illuminate Education Australia – Driving to See that every young australian is
Confident, Creative &
Capable
through EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOPS & EXPERIENCES FOR THE CREATIVE & INNOVATIVE PROBLEM SOLVERS WE NEED!
ILLUMINATE HAS INSPIRED OVER
+25,000
STUDENTS AROUND AUSTRALIA
WITH
+300
SCHOOLS ENGAGED FACE-TO-FACE
AND…
+245
CHALLENGES & WORKSHOPS DELIVERED.
At illuminate Education Australia, we ignite the potential of young people to become bold problem solvers, creative thinkers, and empowered changemakers. Our mission is to transform education by embedding innovation, entrepreneurial thinking, and community codesign into every learning experience. We’re deeply involved in every experience – mentoring students and often delivering programs in person all over Australia – because our passion is to support and inspire amazing Australian students.
We don’t just prepare students for the future – we equip them to lead it. Every program is a launchpad for student agency, where youth take the reins to design solutions that matter.
Student Agency
Developing solutions around what matters to young people, their passion and their interests. The Innovation Process is designed to value and refine their ideas and perspectives to drive change.
Generational Change
With an average program size of over 140 students in any given experience, our focus is on including every single student across a year group or a region to benefit from this learning opportunity.
Curriculum Aligned
Designed by qualified and experienced educators, every program is educationally relevant with modifications in place for students who need extra support.
Primary & High Schools
With programs designed for students from Year 3 to Year 12, we can support students to develop these critical skills at all stages in their education journey.
Actionable Ideas
Focused on developing leaders for now with projects and ideas students can lead, implement and take forward – and in many situations, creating real change!
Focused on Skills & Capacities
Inspiring confident, creative and capable young people with relevant skills and capacities that help in work and in life.
Project Based Learning
Supporting student and staff engagement in innovation, design thinking and ideas using self-driven learning experiences,
facilitated by our team.
Verified Social Enterprise
Committed to our purpose in supporting education, illuminate Education Australia is a verified People and Planet First Social Enterprise, and our work is aligned to the Sustainable Development Goals.
Register Now for an Upcoming illuminate Challenge
Get ready to activate the next generation of innovators by joining one of our programs that are being run near you – or reach out so we can come to you!
Hume, Vic.
Aug 02 – 06, 2025
Open to high school students across the Hume City Council LGA, delivered in partnership with the Hume Tech School.
Express Interest
& Learn More
Sydney & Hobart
Sept 05 & 12, 2025
Open exclusively to b kinder schools, developing student-centred ideas to cultivate kindness.
Express Interest
via b kinder foundation
Newcastle, NSW
Sept 16 – 18, 2025
Open to Indigenous high school students across the Newcastle & Hunter Valley region.
Express Interest
via UON
Central Coast, NSW
Nov 17 – 21, 2025
Celebrating 10 Years!
Open to Year 9 & 10 Central Coast high schools with capped numbers.
Express Interest
& Learn More
We’ll Come To You!
when it suits you
Open to Year 3 – 12 students, shaped around your bell times – inspiring and developing personal skills.
Learn More About Our Programs
What We Do
At illuminate Education Australia, we create transformative experiences that empower young people to lead with purpose, creativity, and confidence. Our programs are built on the belief that every young person has the potential to lead, and that education should be a launchpad for student agency.
We design and deliver immersive, real-world learning experiences that place students at the centre of the solution-making process. Our programs are hands-on, high-energy, and deeply relevant to the world students live in.
What sets us apart is that we’re not just facilitators – we’re registered teachers who understand the complexities of the school system, curriculum alignment, and student engagement. At the same time, we’re innovators in our own right – entrepreneurs, community leaders, social entrepreneurs and changemakers who bring real-world experience into every session we run.
Our programs are:
- Curriculum-aligned: Mapped to the Australian Curriculum and designed to support general capabilities like critical and creative thinking, ethical understanding, and personal and social capability.
- Student-led: Every experience is built to foster student voice, choice, and leadership.
- Community-connected: We codesign challenges with local councils, community groups, and industry partners to ensure students are solving real problems that matter to their communities.
- Inclusive and accessible: We work with schools in regional, remote, and disadvantaged areas to ensure every student has the opportunity to lead, regardless of postcode or background.
- Data-informed and impact-driven: We measure what matters – confidence, capability, and community impact – and we use that data to continuously improve our work.
Ultimately, what we do is activate young people. We help them see that they are not just future leaders – they are leaders now.
