The Sydney Innovation Festival is designed to introduce students to innovation and discuss the latest insights into the Sydney innovation ecosystem. The event is open to all and held online through a zoom webinar on October 19th starting from1:00pm until 5:30pm. There are four sessions throughout the day, involving a panel of Australia’s best thought-leaders, innovators and start-ups including:

1. Keynote Panel: Innovation and Social Impact (1:00-2:00pm)

What exactly is innovation and how is it defined in the Australian context? Is it taboo to be an entrepreneur or has that changed? Finally, how can innovation unlock technologies to solve society’s greatest problems?

• The Honourable Malcolm Turnbull, 29th Prime Minister of Australia,
• Professor Hala Zreiqat, Biomedical Engineering, Director ARC Training Centre for Innovative Bioengineering, NHMRC Senior Research Fellow, The University of Sydney
• Adam Spencer (session moderator), Author, Comedian and Maths Geek
• Elysse Morgan, Host, ABC’s The Business

2. Crisis or Opportunity? (2:15-3:15pm)

COVID-19 has plagued businesses with countless issues, so how can we use it to our advantage? From finding people meaningful work, the changing city heartbeat, and individual mindsets, this panel with show you how thought-leaders are thriving in 2020.

• Adam Jacobs, Co-Founder of the ICONIC & Hatch
• Larissa Miller, Transport Advisory Team Leader at Arup
• Sanket Totewar, Former Writer in Product, Engineering and R&D for Deputy

3. Working in Innovation Post COVID-19 (3:30-4:30pm)

What type of skills, talents and attributes are innovators looking for and what is the workplace like in 2020? This panel will highlight how you can bring an innovative mindset to any workplace.

• Emer McCann, Talent and Operations Lead, Simply Wall St
• Kate Archbold, Product Designer, Atlassian
• Kyrillos Samaan, Principal Product Designer, Hudson
• Karen Cavanaugh, Career Development Manager, The University of Sydney

4. University Opportunities (4:45-5:30pm)

So now you like innovation? Well find out how you can get involved! From first years to in-depth research students, there is a place for you in innovation at the University.

• Industry and Community Projects & Inventing the Future
• INCUBATE & Genesis
• Sydney School of Entrepreneurship & Textbook Ventures
• Techlab & ThinkSpace

After registering, on the day of the event, you will be able to participate by following the Zoom link, viewing the discussions and submitting or upvoting questions through Slido.

You will receive an email with a Zoom link 48 hours prior to the event.