Student Diversity Hackathon

How might we make our UNSW community more equitable, diverse, and inclusive for students?

The Student Diversity Hackathon invites UNSW students to come together to contribute to making positive, lasting change in the UNSW student community.

Sponsored by UNSW Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, in collaboration with

As part of Diversity Fest 2022 this hackathon continued the conversation and awareness in the EDI space and invited UNSW students to give their voice to the future of student life on or off campus.

During this 1-day hackathon, students worked in diverse teams and were supported by experts, decision-makers, and creative problem-solving and innovation experts from the UNSW community to generate ideas that have the potential to make the UNSW student community more inclusive, from policy and technology interventions to communication and training initiatives.

Hackathons are fast-paced and fun and give all participants a chance to make new friends, learn new skills and contribute to making positive change in the world, pitch their idea and be in for a chance to win one of many cash prizes.

Participants won a share of a $6,000 cash prize pool! Read all about the winners below.

Hackathon support - Your mentors and judges

  • Prof. Attila Brungs (Special guest and judge)

    Prof. Brungs is Vice-Chancellor and President of UNSW Sydney. Prof. Brungs is a distinguished academic and higher education leader with extensive experience in the government and corporate sectors.

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  • Caitlyn McLoughlin (Mentor and judge)

    Caitlyn is Manager Diversity and Inclusion at UNSW.

  • Prof. Eileen Baldry (Judge)

    Prof. Baldry is Deputy Vice-Chancellor Equity Diversity and Inclusion and Professor of Criminology. Prof. Baldry has taught social policy, social development and criminology over the past 30 years.

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  • Jess Luquin (Mentor)

    Jess is Head of Student Life at UNSW. She is a qualified Social Worker with experience working with students from low-SES and disadvantaged backgrounds who are in high school and university. She has worked at UNSW for almost 10 years and in my current role, I'm the Head of Student Life at UNSW. Her work has a big focus on the domestic and international student engagement and the student experience.

  • Katy Head (Mentor)

    Katy is Deputy Director, Access Equity and Inclusion at UNSW.

  • Oliver Pike (Judge)

    Oliver is Chair of the Board at ARC.

  • Prof. Merlin Crossley (Judge)

    Prof. Crossley is Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic and Student Life at UNSW. He is a molecular biologist, specialising in human genetic diseases. He is also an enthusiastic teacher and science communicator who contributes frequent articles on science, education and policy.

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  • Shelley Valentine (Mentor)

    Shelley is the Chief Executive Officer of Arc @ UNSW. Under her stewardship Arc delivers a diverse portfolio of programs and initiatives for the students of UNSW. Shelley has over 15 years experience in the higher education sector with a particular passion for the student experience and a passion for creating engagement opportunities that accommodate the evolving complexities of student needs.

  • Fi Woolliscroft (Mentor)

    Fi is Program Coordinator at UNSW Founders program.

  • Dr Scott Brown (Mentor)

    Scott is a Lecturer at UNSW Sydney and can be found leading the Assistive Technology focus of the Creative Robotics Lab and teaching Interaction Design and UX at UNSW Art & Design.

    Scott is the developer behind an EDI small grant that focused on Creating Welcoming and Inclusive Campuses, and created an autism-friendly space on the UNSW Paddington campus.

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Teams and prize winners

  • TEAM 7’s idea focused on the UNSW escort and shuttle services run by security and how to make the services more visible to increase student use and safety.

  • TEAM EQUITY HOUSING’s idea focused on improving student housing outcomes, including helping international students avoid scams as well as a model for short-term housing.

  • TEAM URVOICE focused on the involvement of students in the design of new facilities on campus to cater to differing students’ needs.

  • TEAM EDSTART’s idea focused on a platform that would enable international students a place to make friends, find events, seek job opportunities, and get English support.

  • TEAM DO-IN THIS TOGETHER’s idea focused on creating a program that connects international students wanting to improve their English and make friends with domestic students wanting to socialise and make friends whilst getting work experience.

  • TEAM PLAYPALS’ idea focused on an easy-to-access inclusive sexual health resource for students with peer-to-peer mentoring available year round.