See It For Yourself…
It’s better to see the challenge for yourself, where we can align the outcomes and the focus to the needs of you, students and wider community – but to get a sense, here is a video summary from a challenge that we ran at the University of Newcastle’s Ourimbah Campus that outlines everything we do in one week…
How We Do It
We have developed a range of programs and experiences to inspire young people across Australia, from experiences that can be delivered in home school environments and classrooms remotely through to high impact week long programs.
illuminate Challenge
Years 3 – 12 Students
A high-energy, week long innovation sprint where students tackle real-world community issues, develop entrepreneurial solutions, and pitch to industry leaders.
Designed for community issues, enterprise applications, STEM and agribusiness content areas.
illuminate Impact Lab
Years 3 – 12 Students
A two or three day experience through personal development skills, new ideas, community contribution and much more. Designed to touch a range of skills in a rapid fashion.
illuminate The Day
Years 3 – 12 Students
Fast, focused, and full of impact. These sessions introduce students to design thinking, ethical leadership, and creative problem solving in just one day.
Perfect to touch a range of skills in one day, or bolted onto other experiences.
illuminateX
Homeschool, Year 5 – 10 students
A flexible, teacher-led experience that empowers students to explore the full innovation cycle—from identifying problems to launching ideas—at their own pace.
Designed for distance students, elective classes and home-schooled students.
Impact – Measuring What Matters…
We’re not just transforming education. At illuminate Education Australia, we’re changing lives:
- +300 schools from every state and territory engaged in partnership,
- +25,000 students empowered to lead community innovation and believe in themselves,
- +$50,000 reinvested to reach regional and remote communities,
- Countless local issues tackled through youth-led solutions.
Our programs reach deep into regional, remote, and disadvantaged communities, ensuring every young person has the opportunity to lead with purpose.
Partnering Together
At illuminate Education Australia, we believe that real change happens when we work together. That’s why every time we work with a school, a community organisation, an economic development agency or a home school parent, we partner together to codesign and deliver programs that are deeply rooted in community needs and driven by student voice.
Who We Partner With
We collaborate with:
- Schools and educators to embed student agency and entrepreneurial thinking into the curriculum, empowering students to lead their own learning journeys.
- Local governments and councils to codesign challenges that reflect real community issues—ensuring our programs are not only educational but also socially impactful.
- Community organisations and not-for-profits to connect students with local causes, mentors, and changemakers, creating a bridge between education and civic engagement.
- Industry and business leaders who bring real-world insight, mentorship, and support to our programs, helping students see the relevance of their ideas in the broader economy.
- Business groups and Chamber of Commerces that are passionate about the future skills of their community and willing to invest today for new ideas, new energy and new inspiration.
Why Partner With Us?
Our partnerships are built on mutual respect, shared purpose, and a commitment to community-led innovation. When you work with illuminate Education Australia, you’re not just supporting a program – you’re investing in a movement that:
- Elevates student agency by giving young people the tools and confidence to lead,
- Strengthens community connections by aligning education with local priorities,
- Fosters inclusive codesign where all voices—especially youth—are heard and valued, and
- Delivers measurable impact through data-driven outcomes and real-world solutions.
Whether you’re a school leader, council officer, community advocate, or business mentor, we invite you to join us in shaping the future—one student, one idea, one community at a time.
Who We Partner With
From small towns to city schools, our programs spark transformation as you can see by these selected case studies and partners listed below:
Flinders Island, Tas.
Aligned to the 2023 Furneaux Futures Forum, Year 5 & 6 students developed ideas to shape and transform their community that inspired adult leaders across the whole island.
“The illuminate Challenge has instilled a passion for lifelong learning and a commitment to thinking critically and creatively.” – Grade 5/6s, Flinders Island District High School
Mandurah, WA
Since our first program in 2017 at Mandurah Baptist College, we have been part of a cultural change in the school that encourages deeper immersion in learning across all curriculum areas.
“An opportunity for students to explore the fundamentals building a business and creating an idea.” – Maddison, Mandurah Baptist College
Moree Plains, NSW
Delivered in partnership with the University of New England’s Smart Region Incubator in 2022, primary students reshaped community values – and actioned real change!
“The students came up with an idea and developed it into a business because the illuminate team listened and supported them and their school community got behind them.“ – Jackie Todd, Gravesend Public School.
Central Coast, NSW
A collaboration with the University of Newcastle’s Central Coast Campus that started in 2015 that has now inspired over 2,000 students from public high schools across the areas.
“The illuminate Challenge was an awesome experience for our students… Students were empowered by the experience and felt great pride in their success.” – Benjamin Joyce, Erina High School, NSW
What Others Say…
FROM COMMUNITY PARTNERS & COLLABORATORS
FROM THE STUDENTS THEMSELVES