Developing Leadership through AUT Edge Award

The desire to engage, inspire and develop the "difference makers of tomorrow" is why Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand (CAANZ) sponsor the AUT Edge Award Leadership prize, says CAANZ Careers Engagement Consultant Mia Arts.

Mia  was - in turn - inspired by this semester’s prize winner Munaal Abdali who started an HR club at AUT, was AUT ambassador for Human Resources Institute NZ and business school committee postgraduate representative – amongst other roles.

“Munaal is a talented student with amazing potential, she showed her leaderships skills through her dedication and commitment to assisting others in their development and growth.”

It had been quite a journey for Munaal who had to overcome fear of public speaking and a tendency to stay within her comfort zone to achieve this level of leadership.

“Through this I have found a renewed sense of responsibility to help others uncover their potential just as I did through doing the AUT Edge Award,” says Munaal.

Now 153 AUT Edge Award graduates

There are now 153 AUT Edge Award graduates in the workforce and another 1,800 students working through the award. This semester’s 58 AUT Edge Award graduates celebrated with industry representatives, staff and family at a graduation ceremony on December 5.

Industry sponsored five prizes to acknowledge students that went beyond expectation in volunteering, leadership, personal growth and overall achievement. The four other industry sponsors were InterContinental Hotels Group, SEEK Volunteering, Auckland Council and YUDU.

This cohort of amazing students have collectively contributed more than 3500 volunteering hours to the community and challenged themselves with more than 1100 hours attributed to leadership activities. They have attended 125 employer presentations and 787 employability workshops.

The result is graduates with work ready CVs and relevant LinkedIn profiles, who are capable networkers and confident telling employers who they are, says Director of Student Employability Anna Williams.

“Our AUT Edge Award graduates gain an edge in the marketplace with great communication skills, evidence of volunteering and leadership qualities. We are very proud of our latest Award graduates.”

Winners of the AUT Edge Award prizes

• Chartered Accountants Australia and NZ (CAANZ) Leadership Prize won by Munaal Abdali
• Auckland Council Overall Achievement prize won by Peter Jean-Paul
• SEEK Volunteering prize won by Lauren Williams
• InterContinental Hotels Group Kingi prize won by Jaspreet Kaur 
• YUDU Personal Growth prize won by Lovely Marlait

(Left to right:Munaal Abdali, Lauren Williams, Peter Jean-Paul, Jaspreet Kaur, Lovely Marlait)