Conference support and awards
Russell Hillbrich Scholarships
The HoSA Russell Hillbrich Scholarships are made available each year to support future leaders to attend the annual conference. Russell was one of the founders of HoSA, which started off in the 1990s as an annual lunch of directors of student administration in Victoria. Russell valued the power of bringing colleagues from different universities together to share information (and good wine). Contact us for more information.
Geoff Honey Award
The Geoff Honey Award is presented to the best new presenter at the HoSA Conference each year. The award is made in remembrance of Geoff Honey, who was Executive Director, Student Administration at Charles Sturt University and a staunch advocate of rural education, regular contributor to HoSA, larrikin and a great bloke
Russell Hillbrich Scholarship Applications Now Open!
The HoSA Board invites you to submit an application for a Russell Hillbrich Scholarship to support your attendance at this year's conference in Brisbane from 26-26 August 2026.
Up to three scholarships will be offered in 2026. Each scholarship includes free registration ($1090) plus $750 to your University to subsidise travel and accommodation. Any additional expenses will be met by the recipient or their institution.
In addition, successful scholarship recipients wil be introduced to a mentor for the conference who will offer support throughout the event. Mentors will be senior staff from another university who have considerable experience in making use of networking opportunities through HoSA and other organisations.
Scholarship recipients will be asked to deliver a short presentation (5-10 minutes) on the morning of Wednesday 26 August about an initiative or activity where they have had a leading role within their own institution, on an idea for improving student experience or an issue relevant to HoSA members about which they are passionate. Scholars who have already been accepted to present at the conference may be exempt.
For example, your topic might highlight:
- a change to a process or service that you have led to improve students’ experience
- a transformation or change initiative you have helped shape
- an idea for improvement across the sector you would like to champion
- strategies you have used to improve the focus on customer service within your team
Eligibility Criteria
Scholarship recipients will be exceptional people in a manager/team leader (or equivalent) position who aspire to work towards a Director or Registrar role. Criteria for the scholarship are:
- You have worked in a student administration, student services or related role for at least 12 months, at a level below Director (or equivalent)
- You have not previously attended a HoSA conference
- You are supported by the HoSA institution member at your university as someone who demonstrates potential to make a difference to an area of student administration or take on a senior leadership role in student administration in the future
- You are willing to make a presentation to the conference on an issue, initiative, idea or achievement related to your work
Eligible applicattions will be ranked according to the relevance of the topic to HoSA members attending the conference and the potential to contribute to the sector in the future.
How to apply
Before submitting, please contact the HoSA institution member at your university to check if they support your application, including whether they will provide funding for other expenses related to conference attendance. The institution member is usually the Director of Student Administration or the Academic Registrar, or equivalent in your institution.
Applications close: Friday 5 June 2026