Leading STEM diversity program nominated for Eureka Prize

Australia’s leading tech academy has been nominated for the 2025 Eureka Prize for STEM Inclusion, for its nation-leading Elevate: Boosting diversity in STEM scholarship program.

Elevate is awarding 500+ scholarships, with the program running between 2022 and 2032, opening doors for women and non-binary people to study STEM degrees at Australian universities.

“We’re immensely proud of Elevate, and honoured to be nominated for the prestigious Eureka Prize,” said ATSE CEO Dr Kylie Walker.

“Elevate was built to support diverse women and non-binary people who may not traditionally have had access to the opportunity, to study in science, technology and engineering fields where they’re under-represented.”
Elevate provides comprehensive support to tertiary students in undergraduate and postgraduate degrees – and beyond, also supporting women and non-binary people to accelerate in leadership roles post-graduation.

Scholars receive untied financial assistance and comprehensive wrap-around support to ensure they thrive, including events, networking, professional development, mentoring and wellbeing resources throughout their university journeys.

“Elevate was co-designed with students, universities, employers and system experts – and it’s proving a huge success,” said Dr Walker.  “We’re seeing a 96% retention rate – much higher than the national average and especially so when accounting for intersectionality.”

“At its core, Elevate recognises that many overlapping barriers can limit access to STEM education, even for incredibly driven students.

“That’s why we’re proud that Elevate brings opportunities to diverse groups who have ambition and high motivation to pursue science-, technology- and engineering-driven careers, but who face reduced access to tertiary education. The vast majority of our scholars have attributes such as coming from regional, rural and remote backgrounds, identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people, belonging to the LGBTQIA+ community, neurodiverse, or from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

“Elevate is changing the way people are accessing the skills they need for a science, technology and engineering powered career, bringing deep changes to our future workforce and powering a generation to shape Australia’s future.

“We’re honoured to have Elevate recognised on the national stage, and congratulate all of the other Eureka Prize finalists.”

Elevate is seed funded by the Department of Industry, Science and Resources, and supported by the Department of Defence and Snowy Hydro.

Applications are currently open for the 2026 program, closing on 1 September 2025.

Winners of the Eureka Prize will be announced on 3 September 2025. Learn more about Elevate here.