2023 recipients

Alumni Awards

Graduate Medals

José-Miguel Bello y Villarino (PhD, '22), The Rita and John Cornforth Medal for Research Excellence

José-Miguel Bello y Villarino’s career was already well established when he decided to undertake a PhD in Law. He served as a member of the Diplomatic Corps of Spain and served in diplomatic postings in Eastern Europe, West Africa, South-East Asia and Central America. His last position before moving to Sydney was Deputy Head of Mission in Islamabad. 

His PhD research on corruption and international law is highly regarded by his peers and mentors. During his studies he was awarded a University Postgraduate Award (cat. 5), the Walter Reid scholarship and a Fulbright-Schuman scholarship for the exchange programme at Harvard Law School. His dissertation was praised as “a masterful combination of trenchant normative argument and level-headed practical recommendation”. Since graduating, he has taken up a contract at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision Making and Society, based at the Law School, conducting research on the governance of artificial intelligence.  

Dr Yeon Jae Kim (BMedSc (Hons) ’16, PhD, ’21, MD, ‘22), Medal for Postgraduate Leadership  

Dr Yeon Jae Kim has consistently displayed her leadership qualities throughout her studies. Having been with the University since 2012, she has undertaken a Bachelor of Medical Science (Honours) and a concurrent PhD and Doctor of Medicine. Despite these high-pressure degrees, Yeon Jae has been an active member of the University of Sydney community, serving as president of the Postgraduate Research Student Society at Northern Clinical School and coaching and mentoring students. She also served on multiple university boards and committees to further the student voice.

She has followed her instinct for humanitarian work, completing an Aurora Internship with Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation (ALNF) to support Indigenous Australians and First Language knowledge, travelling to mentor refugee children in Malaysia, and volunteering to promote second chance education worldwide. Alongside her plans to become a research-clinician in Cardiology, Yeon Jae intends to continue teaching and mentoring, and working with the ALNF.  

Dane Luo (BCom (Hons) ’21, LLB (Hons) ‘23), The Convocation Medal  for Undergraduate Leadership

To say that Dane Luo was involved in campus life would be an understatement. Dane was involved in the SRC (where he served as Vice President), the USU, the Business Society and the Law Society, and served as a Student Ambassador, Mentor and Academic Tutor. Over the course of his Bachelor of Commerce (Honours)/ Bachelor of Laws (Honours) degree, he was recognised for his both academic prowess and his contributions to campus culture.  

Dane recently moved to the United Kingdom to study the Bachelor of Civil Law at the University of Oxford with the generous support of the University of Sydney Law School. He hopes to pursue a career as a lawyer and academic, focusing on advancing equality and advocating for change in Australia and abroad. With an ability to balance his work with his passion for giving back to the community, we look forward to keeping up with Dane’s future career.  

Carmen Marton (MBA, '22), The Nigel C Barker Medal for Sporting Achievement

Carmen Ewa Marton’s career is the stuff of sporting legend. She is Australia’s first ever World Taekwondo Champion, represented Australia at three Olympic Games and is Australia’s most decorated Taekwondo athlete. While undertaking her Master of Business Administration, she was involved in the university’s Elite Athlete Program which propelled Carmen to become Australia’s highest ranked female player in the World, while achieving gold in both the 2019 Pacific Games and Oceania Championships. 

Carmen’s studies have helped her develop a clearly articulated strategy to drive the change needed to lift high performance athletic programs in Australia and she was recently awarded the Performance Pathway Lead position for National Sporting Organisation, Australian Taekwondo. This marks the first time a woman has held this position in the Taekwondo Combat Sports Program. If that wasn’t a challenge enough, she is also exploring a career as an actor and stuntwoman.  

Rebecca Hyland (GradDipIndigHProm, '22), The Sister Alison Bush Medal for Contribution to Indigenous Community

Rebecca Hyland is a proud Kamilaroi-Gomeroi woman who is dedicated to empowering through education. Her career has taken her across remote areas of Australia, working in First Nations Engagement across government, non-government and corporate sectors. The completion of her Graduate Diploma in Indigenous Health Promotion has helped to prepare her for what will surely be a busy few years ahead. 

She is currently the Co-Chair for the GACD Indigenous Populations Working Group, as well as being the Senior Projects Manager for iSISTAQUIT, a national research project. iSISTAQUIT recently received an additional three years of funding to 'scale up' into more services and more communities across Australia. She has also committed to further study, undertaking a master's degree by research.  

Amber Linz (BDesComp, ’23), The John C Harsanyi Medal for Innovation 

Amber Linz is a start-up whiz-kid. While undertaking her Bachelor of Design Computing, she seized every opportunity to get involved in designing innovative solutions for today’s problems, taking part in the University of Sydney Business School’s flagship startup accelerator, Gensis. She won the Student Innovation Award for Planetary Impact, before going on to win SmartCompany’s early-stage startup competition, the Pitch.  

Lava, the latest evolution of Amber’s idea, provides brands with a unique way to connect with digital creators and translate video engagement directly into sales. This year, Lava joined US-based startup accelerator, Neo, receiving $625K in pre-seed funding to continue to scale their operation internationally.