Media releases

Dr Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, a Federation University Australia graduate and now an international biotechnology pioneer, has been awarded an Order of Australia (AM) in today’s Australia Day awards.

Dr Mazumdar-Shaw moved to Ballarat in 1974 from India to study brewing. She was the only female in the course and in 1975 graduated from the Ballarat College of Advanced Education – a predecessor institute of Federation University – as a Master Brewer with a Graduate Diploma in Malting and Brewing.

The knowledge and skills she developed in Ballarat were instrumental in her brewing career in India and her later worldwide success in pharmaceuticals.

A first-generation entrepreneur, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw became one of the youngest recipients of one of India's top civilian awards Padma Shri in 1989 and then the Padma Bhushan in 2005.

She also received an honorary Doctorate of Science from Federation University in 2004 in recognition of her pre-eminent contribution to the field of biotechnology.

Named among TIME magazine's 100 most influential people in the world, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has made affordable innovation the foundation of her business model.

The Indian company she heads, Biocon, serves customers in more than 85 countries and is committed to reducing therapy costs of chronic diseases like autoimmune, diabetes and cancer. It provides access to affordable healthcare for patients, partners and healthcare systems across the globe.

Dr Mazumdar-Shaw also has been conferred with the Global Economy Prize for Business by Germany's Kiel Institute for the World Economy and Othmer Gold Medal by the Chemical Heritage Foundation in US for her outstanding contribution to biotechnology.

She was honoured by Federation University in March 2015 with the unveiling of a road named after her at the Mt Helen campus.

Quotes attributable to Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Helen Bartlett

“The successes and achievements of Dr Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw have been monumental. From her study of brewing in Ballarat more than 40 years ago to her position today as a biotechnology leader and one of India’s richest people, she has been a strong and generous ambassador for Federation University.”

“Dr Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw’s life represents many of Federation’s beliefs and attributes – persistence, individuality, hard work and community spirit. We congratulate her for being awarded an Order of Australia and will always honour her for being one of our most highly esteemed alumni.”