The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) is Australia’s foremost impact network for leading applied scientists, technologists and engineers.
The Academy celebrates excellence in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by appointing prestigious Fellows, awarding upcoming innovators and equipping the next generation with skills to build a better Australia and world.
We are an authoritative and independent voice to decision-makers, and our world-class STEM career programs are shaping the knowledge-makers and innovators we need to tackle our most urgent challenges — now and in the future.
Election to ATSE
ATSE’s key strength is its Fellows’ deep knowledge, expertise and experience in science, technology and engineering and drawn from academia, government policy, industry/business and publicly funded research agencies. Ensuring we elect the best minds to ATSE is vital for our sustained expertise, quality of advice, effectiveness, and ultimate impact.
To ensure ATSE is the leading Learned Academy for the 21st Century we need to ensure we have expertise that reflects the technologies of the future as well as those that reflect current national technology challenges and issues.
Membership is a highly competitive process and each year ATSE receives many more nominations than there are places for new Fellows. To manage this situation ATSE has a meticulous, merit-based, peer review process for Fellowship selection by Fellows who are the nation’s leaders in technological sciences and engineering. The process of election to Fellowship is detailed, robust, fair, and rigorous, and only a small fraction of nominees are elected as Fellows each year.
Peer assessment is organised via eight individual Sector Groups:
• Energy, Mining and Minerals Processing
• Water and Environment
• Information and Communications Technology
• Materials and Emerging Technologies
• Infrastructure
• Biotechnology and Human Health
• Primary Industries and Food Technology
• Entrepreneurship, Service and Education
Diversity in the Fellowship
In promoting diversity and inclusion in STEM, a priority will be to address the imbalance in gender in STEM. The Academy’s other diversity priorities include Indigenous Australians, and cultural and linguistic diversity. Further, younger Fellows will have an opportunity to contribute to a modern and future facing academy for many years to come.
We encourage nominations supporting outstanding diverse candidates including young applied scientists and engineers who have made exceptional contributions to their discipline. The Board has championed gender equity in the Fellowship and put a gender equity target for women. The gender equity Board target for women is a minimum of 50 per cent of all elected New Fellows and up to five additional women or non-binary people.
To promote gender balance further, while Fellows can normally only be the Proposer, Seconder, and/or Supporter of up to two candidates each intake year (including both STAGE 1 and STAGE 2), if this involvement is for nominations of different genders, then Fellows can be a Proposer, Seconder and/or Supporter for a maximum of three candidates each intake year, including nominating three women.
For more information on our targets and Diversity and Inclusion Policy click here.
Eligibility
In order to ensure the overall number of Fellows within ATSE reflects international standards of membership of Learned Academies of Engineering and Technological Sciences, the Board of ATSE has determined that the total number of New Fellows to be elected will be a maximum of 35 Fellows and one Foreign Fellow.
The maximum number of elected Fellows takes into consideration the target to elect up to five Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and up to five women or non-binary people.
All existing Fellows are eligible to participate in the nomination process.
Nomination for Fellowship
Only ATSE Fellows can nominate candidates for election to the Academy, and we encourage all our Fellows to nominate diverse candidates.
ATSE strives to be a leader in diversity and inclusion. We are committed to supporting excellence in applied science, technology and engineering and we recognise that to achieve this we must celebrate and embrace diversity and inclusion in all its forms.
To nominate an individual for Fellowship, a range of biographical details, supported by citations attesting the candidate’s expertise, achievements, impact and value to the Academy are required. Full details for submitting a nomination can be found via the Fellows-only portal and nominations can be submitted via the online portal.
You can watch our 10 minute video addressing frequently asked questions around nominating new Fellows below. Guidelines for completing a nomination are available on the Fellows-only portal.
Timeline — 2024 New Fellows election process
Criteria
Impact of achievements which reflect outstanding individual achievement in technological sciences and engineering.
The potential value of the candidate in contributing to the Academy’s mission. This is demonstrated in applications through existing service and commitment to sector development beyond a candidate’s employment.
Note regarding gender equity: *Proposers (seconders or supporters – see page footer for terminology) may put forward up to three candidates, providing at least one of them is a woman. Women should constitute 50 per cent of all new Fellows elected to the Academy by 2025.
Frequently Asked Questions
Presented by Doreen Thomas AM FTSE (Former Vice-President, Nominations) and Kylie Walker (ATSE Chief Executive Officer).
