With curriculum time getting busier and busier, a great way to inspire and empower students is before and after school with extracurricular programs for students. Our after school programs are fantastic at doing this and allow us to get students thinking big and focussing on cross-curricular, project-based learning as they tackle challenges, build skills and work on projects that get them thinking about the world around them and the exciting opportunities open to their generation.
With everything from designing future cities to launching influencer brands, building businesses, working with technology and more, we have a range of standard programs to choose from, or we're able to customise a program to your school community. Our after school programs typically run for 6-8 weeks and cost $30 per student per week.
Award Categories
For 2023 we are excited to offer six award categories to recognise the most future-focused young people from across the country. Each category is open to Australian primary and high school students and teachers, and the awards night will feature three finalists per category. The categories are as follows:
Young Entrepreneur Of The Year
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The Young Entrepreneur Of The Year award will go to a student who has developed and demonstrated their entrepreneurial skills in order to bring their business idea to life in a scalable way.
Young Leader Of The Year
The Young Leader Of The Year award will go to a student who has made a significant impact in their local community through the development of their leadership abilities.
Gen Z Of The Year
The Gen Z Of The Year award will go to a student born between the years 1995 - 2010 who has developed and showcased an outstanding level of 21st-century skills across a range of projects in their local community.
Young Innovator Of The Year
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The Young Innovator Of The Year award will go to a student who has demonstrated the ability to push the boundaries as they have developed an out-of-the-box solution to a challenge presented to them.
Innovative Educator Of The Year
The Innovative Educator Of The Year award will go to an educator who has gone above and beyond in their pursuit to educate and empower the next generation of young innovators, entrepreneurs and changemakers.
Gen Alpha Of The Year
The Gen Alpha Of The Year award will go to a student born after the year 2011 who has developed and showcased an outstanding level of 21st-century skills across a range of projects in their local community.
Nominations for our 2023 awards are now closed, but click the button below to meet our 2023 national finalists!
Showcasing The Next Generation Of Young Innovators, Entrepreneurs And Leaders
With so many young people leading projects in their communities, the Next Gen Awards have been created as an opportunity to showcase our next generation of young innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders across the country.
Entries for this awards program are open to all Australian primary and high school students and teachers with six categories to acknowledge young people that are building their 21st-century skills as they work on projects to bring their ideas to life and make an impact in their communities.
The 2023 awards program features a myriad of opportunities for young people to build their skills, network with other young leaders, and connect with leading organisations across the country looking to support innovative young professionals.
If you are a young innovator, entrepreneur or leader currently enrolled in a primary or high school across the country, make sure to nominate now!


Nominations Are Now Closed For 2023!

Open To All Primary And High School Students & Educators Across Australia
Meet Your Judges
As entries stream in from across the country, we are incredibly excited to be releasing our line up of industry-leading judges for each category. These judges will be reviewing entries and helping us select our finalists that will be announced in early September, and our award winners that will be announced at our awards evening in Term Four! Keep your eyes peeled as we continue to announce our judges for each category.
To find our more about each of the judges, click on their tile above or follow the link below to the judges page.

Celebrating The Next Generation Of Top Young Talent
Online Events
As part of the 2023 Next Gen Awards program, we are incredibly excited to be hosting a series of free events online and in person across the country throughout the year. Free to attend for all students in Years 4-12 as well as primary and high school educators, these events are designed to help attendees develop their skills and understanding as they work to innovate, create and lead! Here's what we've got available:
From Little Things, Big Things Grow
Watch The Replay | Online
Our From Little Things, Big Things Grow Webinar will see attendees learning how to build, launch, and grow their ideas. Attendees will hear from three inspirational Western Australians in the business space.
Personal Branding Masterclass
Watch the Replay | Online
Join us for a free virtual masterclass to help you build your own personal brand, grow your network and start showcasing the work you’re leading as an aspiring young professional.
Pitching Masterclass
Watch The Replay | Online
Our Pitching Masterclass will see attendees looking at how they can build engaging pitches for their ideas and projects as they explore how to structure a pitch, build visuals and engage an audience.
Community Leaders Masterclass
Watch The Replay | Online
Our Community Leaders masterclass has been designed to show young people how they can develop a product, service or initiative to support people in their local community.

Tune Into Our Free Virtual Masterclasses!
How To Enter
The awards program is open to all primary and high school students and educators across Australia. Each award category will ask you to answer six questions telling us why you think you're a great fit for that category.
Once you've submitted your application, it will be reviewed by our team before being reviewed by a panel of industry-leading judges. Once judging has been completed, three finalists will be announced for each category and the winner of each award will be announced at the awards evening in Term 4, 2023.
Applications will open on the 15th of May 2023, and will close on the 21st of August 2023.


Why Enter?
With research showing that Generation Z (born between 1995-2010) and Generation Alpha (born between 2011-2025) are more innovative, entrepreneurial and motivated by impact, we're now seeing young people across the country working to make a change in their communities.
These awards have been designed to showcase, connect and reward young people working to bring their ideas to life. As a nominee, this is a great way to:
- Connect with like-minded young people across the country
- Gain recognition for your work and raise awareness of your projects
- Build your network of industry and community leaders
- Build your personal brand as a young professional
- Develop your skills in sharing your story
- Share in a prize pool designed to help support you on your journey
The Awards
In term four of 2023 there will be an in-person awards ceremony hosted in Brisbane, Queensland where we will be recognising all of our finalists and announcing our award winners for each category.
All finalists are invited to join us in person on the evening, and if you're unable to make it, we'll also be live-streaming the awards ceremony across the country and we invite you to tune in virtually.
The winner of each award category will receive a prize bundle designed for their award category with opportunities for them to further develop their skills, build their profile, and resource their projects.
The awards ceremony will be hosted during early term four and more information will be announced shortly.


Showcasing The Next Generation Of Young Innovators, Entrepreneurs & Leaders

Join The Crowd
Whilst nominations for our 2023 Next Gen Awards have closed, make sure to leave your contact details below to join our mailing list and keep up to date with all of our updates!
To find out more about how you can get support the awards, make sure to click the button below and submit a contact form.
2023 Next Gen Awards Powered By:

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