UNSW students top employability for fifth consecutive year

Top100 Future Leaders list names 37 UNSW Sydney students. 

UNSW was awarded the title of 'AFR Most Employable University' during the Top100 Future Leaders Awards ceremony held in Sydney on February 8.

For the fifth year straight, UNSW secured the highest number of students in the Top100 Future leaders list. The students were recognised as the most sought-after hires by employers.

UNSW Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education & Student Experience), Professor Sarah Maddison said she was extremely proud of the UNSW students who made the list.

“It’s just fantastic to see 37 of our amazing students recognised this year This is testament to their drive, professionalism, and desire to make a positive impact in the community,” Prof. Maddison said.

“I’d also like to acknowledge our academic and professional staff who deliver a range of challenging learning experiences, mentoring and coaching programs to empower our students to reach their full potential.  We’re extremely proud of each and every one of our Future Leaders and can’t wait to see their next steps!”

UNSW Business School student Himanshu Singh, co-winner of the Innovation Top100 Future Leader Award, said it was a privilege being on the AFR Top 100 Future Leaders list.

“The amount of talent - from startup founders, non-for-profit activists and even students researching Quantum technology was truly inspiring.

“The lifelong friendships with future leaders formed is a true highlight for me. Receiving the EY Innovation Award is a powerful signal to future employers that I’ll be pushing the boundaries of what is possible with highly collaborative teams to make the world a better place,” Mr Singh said.

The Top100 Future Leaders Awards, hosted by graduate employment platform GradConnection, recruitment agent Chandler Macleod and The Australian Financial Review, aim to identify Australia’s top future graduate talents. The awards are open to all students studying at an Australian university into 2024.

Students take part in a highly competitive graduate recruitment process, providing a unique experience to develop their application skills, interview and psychometric testing skills, and gain exposure to Australia's top grad employers.

UNSW Head of Employability Nigel Smith said he was thrilled UNSW has been recognised as the AFR Most Employable University for a record-breaking five years.

“This is a testament to our longstanding commitment to employability and preparing our students for a world of opportunities. UNSW students are well-equipped to lead and adapt in a modern and sustainable environment,” Mr Smith said.

“Our focus on expanding work-integrated learning experiences and co-curricular activities across the University is paying off for students as they move into the workforce.”

Eight UNSW students in the Top100 were also category winners of highly competitive employer awards.

• Transition Hub First in Family Top100 Future Leader Award, Derick Luong
• Ashurst Law Top100 Future Leaders Award, Derick Luong
• Quantium Data Science Top100 Leader Award, Nala Hong
• Commbank Brighter Communities Top100 Future Leader Award, Dylan Nguyen
• EY Innovation Top100 Future Leader Award, Emanuel Shariev and Himanshu Singh
• Jacobs Sustainability Top100 Future Leader Award, Katie Wilson
• Unilever FMCG Top100 Future Leader Award, Meeval Rose Muriankary
• Coles Technology Top100 Future Leader Award, Steven Chung

Other UNSW students to reach the Top 100 Future Leaders list were: Adeel Shareef, Angus Cheng, Anish Saraogi, Alexander McGillivray, Anne Pan, Brian Jin, Dylan Tran, Emily Calbert, , Ilsa Mansuri, Isabella Tan, Jeffrey Lin, Jessica Mackay, Khaing Myat Noe Naing, Kerwin Ma, Kyle Wilson, Lilly You, Linda Wang, Luke Wang, Meryl Georgis, Raunak Srivastava, Rhea Saxena, Sharon Zhong, Thanuskan Indrakumar, Thomas Smelt, Ved Khanolkar, Vedita Sudesh, William Choy, William Zeng, and Yuen Tung Angie Tsang.

The UNSW Business School Most Popular Business and Commerce Employer was to KPMG and the UNSW Most Popular Graduate Employer was  EY.

More information about the awards, and individual profiles of the top 100 Future Leaders, can be found on the GradConnection website.