The NEXTgen 2021/22 program kicked off on Wednesday, with participants from around Australia meeting virtually due to ongoing COVID restrictions.

With a record number of high standard applicants, 31 were selected to take part in the 21/22 10-month professional development program. Participant backgrounds are diverse and range from education, mining, government, construction, health, ICT, energy and consumer products.

The group started with a full day workshop with a comprehensive introduction to standards, why they are important, the roles and responsibilities of the parties involved in the standards development process, and an overview of the different types of committees.

Comprising of webinars, workshops, and professional development meetings, the program is structured to develop young professionals into future standards contributors and leaders, by enhancing their standards knowledge, developing the necessary skills to become an effective committee member, as well as working on communication skills and personal branding. Each participant is also paired with a mentor who works at Standards Australia to help further guide them and give them an ‘inside perspective’.

“We’ve been overwhelmed with the quality of applications for this intake and are excited to work with these talented individuals to develop the next generation of standards contributors” said Kim Suter, Learning and Development Facilitator responsible for NEXTgen at Standards Australia.

Now in its fourth year, NEXTgen is targeted at young professionals with industry specific knowledge who are interested in learning how to develop standards as well as themselves while sharing their knowledge for the greater good. This year’s intake is made up of mostly early to mid-career professionals, with 45% female participation.

While COVID has again hampered plans to come together in person, restrictions pending, there are plans for the program to revert to face-to-face in early 2022.

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Our 2021/22 participants are:

Ali Arman Khurshid; Amit Dhole, Amarita Badhan, Andrew Fernandez, Andrew Hardiman, Anne D’Souza, Anne Nissen, Christelle Haddad, Jane Arnolda, Kelton Moses, Kerrod McPherson, Lauren Mann, Lydiawati Tjong, Nelson Alexander, Rachel Zhong, Reena Subramaniam, Sara Gillespie, Shane Cooper, Varun Guttual, Devika Thakkar, Dr. Natasha Keritals, Gokul D Krishnan, Megan Ward, Dr. Pathik Metha, Paul Brownlee, Roger Tang, Sonia James, Steven Edgecumbe, Tanya Roy, Thomas Steigler, Tim Lloyd-Smith.