderness protection organisation.
CQUniversity Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Nick Klomp, paid tribute to the inspiring recipients.
“CQUniversity takes great pride in the achievements of our alumni, as they advance the common good and challenge us all to grow our impact,” he said.
The Koala loves celebrating Inspiring International Student stories
Swapnil Gadgil was an aspiring engineer, a qualified chef, a history graduate and a business professional before he decided to chase a tech career. CQUniversity has recognised his unique contribution, naming the Indian-born entrepreneur 2024 Alumnus of the Year for Social Impact.
“It was 1999, and you would hear a lot of technology buzzwords, and as a 21-year-old I didn’t know what they meant – but I figured not many other people knew either, and that motivated me to do my Master of Information Systems at CQUniversity,” he laughs.
The programming and problem-solving skills he learned at CQU Sydney – and then meeting the love of his life in Melbourne – gave the award-winning entrepreneur a perfect platform to change lives.
Co-founder of UK-based health technology business Therapy Box Ltd, Mr Gadgil has spent 15 years developing digital solutions for healthcare, alongside his wife and experienced speech therapist Rebecca Bright MBE.
Therapy Box began in 2009, as Mr Gadgil and Ms Bright developed Predictable, a communication app giving voice to people who have lost the ability to speak.
Launched in 2011, Predictable is available in 10 languages, soon to be 43, and has helped more than 50,000 users communicate more effectively.
“It wasn’t until we started Therapy Box that I brought in my skills from CQU, and applied them,” Mr Gadgil explained.
Therapy Box now works with academic and industry partners to develop and commercialise technical products that tackle healthcare challenges.
Mr Gadgil said the CQUniversity recognition was a reminder of the long journey to grow inclusion and support for people with different abilities.
“It’s one of those things that gets you the energy to say, what I am doing is worthy and I should keep doing it!” he said.
In 2019, Therapy Box earned a Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation – and he said all support inspired him and the growing Therapy Box team.
“Meeting the Queen was just one of those awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping moments – I thought, this is a true inspiration,” he said.
“That’s the driving force that you need – and I appreciated the Queen, I appreciate CQU, and any other pats on the back that we receive!”
Now juggling their innovative work with parenting two young boys, Mr Gadgil said he’s passionate about supporting new generations to problem-solve with new technologies, entrepreneurship, and empathy.
“If you feel like you are coasting along without too many knocks along the way, that tells me – you are either incredibly lucky, or you’re not taking enough risks!” he said.
“You need to stretch yourself further to experience failures because then you know how far you can go.”
Mr Gadgil graduated from CQUniversity in 2001 with his Master of Information Systems.
The Alumni Award recognises Mr Gadgil for significant contributions to research and specialist healthcare resources that support people with speech and language, and for creating and enhancing communication options for people in need, their carers, and health professionals.
The Koala congratulates all the alumni award winners at CQUniversity.
To find more about CQUniversity’s 2024 Alumni Award recipients, see here.
