The 11th annual Victorian Global Learning Awards are a celebration and recognition of what brings us together, the strength of Victoria's international relationships and the esteem with which we are held internationally for global learning and engagement. But most importantly it is a celebration of our students, teachers, parents, principals and homestay families, and the contribution they make to our schools and community.
The Victorian Government congratulates the 2023 award recipients from government and non-government schools who are all ambassadors for international education in Melbourne and Victoria.
Homestay Family Awards
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Homestay Family of the Year Award – Government school: Nicolette Thanassas Mark, East Doncaster Secondary College
- Homestay Family of the Year Commendation Award – Government school: Jason and Sandra Plompen, Wellington Secondary College
- Homestay Family of the Year Commendation Award - Government school: Yanfei (Helen) Xing, Ringwood Secondary College
Academic Excellence Awards
- Year 11 Academic Excellence Award Winner: Meichou Te, Keysborough College
- Year 11 Academic Excellence Commendation Award: Yuhan (Samantha) Wang, Camberwell High School
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Year 12 Academic Excellence Award Winner: Yusheng (Eddie) Mao, Balwyn High School
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Year 12 Academic Excellence Award Commendation Award: Wanying (Winnie) Lao, Wesley College
Arts Achievement Awards
- Year 11 Arts Achievement (Visual Arts) Award Winner: Shusuke Sato, Sandringham College
- Year 12 Arts Achievement (Visual Arts) Award Winner: Xuanrui (Tracey) Peng, Wesley College
- Year 12 Arts Achievement (Visual Arts) Commendation Award: Wing Tung Lei, Eltham College
- Year 12 Arts Achievement (Performing Arts) Award Winner: Jialun (Gareth) Liu, Highvale Secondary College
Community Engagement Awards
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Year 11 Community Engagement Award Winner: Alvin Yong Xuan Mah, Balwyn High School
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Year 12 Community Engagement Award Winner: Yijingmei Xing, Kew High School
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Year 12 Community Engagement Commendation Award: Duc Gia Phu Nguyen, Auburn High School
Global Citizenship Awards
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Year 11 Global Citizenship Award Winner: Kian Eslami, Sandringham College
- Year 11 Global Citizenship Commendation Award: Xinming Dai, Eltham College
- Year 12 Global Citizenship Award Winner: Zihan (Violet) Liu, Balwyn High School
- Year 12 Global Citizenship Commendation Award: Nhu (Christine) Vo, Brighton Secondary College
Resilience and Innovation Awards
Student Leadership Awards
- Year 11 Student Leadership Award Winner: Shin Thany (Berry) Eain, Doncaster Secondary College
- Year 11 Student Leadership Commendation Award: Hoi Tung (Kathy) Chang, Genazzano FCJ College
- Year 12 Student Leadership Award Winner: Hendrick Lin, Balwyn High School
- Year 12 Student Leadership Commendation Award: Jiaxi Chen, Eltham College
International Student of the Year – Ambassador Award
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Hendrick Lin, Balwyn High School
We are proud of all of our winner and commendation recipients and honour the exceptional and valuable contribution they make by bringing cultural and lingual diversity to our state.
Congratulations once again!
Note: please note that the Department of Education, Victoria hosts the Victorian Global Learning Awards on behalf of all government and non-government schools in the State of Victoria, Australia. Accordingly, some of the schools listed above are non-government schools and not part of the Victorian Government School system. To enrol in a non-government school, please contact the school directly.
The annual Victorian Global Learning Awards celebrate international student excellence and recognise schools and homestay families for outstanding global learning and engagement. The awards are open to all current Victorian Year 11 and 12 international school students, government and non-government schools and their homestay families.
Nominations for the 2024 Victorian Global Learning Awards will be open from 30 August - 12 October 2023.
Award categories
There are eleven award categories. Seven awards are open to international students in years 11 and 12. The International Student of the Year – Ambassador Award is open only to year 12 international students. There is also one award for a non-government school and one award for a homestay family.
