The MGA closed out a successful year at the Clayton campus one afternoon in December to celebrate the supervisors who work hard to guide and inspire their graduate students.
Published Date 16/01/2026
In the final weeks of 2025, we hosted our annual Supervisor of the Year (SOTY) awards ceremony to honour the incredible work of Monash supervisors who help to guide and support our graduate students. We were blown away by the nominations received (111 for 98 different supervisors!) and there were over 70 people in attendance.
The event was catered by Cinque Lire, with Aleyna Ta'Eed from Monash's School of Music playing violin throughout.
MGA President, Yiwen Yuan addressed the room with a special announcement:
“Our graduate students wrote about supervisors who collaborate, inspire, and uplift. They talked about personal moments where supervisors supported them through parenthood and cultural barriers. Supervisors who recognised potential before they saw it in themselves!”
And to her amazement, Dr Yi-Shan Tsai from the Faculty of Information Technology discovered that it was she had been named Supervisor of the Year!
Of Dr Tsai's fantastic supervision, one student who nominated her said:
“I am truly delighted that my supervisor Yi-Shan has won this award. She absolutely deserves it! She joined my supervision team during the darkest period of my PhD. From that moment, she has been a responsible and caring supervisor, always attentive not only to my research but also to my emotions. She listened patiently to my ideas, encouraged me when I doubted myself, and helped me express my thoughts with greater clarity and confidence. She brought light into a very difficult time, and I have cherished every moment of working with her. She is the best supervisor.”
Dr Tsai was floored by the praise, joking that she could now retire having been awarded Supervisor of the Year!
But she wasn't the only supervisor celebrated that afternoon. As is recent custom, the MGA also crowned Dr Lynette Pretorius from the Faculty of Education with the Special Commendation Award!
When MGA Research Education Officer, Kalani Perera announced this award she had this to say of the recipient:
“They actively value creativity and empower their students to share their work both nationally and internationally, while also building a vibrant doctoral community through regular peer-support and writing groups where students feel encouraged to take intellectual risks and grow as independent researchers.”
Both winners also received flowers and framed certificates as a small token of gratitude for inspiring so many students.
The MGA's Supervisor of the Year (SOTY) Award was created precisely to recognise supervisors like Dr Tsai and Dr Pretorius and all the work that they do, as well as countless others who go above and beyond to lead their students to success.
You can check out our SOTY Hall of Fame here.