What makes a good nomination?
Nominations are competitive. A good nomination should be well written and carefully considered. You should speak to the nominee and seek as much information as possible.
You should also spend time seeking good support for the nomination.
You should work with your Seconder, your Supporters, and your nominee to gather up information. There are only 500 words for each of the impact statements and value statements at Stage 1.
What does ‘value to the Academy’ mean?
You should describe what the nominee has done outside their day job.
- What contributions are they making to society?
- Are they contributing broadly to their discipline?
- Or to their organisation?
- Do they show an interest in mentoring?
- Do they demonstrate a commitment to diversity and inclusion?
You should also provide evidence that they will give some of their time to the Academy and its mission.
Can new Fellows nominate?
Any Fellow can nominate. New Fellows are encouraged to get involved in nominations.
Do you need permission from your Division before nominating?
You don’t need permission from your Division, but it is best practice to advise the membership coordinator in your Division because it is their role is to assist the Academy in finding in developing new nominations developing the membership.
The membership coordinator may also be able to provide advice and connect you to ‘supporters’ for your nomination.
Is it best to seek a supporter from within your own organisation or state or territory or to look further afield?
Nominations should be a national process. Often selected Fellows are those who are well known nationally, and often internationally.
Broad support from across organisations is recommended.
Do Fellows or potential Fellows who come from industry need to demonstrate significant academic achievement?
No. Typically these candidates wouldn’t have an academic record at all and this is acceptable.
Note that there is a target for 40% of new Fellows to be from industry.
How does ATSE support the nomination of women?
To support and encourage the nomination of women, there are allowances around the number of nominations a Fellow can be involved in at both Stage 1 and Stage 2.
You are allowed to be involved in TWO nominations as a proposer, seconder supporter, if those two candidates are men.
However, you can be involved in up to THREE nominations, if at least one of the nominations is for a woman. You can nominate three women.
For example, if you’ve supported two nominations at Stage 1, then you can support a further nomination at Stage 2, as long as that person is a woman.
Is there a lower age limit?
There isn’t an age limit and younger Fellows are encouraged.
In trying to shape the Academy for the future, it is acknowledged that younger fellows have a long number of years ahead of them to contribute to the Academy.
If a person has made significant impact, and they’re on the strong upward trajectory, those candidates are looked at favourably.
If I’ve nominated someone as a potential new Fellow, when will I hear back about the nomination?
After Stage 1, some candidates won’t go through to Stage 2 and the Proposers will be informed.
Proposers and Nominees are also notified if they are up for election following the end of July meeting.
What kind of material do we ask for at the Stage 2 nomination?
The Stage 2 nominations is an opportunity for the proposer to provide more information about the impact and value statements. We also seek information from one further supporter who may or may not be a Fellow. And we can have up to three referees who do not have to be ATSE Fellows.
How long between notification of Stage 1 success and submission of Stage 2 nominations?
Six weeks are provided to collect extra information for Stage 2.
Is the nomination process top secret and confidential? Does the nominee know that they’re being nominated?
The nominee should be advised that they are being nominated.
It’s best practice to seek as much advice and information from the nominee as possible in order to strengthen the nomination.
Who should be nominated?
Nominations are sought to increase diversity of gender, multicultural diversity, and multilingual diversity. Nominations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is strongly encouraged.
We seek to have the diversity of the Academy reflect the nation that we work in.
What benefits are there to being a Fellow of the Academy? Why might somebody consider being nominated?
Being a Fellow of the Academy is really an honour. It is such a privilege to be able to network with other Fellows who come from all sorts of walks of life, who have made great contributions to academia and a wide variety of different industries.
The Fellowship facilitates networking and real contributions towards policy.
Fellows can influence the way government is funding industry and funding applied science.
It’s an opportunity to make an impact on society – to make the world a better place for our families.
Enquiries
Please contact the Membership Manager, Elvira Copur, if you have any questions regarding the nomination process, including the eligibility of a candidate or suitability of a referee. Enquiries may also be referred to the Vice-President Membership, where necessary.
membership@atse.org.au
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*Terminology: The person making the nomination is termed the Proposer who must be a Fellow of ATSE. A nomination must also be seconded by a Fellow termed the Seconder. A nomination must include further support by experts termed as Supporters.