Angliss Tourism students cement top place with industry entrepreneurial award
A team of William Angliss Institute students has again been awarded the leading tourism industry student award as Bachelor of Tourism student Cath Lai Wah Au and Bachelor of Hotel & Resort Management student Scarlet Bao Chau Hoang were announced winners of the 2025 VTIC Student Entrepreneurial Award.
The award is for tertiary students to support and encourage new ideas and the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation and was established in 2018 by the Victorian Tourism Industry Council (VTIC), Victoria’s peak tourism industry body and leading advocate for Victoria’s tourism and events industry.
Along with an industry recognised award certificate from VTIC, the students will receive $6000 in prize money, along with an opportunity to have their project showcased across VTIC’s professional networks.
Encouraged by the Higher Education team at Angliss, degrees students were introduced to real industry problems presented by Greater Geelong and The Bellarine Tourism as part of the Institute’s Authentic Learning process. Ideas were inspired and developed through the students’ participation in two tourism subjects this semester - Planning for Tourism and Tourism Futures.
Cath and Scarlet’s winning idea, titled Explore Bellarine, is a digital visitor experience platform improving access to inclusive, sustainable, and culturally rich offerings through a user-friendly, integrated system embedded within the Visit Geelong and The Bellarine Tourism website.
Explore Bellarine addresses key challenges in the regional visitor economy and help travellers discover, personalise, and book tourism experiences across the region. The concept offers three flexible itinerary-building options Including an AI Travel Planner, a ‘Build Your Journey’ self-directed planning tool and ‘Experience Boxes’ - physical kits combining digital itineraries with audio guides, local treats and activity vouchers – enhancing emotional engagement and discovery on arrival.
“This win is a testament to the power of authentic learning and industry collaboration. The Explore Bellarine concept combines strategic thinking, creativity, and real-world application to address key gaps in our regional visitor economy,” said Tourism lecturer Jess Derham. “Cath and Scarlett demonstrated not only academic excellence, but a genuine commitment to accessibility, sustainability, and regional innovation - we’re all incredibly proud of them.”
Speaking about the experience, Cath says, “The best thing about participating was the opportunity to bring our ideas to life and share them with industry professionals. It was an incredibly rewarding experience to work as a team, push our creativity, and receive valuable feedback.”
Cath dreams of a job creating sustainable tourism experiences that connect people with culture and community. “I hope to work in a place where I can make a positive difference, whether through product development, policy, or experience design,” she says. “This win is a validation of our hard work and a reminder that with the right support and mindset, our ideas can make a real impact. It is also a boost of motivation and belief in our future within the tourism and hospitality industry.”
This is not the first time Angliss students have won the VTIC Student Entrepreneurial Award. Previous winner Vanessa Lauricella’s concept, In Touch Tours, was developed for Parks Victoria and aimed to increase visits to regional Victoria with nature-based tours for adults and children with autism. In 2023, the Angliss team of Gaurika Bhatia, Samal Agalwatta and Rose Fernando won the award with their innovative sensory light and water-based spectacle titled Aqualuminate, a proposal to be installed on the Birrarung Marr/Yarra River, with the aim to drive increased visitation to the City of Melbourne and economic recovery.
Collaboration with industry is embedded into the tourism units and sees students making connections and being inspired by potential future employers, while also coming up with meaningful tourism products that support the visitor economy.
This year, students visited Queenscliff on a field trip, met with local operators, and then pitched product ideas back to industry, including Strategy and Operations Manager Jarred Parsons at Tourism Greater Queenscliff and the Bellarine, who has been a generous supporter of the students. Each subject had a major applied assessment—one focusing on designing a sustainable tourism product aligned with regional development goals from Bellarine Peninsula’s Sustainable Tourism Management Plan, and the other using scenario planning to explore future challenges and opportunities for the Bellarine Peninsula (both Queenscliff specifically).
Scarlett was inspired through the Tourism Futures subject, using scenario planning to examine Queenscliff’s visitor economy over the next 10 years. Cath focused on product development through Planning for Tourism, where she explored seasonal dispersal and designed a sustainable and accessible visitor experience. Their collaborative project, Explore Bellarine, was further enhanced by what they learned in their Innovations and Entrepreneurship subject, which helped shape the viability and feasibility of the idea.
“The support from William Angliss Institute was instrumental,” continues Cath. “Our lecturers gave us the tools and encouragement to shape our ideas into something impactful. Their guidance, along with access to industry insights and opportunities for feedback, helped us present with confidence and purpose.”
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