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The gala evening celebrated the ideas, energy and determination of young people from across NSW and the ACT and was a powerful reminder of what can happen when bold ideas are given room to grow.
Each Innovation Award finalist started with a challenge or opportunity and, through curiosity, courage and persistence, turned an idea into something real.
At Symal, innovation is driven by our people and shaped by curiosity, collaboration and the courage to challenge what’s possible.
The Innovation Award celebrates young people who are innovating with intent, applying their skills, creativity and determination to solve real problems and create better outcomes for people, communities and industries.
This year’s finalists demonstrated just how many forms innovation can take, from scientific research and advanced manufacturing to digital health, mental health support and event technology.
As we shared in our presenter address on the night:
“Great ideas rarely arrive fully formed. They need room to grow, time to be tested and reshaped, and people who believe in them before the rest of the world catches on. That’s exactly what tonight’s finalists have done.”
This year’s Innovation Award winner, Shankar Dutt, is a research fellow at the Australian National University developing AI-integrated nanopore biosensors for early disease detection and environmental monitoring.
Shankar co-established and manages the world’s only laboratory capable of manufacturing these sensors using a particle accelerator. He has published 25 papers, secured more than $1 million in funding and lodged three patent applications.
His work brings together advanced scientific research and artificial intelligence to tackle significant real-world challenges. It’s the kind of future-focused thinking this award was created to celebrate.
Reflecting on receiving the award, Shankar shared on LinkedIn:
“The category recognises a young Australian under 30 whose work demonstrates outstanding innovation, and I am still adjusting to the fact that a physicist who spends most of his time looking at ionic current traces was standing on that stage at all.”
He also offered a fitting reflection on what innovation looks like in practice:
“Innovation, in my experience, looks far less like a moment of insight than like a long sequence of failed experiments interpreted patiently.”
It’s a sentiment that speaks strongly to the purpose behind this award. Meaningful innovation rarely happens overnight. It takes curiosity, persistence, collaboration and the courage to keep testing what might be possible.
Every finalist embodied the spirit of innovating with intent, and Symal congratulates each of them:
Annabel Zhou and Vivian Shen, Toastie Health: Two UNSW alumni and software engineers who drew on their own experiences living with chronic illness to create Toastie Health, helping people better understand and take control of their health. The app holds a 4.8-star rating and has reached millions online.
Alyssa Taranto, Please Find Your Seat: Drawing on almost a decade of experience in events and hospitality, Alyssa created an instant digital seating chart platform using QR-code technology for seating floor plans, digital menus and guest photo sharing. The platform supported 40,000 events in its first year.
Ruby Riethmuller, Womn-Kind App: Founder and CEO of a youth-led social enterprise expanding access to early mental health support and leadership education across Australia and 37 countries. Womn-Kind has supported more than 50,000 young people, while Ruby also serves as the youngest appointed Deputy Commissioner for Lived Experience at the NSW Mental Health Commission.
Dr Koentadi Hadinoto: A chemical engineer and emerging R&D leader whose PhD research at UNSW developed scalable plasma-activated water technology that rapidly eliminates bacteria, creating opportunities for safer disinfection in meat processing. He is now a project officer in advanced manufacturing at AMPC and co-founded the UNSW Chemical Engineering Research Society
At Symal, we believe in fostering partnerships today to create a better tomorrow. It’s a philosophy that shapes how we build, how we lead and why we’re proud to support the Innovation Award.
The achievements celebrated on the night reinforce an important idea. Innovation isn’t simply about having something new to say. It’s about having the curiosity to explore an idea, the courage to test it and the determination to turn it into something that makes a difference.
Thank you to Awards Australia for creating a platform that recognises and encourages the achievements of young people across NSW and the ACT.
Congratulations again to Shankar and every finalist. The future is in good hands.
