WILNZ Awards

Nominations are invited for 2026 WILNZ Awards

Nominations are now open for the 2026 WILNZ Awards below. Nominations close 16 March 2026.

WILNZ Service Award

This award recognises outstanding service and contribution to WILNZ operations or a WILNZ project over the previous two years.

WILNZ Service Award Nomination Form

WILNZ Innovation and Excellence Award

This award recognises innovative and sustained excellent practice of WIL by an individual, a work team, or through a WIL programme.

WILNZ Innovation & Excellence Award Nomination Form

WILNZ Research Excellence Award

This award is in recognition of a published scholarly output of excellence.

WILNZ Research Excellence Nomination Form

WILNZ Collaboration Award

This award is in recognition of distinguished and effective collaboration by an external organisation with a higher education institution to further WIL.

WILNZ Collaboration Award Nomination Form

WILNZ Honorary Life Member Award

This substantive award is in recognition of sustained excellent contribution to WILNZ.

WILNZ Honorary Life Member Nomination Form

WILNZ Fellow Award

This substantive award is in recognition of an individual who has achieved and sustained excellent and distinguished academic contribution to WIL nationally and have impacted the international WIL community.

WILNZ Fellow Award Nomination Form

Allister McLay Best Paper Award
The late Allister McLay was a valued member of the WILNZ (then NZACE) community. This award for the best paper at each conference was established in his honour, and acknowledges papers with important and relevant perspectives on work-integrated learning. The winners of this award in 2025 are Robyn Johnston and Helen Mataiti of Otago Polytechnic.

Award Winners Over the Years

WILNZ makes a number of awards annually – you can find details here.

Life Members

  • Chris Kirk
  • Chris Eames
  • David Hodges
  • Richard Coll
  • Katharine Hoskyn

Fellow Award

  • 2024 Jenny Flemming
  • 2022 Andrew Martin
  • 2020 Richard Coll
  • 2020 Karsten Zegwaard

Innovation & Excellence Award

  • 2025 Massey University Social Work Field Education Team
  • 2024 The Impact Lab, University of Waikato. Team members included: Gail Hutcheson, Lee Martin, Natasha Miller, Sandy Muller & Karsten Zegwaard

Collaboration Award

  • 2025 Te Aroha Noa Community Services

Service Award

  • 2025 Alice Hodder

Research Excellence Award

  • 2024 The Routledge International Handbook of Work-integrated Learning. Editors:  Associate Professor Karsten Zegwaard & Dr Judene Pretti.

Allister McLay Best Paper Award

  • 2025 Robyn Johnston and Helen Mataiti
  • 2024 Samantha Holland, Ernest Edem Edifor, Jane Goodyer, James Mackay, Elizabeth Gorb, and Jonathan Lawson
  • 2023 Gail Adams-Hutcheson and Karsten Zegwaard
  • 2022 no award
  • 2022 no award
  • 2021 no award
  • 2020 Conference cancelled
  • 2019 no award
  • 2018 Megan Roberts and Yvonne Woods
  • 2017 Sarah Snell and Catherine Snell-Siddle
  • 2016 Theresa Winchester-Seeto and Anna Rowe
  • 2015 Joint winners: Kathryn McLachlan, Felicity Rawlings-Sanaei, Debbie Haski-Leventhal, Colina Mason, Rebecca Bilous; and Aaron Steele and Sandra Cleland
  • 2014 Catherine Snell-Siddle, Sarah Snell, and Aaron Steele
  • 2013 Theresa Winchester-Seeto, Anna Rowe and Jacqueline Mackaway
  • 2012 David Skelton
  • 2011 Karsten Zegwaard and Matthew Campbell
  • 2010 Murray Cullen
  • 2009 Mathew Campbell
  • 2008 Neil Haigh
  • 2007 Allister McLay passed away; the 2008 award carried his name
  • 2007 Dave Hodges and Diana Ayling (Best Paper Award)