Outstanding Alumni Award categories
- Future Students
- JCU Global Experience
- International Students
- Student experience
- Open Day
- How to apply
- Pathways to university
- Living on Campus
- Courses
- Publications
- Mature students
- Scholarships
- Entry options
- JCU Families
- JCU Heroes Programs
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander in Marine Science
- Elite Athletes
- Defence
- Capability.Co
- AI@JCU
- AALL
- Current Students
- Student Ambassador Program
- New students
- JCU Orientation
- LearnJCU
- Placements
- EDQS
- Unicare Centre and Unicampus Kids
- Graduation
- Off-Campus Students
- JCU Job Ready
- Safety and Wellbeing
- JCU Prizes
- Professional Experience Placement
- Employability Edge
- Art of Academic Writing
- Art of Academic Editing
- Careers and Employability
- Health, Wellbeing and Belonging
- Career Ready Plan
- Careers at JCU
- Partners and Community
- School Outreach and Widening Participation
- Alumni
- International partnerships
- About JCU
- Reputation and Experience
- Chancellery
- Governance
- Celebrating 50 Years
- Academy
- Indigenous Engagement
- Education Division
- Research festival
- Graduate Research School
- Research Division
- Research and Innovation Services
- CASE
- College of Business, Law and Governance
- College of Healthcare Sciences
- College of Medicine and Dentistry
- College of Science and Engineering
- MPE
- Anthropological Laboratory for Tropical Audiovisual Research (ALTAR)
- Rural Remote and Tropical Health Systems
- Agriculture Technology and Adoption Centre (AgTAC)
- Advanced Analytical Centre
- AMHHEC
- Aquaculture Solutions
- AMHRA
- JCU Digital Wellbeing Group
- ARCSTA
- Lions Marine Research Trust
- Australian Tropical Herbarium
- Australian Quantum & Classical Transport Physics Group
- Boating and Diving
- Clinical Psychedelic Research Lab
- Centre for Tropical Biosecurity
- Centre for Tropical Bioinformatics and Molecular Biology
- CITBA
- CMT
- Centre for Disaster Solutions
- CSTFA
- Cyclone Testing Station
- The Centre for Disaster Studies
- Daintree Rainforest Observatory
- Fletcherview
- JCU Eduquarium
- JCU Turtle Health Research
- MARFU
- Orpheus
- TESS
- JCU Ideas Lab
- CADSI
- CNL
- TARL
- eResearch
- Indigenous Education and Research Centre
- Past Course and Subject Handbooks
- Estate
- Work Health and Safety
- Staff
- Discover Nature at JCU
- Cyber Security Hub
- Association of Australian University Secretaries
- Services Division
- Environmental Research Complex [ERC]
- Foundation for Australian Literary Studies
- Gender Equity at JCU
- Give to JCU
- Indigenous Legal Needs Project
- Inherent Requirements
- IsoTropics Lab
- IT Services
- JCU Webinars
- JCU Events
- JCU Motorsports
- JCU Sport
- Library
- Mabo Decision: 30 years on
- Marine Geophysics Laboratory
- Office of the Vice Chancellor and President
- Outstanding Alumni
- Policy
- PAHL
- Queensland Research Centre for Peripheral Vascular Disease
- Rapid Assessment Unit
- RDIM
- Researcher Development Portal
- Roderick Centre for Australian Literature and Creative Writing
- Contextual Science for Tropical Coastal Ecosystems
- State of the Tropics
- Strategic Procurement
- Student profiles
- SWIRLnet
- TREAD
- TropEco for Staff and Students
- TUDLab
- VAVS Home
- WHOCC for Vector-borne & NTDs
- Media
- Copyright and Terms of Use
- Australian Institute of Tropical Health & Medicine
- JCU Respect
- Pay review
- Research
Award categories
To be eligible to nominate in any of the following award categories a nominee:
- Must have completed a Bachelors degree (AQF level 7), or higher qualification from JCU (or its predecessor institutions).
- Does not need to be working in the discipline from which they graduated.
- Cannot be a current paid staff member of JCU.
Chancellor’s and Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Awards
Recognise alumni who demonstrate distinguished and significant excellence in their career, industry or community. One of each awarded from the alumni cohort.
- Distinguished career and reached the top of their profession;
- Distinction to themselves, credit to the University, and/or benefit to their communities through their career;
- Advanced knowledge or outstanding contribution to their field of endeavor (including research and development);
- Long-term motivational and innovative leadership in their field or profession;
- Sustained, ground-breaking or significant social impact and/or service to community beyond their regular employment.
Rising Star Award
Celebrates extraordinary accomplishments of younger alumni and what they have achieved in their shorter career span, nominees will be 39 years or younger at time of nomination. One awarded from the alumni cohort.
- On-going, high level of achievement and/or advancement of knowledge in their field of endeavor (professional, academic, research);
- Motivational and innovative leadership in their field or profession;
- Sustained, ground-breaking or significant social impact and/or service to community.
Outstanding Indigenous Alumni Award
Celebrates an exceptional graduate of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent, who demonstrates outstanding achievement in their chosen field of endeavour and/or has made outstanding contributions to the community. One awarded from the alumni cohort.
- Outstanding contributions to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities through contributions to public policy, volunteerism or activism;
- On-going, high level of achievement/contribution in their field of endeavor (professional, academic, research);
- Motivational and innovative leadership in their field or profession;
- Sustained, ground-breaking or significant social impact and/or service to community.
Spirit of JCU Award
This award recognises alumni living or working predominantly (more than 50% of the time) in remote or very remote locations across Australia (RA4 or RA5 ASGC Remoteness Areas 2016) or comparable demographics internationally. One awarded from the alumni cohort.
- Outstanding commitment to remote and very remote Australia;
- Advanced the knowledge of, or made an outstanding contribution to, their field of endeavor (including research and development) relative to remote or very remote communities;
- Significant involvement in the development of the regional community or its economy;
- Sustained, ground-breaking or significant social impact in remote/very remote communities;
- Demonstrated motivational and innovative leadership in their field or profession within remote or very remote location.
Trailblazer Award
This award recognises alumni who are forward-thinking leaders, innovators or entrepreneurs in their industry, profession, field of research or area of expertise. One awarded from the alumni cohort.
- Change-maker, entrepreneur, disruptor, researcher, business owner or startup creator who has made significant innovation or industry disruption;
- Courage in exploring new areas in respect to their field of work;
- Forward-thinking, ground-breaking or visionary leadership;
- Inspiration to the next generation and the community at large through their work and creative thinking;
- Advanced knowledge or outstanding contribution to their field of endeavor (including research and development).
Key dates
- 8th December 2025: Nominations open
- 2nd March 2026: Nominations closed
- Mid April 2026: Successful nominees contacted, unsuccessful nominators notified that their candidate was unsuccessful.
- 28 Aug 2026: Announcement of recipients (Townsville campus).
Make a nomination
The JCU Outstanding Alumni Awards recognise the excellence and achievements of JCU Alumni who have made outstanding contributions in their chosen field.
Nominations for open in December annually and close in early March, if you would like to bring the achievements of an outstanding graduate to our attention outside the nomination period, please email alumni@jcu.edu.au.