Jessica Ferguson, who is based in Perth, received the newly introduced PCO award for her work with Arinex association client, Dr. Kylie Sandy-Hodgetts, founder and president of the International Surgical Wound Complications Advisory Panel. The pair are collaborating to bring medical events to Western Australia.
Other Aspire Award winners came from a variety of tertiary and research institutions in Western Australia, including the University of Western Australia, Curtin University, Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, The Kids Research Institute and Murdoch University.
Winners receive travel grants to attend an international conference in their area of expertise, with a view to bringing these conferences to Western Australia in future.
“With 125 applications, the program continues to strengthen and with ten award recipients it really showcases the broad spectrum of research and leading expertise across Western Australia,” said Business Events Perth CEO, Gareth Martin.
“The 2024 Aspire Awards present an opportunity for the ten award recipients to attend international conferences globally, that help them connect with their academic peers and also seek the knowledge to further advance their research – we are really proud to be a part of that journey.
“As Australia’s western gateway to the world, meeting face-to-face facilitates positive collaboration, knowledge exchange and networking opportunities, putting Western Australia on the map and potentially attracting these important global business events to the state.”
This year, three early career researchers also received grants to attend international meetings through the Aspire Awards.
The program has yielded several international convention wins for WA over the last five years including the 9th Congress of the International Society for Applied Phycology (ISAP), which will take place in Perth in 2027.
Dr. Ashiwin Vadiveloo, who won an Aspire Award grant in 2023, played a key role in winning the event for Western Australia. The meeting is expected to draw 700 delegates and have an economic impact for the state of $5.8 million.