School and Homestay Awards |
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Excellence in Global Learning Award (Non-government school) | The Excellence in Global Learning Award recognises non-government schools who effectively embed internationalisation through delivery of a robust International Student Program and/or global learning programs such as sister schools, overseas teacher and student learning experiences, cultural immersion programs and integration of internationalisation into the curriculum. The Excellence in Global Learning Award is a whole school award to enable recognition and promotion of global learning programs and excellence across Victoria. Please note that the Excellence in Global Learning Award (government schools) is now part of the Victorian Education Excellence Awards and is called the Dr Lawrie Shears Outstanding Global Teaching and Learning Award.
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Homestay Family of the Year | The Homestay Family of the Year Award recognises the crucial role that homestay families play in supporting international students by providing the support and safety of a real family throughout their time in our schools. The Homestay Family of the Year Award enables schools and international students to recognise homestay families who go the extra mile through nomination for the award. |
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Student Awards
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Academic Excellence Award | The award is presented to a year 12 international student who has achieved the highest ATAR score in VCE or IB equivalent, and to a year 11 international student who has obtained the highest level of achievement in all subjects. Students must also demonstrate active participation in and positive contribution to the school community.
Note: the nominations portal will remain open until after the release of academic results to allow applicants to submit their final scores.
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Arts Achievement Award (Visual / Performing Arts Categories) | One international student from year 11 and one from year 12 will receive the Arts Achievement (Visual Arts) Award. In addition, one international student from year 11 and one from year 12 will receive the Arts Achievement (Performing Arts) Award. This could be evidenced by achievements such as exceptional contribution to and/or participation in the arts. This includes visual and performing arts work as defined in relevant VCE/IB subjects. |
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Community Engagement Award | One international student from year 11 and one from year 12 will receive this award which recognises participation in activities and groups which have a positive impact on the school and the wider community, including environmental sustainability. This could be evidenced by active involvement in community groups, charities or similar organisations. |
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Global Citizenship Award | One international student from year 11 and one from year 12 will receive this award which recognises outstanding commitment to fostering integration between local and international students, as well as a high level of intercultural competency and understanding of global issues. |
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Health and Sports Achievement Award
| One international student from year 11 and one from year 12 will receive this award which recognises outstanding achievement in the health and/or physical education subjects. This could also include sport via membership of local, regional, state or national sporting teams.
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Resilience and Innovation Award
| One international student from year 11 and one from year 12 will receive this award which recognises outstanding abilities to overcome obstacles and challenges to achieve in academic and / or non-academic fields. This could be evidenced by an understanding of resilience and strategies implemented to overcome challenges.
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Student Leadership Award | One international student from year 11 and one from year 12 will receive this award which recognises outstanding leadership. This could be evidenced by achievements such as Student Representative Council, membership of School Council or leadership of international student groups. |
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International Student of the Year - Ambassador Award | No separate application is required for this award which is presented to a Year 12 international student, selected from the top-performing finalists for the other seven international student awards. The award recipient will have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement, the ability to represent Victorian schools, and leadership through engaging with both the school and wider community. |
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Key dates
The awards program allows you to recognise your outstanding international students and homestay families, and showcase your school's educational offering by highlighting global learning achievements.
Nominations
| Nominations open 30 August 2023
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Nominations close
| 12 October 2023
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Judging commences
| 19 October 2023
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Notification of finalists
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8 January 2024
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Filming - Hall of Fame videos
| February - March 2024
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Presentation ceremony
| May 2024
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* Please note, these dates are subject to review.
Why enter?
The awards program allows you to recognise your outstanding international students and homestay families, and showcase your school's educational offering by highlighting global learning and engagement achievements. The benefits of being involved include:
- rewarding your top international students
- recognising and driving quality amongst your homestay families
- demonstrating the quality of your school in equipping students with a global education
- marketing and raising awareness of your school
professionally produced promotional material.
Who can be nominated?
International student
International students (standard, full-fee dependant and study abroad students) in years 11 and 12 in Victorian government, Catholic and independent schools can be nominated for the seven student awards.
The following students are not eligible for nomination:
- dependants of permanent residents
- students under specialist entrance visas whose status confers a tuition fee exemption (i.e. children of post-graduate research students and visiting academics).
