Raymond Siems

In just a decade since graduating from a Bachelor of Engineering degree at Griffith University, Raymond Siems has produced powerful outcomes for workplace diversity and gender equality, reducing material waste, supporting frontline healthcare workers and more, making him Griffith Sciences’ Outstanding Young Alumnus for 2023.

Raymond's aptitude for identifying problems and creating solutions for both business and community has taken him across the world, earning him immense success as a software and, however unintentional, social entrepreneur.

“My first reaction is that I am so grateful for the award, and to the people who I've discovered were involved in nominating me,” Raymond said.

One of those people was Professor Rodney Stewart, who along with Dr Oz Sahin from Griffith’s Cities Research Institute, helped expand Raymond’s ideas of what was possible.

“When I was in third year, I realised that I’d like to do a postgrad course and thought it would be helpful if I could somehow get into research while doing my undergrad,” he said.

“I wrote Rodney a long email, way too long, and he replied with a one-liner saying: why don’t you come into the office and we’ll have a chat.

“He let me have a crack at an unfinished project, which I feverishly worked on for a month or two, and thankfully he liked what I did.”

So impressed was Professor Stewart, that Raymond was able to give up his part time work stacking shelves at Woolworths for a role as an assistant researcher with the School of Engineering where he worked alongside Dr Sahin.

“Oz really helped me to find my feet as a researcher. It's the people who were open and willing to give me the time, like Rodney and Oz, that gave me a platform to do more.”

As a kid from the country, Raymond was enthused about experiencing life on the coast and spending time sprinting on the first-class athletics track on the Gold Coast campus, but he was ultimately won over by the competitive edge Griffith's engineering program offered.

“I was really taken by the combination of how practical the engineering degree was, while still being grounded in the fundamentals,” he said.

“It exposed me to things I didn't even know were possibilities when I signed up to engineering and that’s what led me into research.”

During his time at Griffith, Raymond picked up a plethora of awards including the University Medal, Engineering Graduate of the Year, Theiss Prize for Academic Achievement, the Australian Steel Institute Prize and served as student representative on the Engineering School’s Consultative Committee.

In the summer semester of 2013, Raymond ventured into tech entrepreneurship with social travel app Ventoura, alongside fellow Griffith students.

“We were passionate about travel and peer to peer experiences, so we started working on Ventoura part time and then were lucky enough to receive some funding,” he said.

The venture capital interest allowed the emerging technologists to quit their jobs in Queensland and pursue the startup from Finland in 2014, with global interest leading to a partnership with British Airways.

“Getting funding and moving to Helsinki was a pivotal moment. It was like - first problem solved. We then followed our noses in solving the next problem."

Having obtained a Master of Philosophy in Engineering for Sustainable Development on a scholarship with Cambridge University, Raymond portfolio only developed and diversified.

Other startups have included Catalyst AI, which uses data science and machine learning to help fashion companies reduce waste by optimising supply chains, as well as Genie Delivery, allowing consumers to save the precious commodity of time with a digital convenience store and shop-to-door delivery services. Both companies were acquired.

Most recently he co-founded Ravio whose suite of services supports businesses in making informed decisions around employee compensation, focusing on workforce diversity and gender equality in hiring and compensation.

Of the many projects he's been pivotal to, the most personally impactful has been the Healthcare Workers Foundation for which Raymond served as Chief Technology Officer.

His team created a secure website providing critical support for frontline NHS workers in the UK, raising millions in donations and providing more than 550,000 items, from PPE to meals and childcare.

Alongside this, Raymond also co-founded Stop the Spread, a volunteer-run platform translating covid-related medical information into simple language for the wider public.

“I feel a bit bashful when the charity work that we did is celebrated, when really that should rank lower than what every single healthcare worker did in those awful conditions during COVID. But it was nice to be able to support them, to put something out into the world and then get such a response from the public that could be channelled through to the people that mattered.” he said.

“The areas that present the hardest problems are often the most interesting to be part of. If I can be working on things that are both interesting and have a net positive impact, then I think that's a dream place to work.”

From his current home in London, Raymond said: “I love to fly the Griffith flag over here.”

“I’ve got a lot of good memories from Griffith, I’ve formed great relationships, and living overseas now I get a buzz from connecting with others who’ve had the shared experience of studying at Griffith, it’s a connection to home.”

Raymond said his advice for students, or anyone with an idea they believe in, would simply be: “start today.”

“It's always easy to come up with plans and then put them off until some future milestone, but usually the best time is now.”

“Griffith was able to provide opportunities above and beyond the course - it was the people in the engineering department, and experiences on campus in addition to the core course that were really impactful on what I was able to do next.”