Published 19 November 2025
Future Anything Educator Awards 2025 winners unveiled
2025 was a record-breaking year for Future Anything’s Activate in-curriculum entrepreneurship program, with more than 8,200 students and 370 teachers across nearly 90 schools nationwide bending the future, one youth-led idea at a time.
The culmination of Activate 2025, the Future Anything National Grand Final was broadcast live from the State Library of Queensland on 18 November.
With a sell-out audience in attendance, the event was a was a high-energy celebration of some of the most innovative, scalable, and sustainable student enterprise ideas from across Australia.
Twenty-one school-age entrepreneurs took to the stage to pitch their for-purpose ventures, while further 22 student teams showcased their products and services in a buzzing expo space that brought the library to life.
But the spotlight didn’t just shine on the students. Future Anything also celebrated the legends behind the learning: their teachers.
Now in its fifth year, the Future Anything Educator Awards honoured the educators who not only delivered the Activate program in their classrooms but lived it, embodying creativity, courage, and an enterprising spirit in their teaching.
This year’s awards were the biggest yet, drawing nominations from schools across Australia. And, for the first time ever, students themselves had the chance to nominate their teachers, resulting in hundreds of heartfelt nominations pouring in from classrooms around the country.
The winners were unveiled live on stage by Future Anything CEO, Nicole Dyson. In a special moment, Nicole announced that in honour of the life of Cally Neilson, a bold and inspiring science educator who recently passed away, the prestigious ‘Educator of the Year’ award will now be known as Cally Neilsen Educator of the Year Award. Read more about the incredible Cally Neilsen here.
Team of the Year 2025: Canterbury College (QLD)
The ‘Team of the Year’ award recognises cohorts of outstanding Future Anything Activate educators.
Their collective efficacy, positivity, and shared vision has led to the emergence/growth of an enterprising school culture, partnerships with the broader entrepreneurial ecosystem, and/or engaging (and fun) opportunities for young people to bend the future; one youth-led idea at a time.
Against extremely stiff competition from Coorparoo Secondary College (QLD), Investigator College (SA), St Luke’s Catholic College (NSW) and St Andrew’s Anglican College (QLD), the coveted ‘Team of the Year 2025’ award was taken home by Canterbury College (QLD), who have turned Activate into a whole-school approach with three streams running across three year levels in both the Junior and Secondary School.
Demonstrating strategic collaboration, purposeful design, and an unwavering belief that entrepreneurial thinking should start early, the team explicitly taught growth mindsets, enabling students to reframe mistakes as opportunities and failure as feedback, helping their young entrepreneurs to students view setbacks as vital steps in innovation.
After congratulating the other nominees, Canterbury College’s Amanda von Kanel said “We love how much entrepreneurship and skill building is growing at Canterbury College, it really fits with our world-ready theme we have across the school, and the Future Anything curriculum just aligns perfectly.”
Trailblazer 2025: Matt Veprek, Salisbury East High School (SA)
The Trailblazer award recognises an outstanding first-year teacher of Future Anything’s Activate in-curriculum program. The 2025 winner was Matt Veprek from Salisbury East High School in South Australia.
Congratulating Matt, Nicole Dyson said “Matt is working in a complex school with a group of very dynamic young people. The work he has led has significantly increased both engagement and attendance and is to be highly commended. ”
The other finalists shortlisted in the Trailblazer of the Year category were Tayla Evans (Bowen State High School, QLD), Amelia Hamilton-Smith (Coorparoo Secondary College, QLD), Ben Hopkins (Carmel College, QLD) and Marc Tidd (Silkwood School, QLD).
Cally Neilsen Educator of the Year 2025: Alexia Little, Cardijn College (SA)
The Cally Neilsen Educator of the Year award recognises an experienced Future Anything educator, one who not only ‘thinks like an entrepreneur’ in their own approach to teaching and learning, but has also built an enterprising culture in their students, staff and school community.
Winner of this highly-competitive category was Alexia Little of Cardijn College in South Australia. As Science Curriculum Leader, Alexia has led the strategic implementation of Future Anything’s Activate program at Cardijn.
From piloting the program in 2020, she has since scaled it across all Year 10 Science classes, aligning it with ACARA outcomes and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Alexia Little said “I am incredibly grateful for our Year 10 science team, whose openness, courage, and willingness to embrace Future Anything from day one has transformed what student learning can look like at Cardijn College. What began as a small pilot in my own classroom has grown into a program that now empowers every Year 10 learner to think boldly, create meaningfully, and see themselves as change-makers.
Alexia added “This success belongs to a team who consistently lean into the unknown, pushing the boundaries of traditional science education, and celebrating student growth in all its forms. Their commitment to curiosity, innovation, and high expectations has genuinely shifted outcomes for our students and I am proud to work alongside such exceptional educators who make this impact possible every single day.
The other brilliant finalists shortlisted in the Cally Neilsen Educator of the Year category were Karen Casey (Ferny Grove State High School, QLD), Olivia Clifford (Ardrossan Area School, SA), Sophie Honeybourne (St Andrew’s Anglican College, QLD), Jack Morris (Marsden State High School, QLD).
Reflecting on the Future Anything Educator Awards 2025, Nicole Dyson said “Great teachers turn learning into a launchpad. The educators recognised tonight, indeed all the teacher we work with across the Future Anything community, are redefining what’s possible in classrooms across Australia. They’re creating spaces where young people can dream, and have the future capabilities that are vital to design and deliver real-world change.”
You can watch the Future Anything National Grand Final 2025, including the unveiling of the Educator Awards 2025 Winners, on YouTube here.
The Future Anything National Grand Final 2025 took place at the State Library of Queensland in Brisbane and live online on Tuesday 18 November 2025. The event was the culmination of Future Anything’s award-winning Activate curriculum-aligned program for primary and secondary schools.
