Celebrating our finalists in the 2025 PIEoneer Awards – the Oscars of international education!

​Finalists for the 2025 PIEoneer Awards have been announced, with three Navitas teams shortlisted for prestigious global awards that celebrate innovation and achievement in global education!

Every year The Pie News holds its signature event, The PIEoneer Awards, that honours innovation in the global education sector and recognises both individuals and organisations who are pushing professional standards, evolving their engagement or redefining the international student experience.

Now in their ninth year, The PIEoneer Awards have firmly cemented their place as the Oscars of international education, celebrating the most exciting innovations and outstanding achievements across our sector. You can view the shortlist of finalists on the PIEoneer Awards website.

A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to the global Navitas Neurodiversity Network (NDN) who have been shortlisted as a Finalist for the Championing diversity, equity and inclusion award!

It has been 18 months since since the launch of our first-ever global neurodiversity network at Navitas. The Navitas Neurodiversity Network (NDN) is a vibrant hub for neurodivergent colleagues across Navitas; its members include those with ADHD, autism, dyslexia, OCD, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, and more. The group provides a safe and confidential space to explore neurodiversity, while also welcoming allies and individuals still exploring their neurotypes. The group also provides meeting options for more private discussions where neurodivergents can speak to colleagues with similar traits.

Over the past year, the NDN has raised awareness through supporting differences and advocating for neurodivergent talent across our business. The network’s monthly sessions have tackled key neurodiversity topics chosen by their members to equip the group with a suite of strategies and tools to thrive at work. The NDN Teams community has been a constant source of inspiration, resources, and heartfelt discussions for many in the business, empowering people to embrace their uniqueness, overcome challenges, and flourish at Navitas!

A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to the team at La Trobe College Australia (LTCA) who have been shortlisted (for the second year in a row!) as a Finalist for the Language training provider of the year award!

This recognition celebrates the continued evolution of their LTX (La Trobe Experience) program which reimagines the traditional study tour as a transformative, career-focused academic journey. LTX offers contextualised English language learning aligned with students’ future professions, through discipline-specific workshops, research lab access, university faculty engagement, and cultural immersion. Whether it’s aspiring nurses gaining hands-on insights in healthcare simulations or future teachers participating in real classroom contexts, LTX places students at the heart of their chosen fields building English proficiency alongside academic and professional confidence. This finalist placement is a testament to the team’s commitment to innovation, student experience, and global engagement.

A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to the global Data & Analytics team who have been shortlisted as a Finalist for the Excellence in data and insight award!

This is the second year in a row the team have been shortlisted as finalist in this category! This year, it was their project ‘Likelihood of Enrolment via Application Prediction, Australia’ that has been recognised. The project is an outcome of the Edith Cowan College PoC (PMO project).

The AI development for the project was led by Upeka Somaratne, with support from team mates Mary Tesfay (Team Lead), Adam Lowe, Deepika Deepika, Tife Kusimo and Candy Chik.

In 2024, the team developed an Artificial Intelligence (AI) solution to predict enrollment conversion probability which enhanced sales and marketing strategies by focusing on early recruitment stages. The project involved analytics for feature identification, a machine learning model for predictions, and a Large Language Model (LLM) exploration. The team’s collaboration with stakeholders ensured the model reduced administrative burdens and increased efficiency. The data platform now includes early top-of-funnel Marketo data which strengthens AI prediction and reporting capabilities. The team prioritised responsible AI, conducted bias and fairness tests, and successfully developed an energy-efficient solution on the Databricks platform.