Students Helping Students Awards update

The Students Helping Students (SHS) Awards will not proceed in 2026. Future approaches to recognising student contribution across the SHS network are currently being reviewed and considered.

As SHS mentoring programs continue to operate across Deakin, we thank our mentors and student leaders for their ongoing contributions.

Deakin recognises the contributions of the many trained mentors and student leaders who share their unique knowledge and skills with their peers.

Mentors as well as mentees enjoy a sense of belonging and community because of the mentoring experience. Learning happens through dialogue and exchange in academic, practical, and social ways. Both formal and incidental learning happens everywhere at Deakin, across campuses and online.

The Students Helping Students (SHS) awards have provided a means to formally recognise mentors for their achievements and for their contribution to the University. The awards have celebrated the impact of peer learning and leadership across the SHS network.

The SHS awards are also a learning experience in themselves and encourage reflection by mentors on the capabilities they have developed because of their mentoring. Furthermore, the awards have helped both students and staff develop an increased understanding of what learning is all about. After all, learning happens everywhere.

While the SHS Awards will not be held in 2026, Deakin is exploring new and evolving ways to recognise student contribution across the SHS network.

What our award winners have said