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Swinburne tops Victoria for graduate success

In 2025, Swinburne reaffirmed our position as a leader in graduate outcomes, with the latest national data highlighting our strong focus on employability, industry engagement and real-world learning. According to the 2025 Graduate Outcomes Survey, Swinburne undergraduates reported the highest median salaries in Victoria—close to $78,000—and the highest full-time employment rate in the state, with 74.3 per cent securing roles within months of graduating. These results reflect the university’s strategic commitment to preparing students for the workforce through practical, job-focused education, deep industry partnerships and personalised career support.

Building pathways to employment in health

In addition to full-time, paid placements for Health Sciences students, the university partnered with 24 organisations across industry-linked health sciences projects, including Austin Health, Eastern Health and St Vincent’s.

Technology-enhanced teaching

Partnerships with education technology providers, including FeedbackFruits and Qwickly, supported enhanced teaching and learning practice. These technologies streamlined assessment, feedback and participation monitoring, enabling more engaging, efficient and responsive learning experiences across on-campus and online environments.

Internships empower students to tackle stroke challenges

Bachelor of Applied Innovation double degree students undertook industry-embedded innovation internships with the Stroke Foundation, contributing fresh ideas and human-centred problem solving to support the organisation’s mission to reduce the impact of stroke in Australia.

Strengthening industry collaboration through HDR innovation internships

Swinburne piloted our Higher Degree by Research (HDR) Innovation Internship Program this year, with three students undertaking industry-embedded projects in partnership with the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) and global environmental services company SUEZ.

Training and assessment placements amplify the future of vocational education

Swinburne enhanced the VET workforce through our Training and Education (TAE) practicum placement program. By combining real classroom experience with mentoring and applied learning, the program equipped aspiring educators with the skills and confidence to transition into teaching roles. Early outcomes showed strong conversion from placement to employment, both within Swinburne and across the broader sector.

The Swinburne Innovation Studio continues to play a pivotal role in powering the university’s entrepreneurship ecosystem. Through a dynamic portfolio of events, programs and workshops, Swinburne is igniting entrepreneurial thinking, fuelling bold ambition and supporting the development of high-potential startups from idea to impact.

Nurturing diverse entrepreneurial pathways

The 2025 Luminate Showcase demonstrated the quality and breadth of Swinburne’s entrepreneurial community, celebrating ventures emerging from both student founders and experienced alumni.

Out of eleven startups, Upgrid – founded by current Swinburne students – secured both the overall prize and the People’s Choice Award for its high-access industrial cleaning innovation.

Runners-up Synaptis and TouchGreen were recognised for their groundbreaking contributions in brain health technology and sustainable environmental solutions, underscoring the diverse impact of ventures nurtured through the Innovation Studio.

Showcasing emerging talent through the 2025 Venture Cup

Swinburne celebrated its flagship 2025 Venture Cup with two student-led startups among the three prize winners. AI-powered storytelling platform AutoAE from Zero Tech took the top prize. Led by PhD student Hanna Zhu, Zero Tech enables users to create motion graphics with a single click and now has more than 200,000 active users worldwide, with 125,000 videos produced last month through organic growth alone.

Encevia Systems was awarded runner up and AeroSync secured the People’s Choice Award. The competition marked the completion of the Elevate Program, a 12-week accelerator that provides tailored coaching, masterclasses and mentoring to emerging founders.

Swinnovation inspiring campus-wide innovation

Swinnovation brought together students for an Amazing Race-style challenge across the Hawthorn campus. Working in cross-discipline teams, participants tackled ideation activities, puzzles and photo missions designed to build innovation capability and entrepreneurial thinking. The event was delivered by the Swinburne Innovation Studio team in collaboration with Student Experience and supported by staff across the university.

Driving industry-aligned clean energy innovation

Pulse Innovate, a new challenge-led innovation program, delivered strong industry engagement in its inaugural year through strategic partnerships with EDF Power Solutions Australia (EDFA) and the Franco-Australian Indo-Pacific Centre for Energy Transition (FACET). Designed to accelerate clean energy innovation, the program supports ventures ready to pilot and scale technologies in energy storage, grid transmission, alternative clean fuels and integrated decarbonisation.

Co-designing the future of digital learning

Swinburne partnered with leading EdTech company Vidversity to co-design the next generation of digital learning tools that support contemporary teaching and learning. Through this equity-based partnership, the university is applying research and technology expertise alongside industry to deliver practical innovation outcomes and reinforce our leadership in digital education.

Supporting breakthrough therapeutics with Novapep

Novapep, an Australian biotechnology company developing drugs for acute inflammatory conditions and neurodegenerative diseases, continued its partnership with the university, supported by Swinburne Ventures, our in-house venture fund. Swinburne researchers are contributing to the advancement of Novapep’s therapeutic products, driving innovation in health and medical science.

Australia’s first Financial Crime Lab opens new career pathways

Co-created with KordaMentha, Swinburne’s Financial Crime Lab is the first university-based anti-money laundering (AML) facility in Australia. The collaboration gives students access to industry-grade tools, AML certification, and paid WIL placements, addressing critical skills shortages in fraud detection and forensic accounting.

Regional radio placements create real-world outcomes for media students

Through an ongoing partnership with Commercial Radio and Audio, Swinburne offers up to five students each year the opportunity to complete a two-week placement at a regional Victorian radio station. Swinburne students continue to secure ongoing employment through the partnership, demonstrating the value of hands-on industry experience in launching media careers.

Supporting inclusive employment pathways for VET students

The university expanded our partnership with GradWISE, a leading disability employment service provider, through the launch of a pilot program designed to support VET students living with disability into placement and employment. The initiative offered one-on-one coaching and tailored support for students, reinforcing Swinburne’s commitment to inclusive education, employability and equitable access for all learners.

Expanding international pathways in engineering

Swinburne renewed and expanded our partnership with French engineering school École Superieure des Travaux Publics (ESTP) and global construction company Bouygues Construction. Under the agreement, ESTP students are able to enrol in Swinburne’s one-year Master of Engineering Practice, receive a dual master’s degree from both institutions and undertake a paid voluntary internship experience with Bouygues in Australia for one or two years, providing a direct pathway to global industry experience.

Driving smarter and safer mobility through industry partnership

Swinburne and global transportation leader Geotab Inc. launched a strategic partnership to advance research, innovation and workforce development in Australia’s transport and technology sectors. The collaboration will

give students access to real-world telematics data, enabling hands-on learning and research opportunities that support the transition to smarter, safer and more sustainable mobility. Through curriculum integration, internships and scholarships, the partnership will help develop a pipeline of skilled graduates ready to meet industry needs.

Graduate research partnerships and research training

Swinburne continued to solidify our industry-aligned research training environment by supporting approximately 900 PhD and Master by Research candidates. Industry engagement remained central to our approach, with 80 per cent of newly commencing projects industry-related and 42 per cent of new scholarships funded or co-funded by external partners, reflecting strong confidence in our applied research capability.

This year also saw the launch of a renewed research training model designed to provide greater flexibility and personalised development pathways. Recognising the diverse skills and aspirations of our Higher Degree by Research (HDR) cohort, the model enables candidates to tailor individual training plans through specialised workshops, micro-credentials, short courses and experiential learning opportunities such as industry internships.

Swinburne Sarawak remained a key partner in our global

HDR ecosystem, with 12 per cent of candidates based at the campus and supported through a mobility program enabling research visits to Australia. We also maintained strategic research training partnerships with institutions including IIT Hyderabad and IIT Madras in India, Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), and Stuttgart University in Germany, consolidating international collaboration and enriching the HDR experience.