Homestay families
Formally registered households hosting standard or study abroad international students currently enrolled directly in a Victorian government school, or CRICOS-registered Catholic or independent school can be nominated for the Homestay Family of the Year Award.
Schools
Non-government schools may nominate themselves for the Excellence in Global Learning Award.
While it is expected that most schools nominating in this category would be delivering an International Student Program under CRICOS registration, nominations are not limited to these schools. Accordingly, schools can be nominated for any number of global learning and engagement programs, including sister schools, overseas learning programs, teacher and principal professional development, and incorporating the intercultural capability of the Victorian Curriculum.
Please note that the Excellence in Global Learning Award (Government Schools) is now part of the Victorian Education Excellence Awards and is called the Dr Lawrie Shears Outstanding Global Teaching and Learning Award. Nominations for this award will open in early 2023.
Conditions of entry
To be considered valid, entries must be completed in full using the online nomination form.
School principals are responsible for ensuring that they nominate in the correct category. Judges do not have the discretion to re-assign applications to another category.
Nomination materials become the property of the Department and will not be returned at the conclusion of the judging process.
Photographs or video materials presented as a part of nominations should be of high resolution or of broadcast standard.
School principals are responsible for ensuring that nominated students, school staff and homestay families (depending on award category) sign the consent form in relation to privacy, release of information and media requirements, prior to submitting nomination forms.
How to enter?
Only school principals or their delegate can submit nominations via the Online Nominations Portal (when available) following the steps outlined below. Nomination for the International Student of the Year – Ambassador Award category is not required, as year 12 student nominees for the other seven student awards automatically become nominees for this award. Schools may submit one application per student.
When available, visit the Online Nominations Portal
to lodge your application and follow the below steps,.
Step 1: Follow the instructions to create a school account.
Step 2: Select the category to which you wish to nominate your student, school or homestay family
Step 3: Read the nomination conditions, selection criteria and note the supporting documentation required
Step 4: Complete the online nomination form
Step 5: Upload material to support nominations. All categories require the following depending on the award category nomination:
- Student Awards:
- student statement, written by the student
- principal’s supporting statement.
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Excellence in Global Learning Award (Non-government schools):
- teacher's supporting statement, outlining internationalising education and global learning and engagement activities undertaken by the school
- principal’s supporting statement, highlighting the links between internationalising activities and overarching school plans.
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Homestay Family of the Year Award:
Refer to above selection criteria for additional requirements for each award category.
There will be an electronic acknowledgement of all nominations. Once all nominations have been received and the judging process has been completed by the judging panel all applicants will be notified of their application's outcome. Only finalists will be invited to attend the presentation ceremony.
The judging panel will not consider nominations submitted after the close of the nomination period.
Weighting of selection criteria
Each award category will be scored out of 100, with each assessment criteria weighted to reflect the priority and importance for each award. The introduction of a weighting system also aims to:
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allow applicants to focus more directly on their specific achievements relevant to the criteria
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provide more clarity to the judging panel about the applicant’s ability to fulfill the criteria
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give applicants more understanding of the importance of each criterion to enable them to show their strengths and avoid including information or attachments that are not relevant
- add more clarity around principal statements and testimonials.
Judging process
The selection of finalists and winner in each category will be determined by independent judging panels convened by the Department of Education, including representatives from the Department, and government, Catholic and independent school sectors. For each category, the winner will be selected from up to three finalists.
Nominations will be judged according to how well they meet award selection criteria. Judges' decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into. All written material associated with judges' deliberations is confidential and will not be made available to third parties.
Finalists in the International Student of the Year – Ambassador Award category will be contacted by the judging coordinator informing them of the date and time for their interviews. Inability to attend interviews may be grounds for exclusion from consideration in this category.
Awards ceremony and media requirements
All finalists will be invited to attend the Victorian Global Learning Awards Ceremony.
The Victorian Government reserves the right to use all or part of any material generated (photographs, film footage, application submissions or any detail) for the purpose of the awards or for publication online, in print or other broadcast media, for publicity, promotional materials or campaigns.
Finalists and winners of the awards may be required to participate in media interviews.
By applying, nominees and nominating Principals agree that their contact details may be provided for promotional purposes to agencies engaged on behalf of award organisers.
