illuminate Education Australia – Driving to See that every young australian is
Confident, Creative &
Capable
through curriculum-aligned education programs for Years 3–12 that build soft skills, creativity, collaboration, and confidence through hands-on incursions and workshops.
ILLUMINATE HAS INSPIRED OVER
+25,000
STUDENTS AROUND AUSTRALIA
WITH
+300
SCHOOLS ENGAGED FACE-TO-FACE
AND…
+245
CHALLENGES & WORKSHOPS DELIVERED.
We help young people become bold problem solvers, creative thinkers, and empowered changemakers. Our mission is to transform learning by embedding innovation education, design thinking, entrepreneurship skills, and community co-design into every experience.
We mentor students and deliver programs in person across Australia – because inspiring confident, capable young Australians is our passion.
We don’t just prepare students for the future – we equip them to lead it. Every program activates student agency, giving learners the tools to design solutions that matter today.
Student Agency
Learners tackle issues they care about and build confidence through a guided innovation process.
Generational Change
Large-scale programs include entire year levels and regions for shared impact.
Curriculum Aligned
Built by qualified educators and mapped to the Australian Curriculum and general capabilities.
Primary & High Schools
Programs for Years 3–12 scaffold soft skills, creativity, and leadership development.
Actionable Ideas
Students leave with projects they can implement and pitch to industry leaders.
Focused on Skills
Communication, collaboration, critical thinking, digital literacy, financial literacy, and resilience.
Project Based Learning
High-energy, hands-on experiences that embed design thinking, teamwork, and problem solving.
Verified Social Enterprise
A verified 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!
2026 National Challenge
Term 3, 2026
Open to Year 7 – 12 students across Australia, and compete against other students to tackle a real and relevant problem.
Express Interest & Lock In Your Place Today
Bring illuminate Into Your Classroom
Access our DIY Program
Run the illuminate experience in your classes, for just one class or an entire year group, on your school schedule.
Express Interest & Learn More Today
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 with our team delivering the full experience.
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
We co-design and deliver programs with schools, community organisations, councils, and industry partners – rooted in local 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