Our alumni never fail to inspire with their significant contributions both at home and across the globe. Congratulations to this year’s Alumni Award recipients whose achievements we look forward to celebrating throughout the upcoming year.
Across three categories, the 2024 University of Tasmania Alumni Award recipients have made a positive impact in business and politics, international relations, creative technologies and the performing arts.
The recipients are The Hon Warwick Smith AO (Distinguished Alumni Award), The Hon Lisa Singh (International Alumni Award), Dr Paris Buttfield-Addison (joint Young Alumni Award), and the musician and actor known as Naarah (joint Young Alumni Award).
The Hon Warwick Smith AO, a former Federal Government Minister and leader in business and international affairs, said receiving the University of Tasmania Distinguished Alumni Award 2024 was a profound honour.
“I hope this recognition inspires fellow alumni to leverage their university qualifications to make meaningful contributions to society and our global community, driving positive change and innovation,” he said.
Former Australian Senator and current CEO of the Australia India Institute The Hon Lisa Singh said, “I’m really honoured to receive this award from my alma mater, the University of Tasmania.
“My studies in humanities at UTAS have given me some amazing opportunities to represent my State and country, in state and federal parliament and across the world,” Ms Singh said.
“I now apply that learning to leading a think tank at a university that promotes collaboration with India to address global issues. The research and policy work we do is crucial to supporting a peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific region we all want to live in.”
Dr Paris Buttfield-Addison said, “My time at the University of Tasmania meant the world to me: I learned so much, and made so many friends, especially through taking an interdisciplinary approach to my learning, combining my undergraduate history degree with a technology degree, and progressing through a PhD that explored the human- and social-side of computing.”
Naarah is an actor and musician. She won the 2024 Tasmanian Young Australian of the Year and is the first Aboriginal person to study a Master of Musical Theatre at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Naarah also won the 2024 Creative Talent Award at the national NAIDOC Awards and the 2023 Creative Australia Dreaming Award.
“I’m so happy to receive this award as I’m so proud of my island home, Tassie. We have an incredible arts scene that deserves to be on the international stage and I’m doing just that,” she said.
Award recipients
More on each of the recipients follows. Full bios are available at Alumni Awards.
Distinguished Alumni Award
The Hon Warwick Smith AO
LLB ’78
Warwick Smith has made notable contributions across business, government and international relations. His advocacy within the Business Council of Australia as Immediate Past Chairman – Global Engagement and Security Committee, and his advisory roles in the Asia Society, the Australian American Leadership Dialogue, and the BOAO Forum for Asia have driven global economic cooperation and policy development. He was made a Fellow of the Australian Institute of International Affairs for his distinguished contribution to international affairs.
Mr Smith holds leadership and director roles at Seven Group Holdings, Capilano Honey and Marinus Link, and is a strategic advisor to some of Australia’s top listed ASX companies. He was Australia’s first Telecommunications Ombudsman, Former Chairman of the Council of the National Museum of Australia, and Director of the Foundation for Australian Studies in China. His leadership has advanced policy, industry standards, community engagement and cross-cultural understanding. Mr Smith held senior roles at Macquarie Bank and ANZ Bank, and was a Federal Government Minister 1984–1998. He has been recognised with the Order of Australia and the Centenary Medal.
International Alumni Award
The Hon Lisa Singh
BA ’94, BA (Hons) ’96
As a former Australian Senator and current CEO of the Australia India Institute, Lisa Singh has championed human rights, climate action and international relations. Her advocacy for the abolition of the death penalty, gender equality, and stronger Australia-India relations has resonated globally, influencing international policy and public awareness. She has strengthened ties between Australia and India, developing educational, cultural and economic partnerships that serve as a model for global collaboration.
As the first woman of South Asian heritage to be elected to the Australian Parliament, Ms Singh has served as a role model for women and minority groups. She holds a Master of International Relations and has served as Deputy Chair on the Australian Government’s Australia-India Council and sat on the University of New South Wales’ Human Rights Institute Advisory Board. Ms Singh sits on the advisory board of Asialink, is a Cricket Australia Multicultural Ambassador, and a board director of Beyond Blue. She also served as a Tasmanian parliamentarian and government minister.
Young Alumni Award
Dr Paris Buttfield-Addison
BA-BComp ’07, BComp (Hons) ’08, PhD ’14
Dr Paris Buttfield-Addison, a world-renowned creative technologist, has had a significant impact on the global game development industry. As co-founder of Secret Lab, he has led innovative and award-winning projects for clients as diverse as Apple, Qantas, ABC, CSIRO,
and the Port Arthur Historic Site. As a director of Yarn Spinner, he works to make interactive narrative creation accessible to all. An internationally best-selling author, he has published over 20 books on topics from AI to astrophysics.
Dr Buttfield-Addison co-founded the West Coast Space Centre, a non-profit working towards a community science centre in Strahan, Tasmania. He has held roles as an Executive of the Australasian Apple University Consortium, President of the Tasmanian Game Makers
Association, and Branch Executive Committee member of the Australian Computer Society.
His contributions have significantly advanced the field of creative technology while inspiring and empowering countless individuals worldwide.
Young Alumni Award
Naarah
BMus ’19
Naarah is an actor and musician. She won the 2024 Tasmanian Young Australian of the Year and is the first Aboriginal person to study a Master of Musical Theatre at the Royal Academy of Music in London, paving the way for future First Nations artists. Naarah also won the 2024 Creative Talent Award at the national NAIDOC Awards and the 2023 Creative Australia Dreaming Award for her upcoming musical theatre project “Broadway but Blak” – a cabaret journey of musical theatre from a First Nations’ perspective.
Naarah has been working across theatre, television and content creation, and is a national radio host for ABC Classic. She shares powerful stories and is passionate about mentoring emerging artists with a major focus on community.
A Gija woman from the Kimberley who grew up in lutruwita/Tasmania, Naarah debuted the new First Nations role of Killara in Our Country’s Good on London’s West End in September–October 2024.
Written by Katherine Johnson.
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