Discover the future at Innovation Week

Our inaugural University of Sydney Innovation Week – from 24 to 28 October 2016 – brings together the best of our teaching and research at a suite of events across the University.

Future States forum

At our keynote Future States forum we're asking some of our experts in the fields of biology, politics, food security and energy production to share their visions for our future.

How can today’s research inform tomorrow’s public policy, drive technological innovation and inspire our creative sectors? What does their research tell us about the possibilities for our world by 2040?

Innovation Week Student Challenge

At Innovation Week, we’re also giving students the chance to win up to $10,000 in grant funding to help kick start their vision of a healthy future as part of the Student Challenge. As well as funding there’s also exclusive industry internships up for grabs.

So if you have an idea, solution or innovation that will help make the future of healthcare more accessible, efficient and a better experience, then join the challenge and put your idea to the test (submissions close 10 October).

The best ideas will be presented at a final pitch event on 26 October in front of a panel of entrepreneurs, industry, government and academic representatives.

More events at Innovation Week

Throughout Innovation Week, our experts will also share the latest innovations in biotechnology, the links between stress and cancer, how human activity is driving the spread of diseases from animals to humans, and why music can be good for you.

We’ll also investigate staying healthy as we age, how space research can improve our everyday lives, and discover, through interactive displays and bite-sized presentations, how our researchers and students are changing lives around the world at Research Conversazione.

Future Ed: petting zoo for new technologies

University staff and students are also invited to Future Ed.

Described as something of a ‘petting zoo’ for new technologies and hosted in the Library’s new creative space ThinkSpace, Future Ed will showcase educational tools – including virtual reality, robotics, 3D printers and carving machines, and allow staff and students to meet, mix and develop innovative solutions to current and future projects.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Duncan Ivison said Innovation Week was a microcosm of the University of Sydney itself.

“We believe that ground-breaking discoveries and transformative inventions depend on bringing the right people together in an environment that gives them room and support to discover and innovate,” Professor Ivison said.

“Every day, across the University, our outstanding teachers and researchers work together and with our community and industry partners to harness our collective expertise to address some of the biggest challenges our communities face today.”

The University has invested almost $1 billion in interdisciplinary research over the past six years in areas such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease; nanoscale science and technology; and mental health and brain science, as well as in a better understanding of China and Southeast Asia.

New initiatives include a transdisciplinary focus on infectious diseases, translational data science, climate change and the intersection between food, animals, soil, nutrition and global health.

“This places us among the leading institutions globally pursuing these grand challenges,” Professor Ivison said.

Innovation Week takes place from Monday 24 to Friday 28 October 2016 across the University. Find out more at sydney.edu.au/innovation-week.