Theme: D.I.Y: Do It Yourself

On September 15 we'll celebrate the doers, the dreamers and the designers of the QUT community, and explore the myriad of self-driven approaches, advancements and opportunities shaping the world.

Gardens Theatre
Gardens Point Campus, Queensland University of Technology
2 George Street
Brisbane, Queensland, 4000
Australia

Alanna Bastin-Byrne

Alanna Bastin-Byrne and Jade Collins are sisters-in-law mobilising the female economy to create gender equality by supporting brands with at least 30% women on the Board of Directors, or 50% female owned.

Ash Srinivas

Ash Srinivas’ global influences at a young age made her create little pieces of home anywhere she went, which led to being involved as an official international student ambassador and serial student engagement volunteer. Passionate about making her spaces a reflection of her own diversity, Ash recognised the need for active student spaces. Now, as a working HR professional, she’s taking her ideas to a bigger corporate world to show organisations that leveraging cognitive diversity can create innovative, competitive workforces.

Bianca Hunt

Bianca Hunt is a proud Kamilaroi, Barkindji, Ballardong and Wadjak Woman who was born and raised in Brisbane, QLD. At just 22 years of age she has worked across the government, corporate and not-for-profit sectors. She graduated from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in 2017 with a double degree, Bachelor of Business (majoring in Management) and Bachelor of Creative Industries (majoring in Entertainment Industries). She began her AIME journey in 2010 as a mentee in the program and has since been worked with AIME since 2016 and was the 2018 Co-CEO. She is constantly driven to challenge every human to imagine what’s possible and to be limitless.

DProf Dietmar W. Hutmacher

Distinguished Professor Dietmar W. Hutmacher is a biomedical engineer, an educator, an inventor, and a creator of intellectual property. He directs the Centre for Regenerative Medicine and the ARC Training Centre in Additive Bio manufacturing at QUT. His interdisciplinary team of researchers include engineers, molecular & cell biologists, material scientist, polymer chemists, clinicians, and veterinary surgeons. DProf Hutmacher is an internationally recognized leader in the fundamental science of biomaterials and tissue engineering & regenerative medicine. He also has an outstanding track record in translating applied research into intellectual property and commercialization portfolios. He has converted a bone tissue engineering concept from the laboratory through to clinical application involving in vitro experiments, preclinical studies and ultimately clinical trials. His recent breast tissue engineering research efforts have resulted in traditional scientific/academic outputs as well as pivotal commercialisation outcomes.

Glenda Amayo Caldwell

Glenda Amayo Caldwell is a researcher at the Queensland University of Technology’s Design Lab. She is driven by a passion for the design of buildings, cities, and public places. Using creativity as the glue which brings people from different communities, disciplines, and industries together, she investigates the hybridisation of physical and digital media in design processes.

Hugh Brown

Hugh has a PhD in how to be a rock star. He wakes up every day with music in his soul, yet has made his living as a journalist, public servant, project manager, farm labourer, cleaner, educator, and researcher. Having played almost every kind of music in pubs, clubs, festivals, theatres, and studios, he has released 5 albums and a few singles via his own record label, Hugemusic. He nonetheless has never been able to kick the need for a day job to support his family.

Jade Collins

Alanna Bastin-Byrne and Jade Collins are sisters-in-law mobilising the female economy to create gender equality by supporting brands with at least 30% women on the Board of Directors, or 50% female owned. Gender equality won’t be achieved for another 216 years, so your grand children’s children won’t see gender equality in their lifetime. So, whether you are a woman in the US workforce, in the markets of Pakistan or a European business owner, choose female led brands to create a more equal society for women and men. #femeconomy

Kristy Winter

Kristy Winter is a researcher with the Skeletal Biology and Forensic Anthropology Research Laboratory (QUT) working towards developing equations to assist with the identification of Australian missing persons from their skeletons. With current research focusing on the estimation of sex and height for Queensland's Coronal system based on the upper arm bone (humerus). Winter's work has lead to active opportunities with researchers and practitioners filtering water in Qunicha Colombia, cataloguing in the Abbey Museum of Art and Archaeology in Caboolture, and casework with the Odyssey Field School in Limassol, Cyprus. During the down time Winter is a Senior Field Operator for Queensland's State Emergency Services, assisting local police and the community with mass disasters, public events and missing persons searchers.

Leon Filewood

Leon Filewood completed his Bachelor of Laws and Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice at Queensland University of Technology before going on to private practice as a solicitor in a range of legal practice areas including: criminal, family, commercial litigation, corporate and personal insolvency and immigration law. Feeling unfulfilled with private practice, he stepped away to work as in-house council and divisional manager for a not for profit organisation. All throughout his career, Leon has been searching for a platform to leverage important conversations that as Australians, we all need to have. Leon shares about his journey, the conversation and his platform of choice and why.

Madeleine Van

Madeleine Van is a bio-tech entrepreneur working on converting agricultural waste into high value products. She is a sustainable economy advocate and hopes to see the entire agricultural industry repurposing their waste products in the next 10 years. Madeleine is educated in the areas of economics, biology and law.

Madison Birtchnell

Madison Birtchnell’s passion is to make a genuine and tangible change in the lives of others, with a particular emphasis on social justice and humanitarian issues, the empowerment of women, good youth mental health and the importance of meaningful youth engagement. She has had a wide range of experiences during more than a decade of community service, with one of her proudest accomplishments being able to be a positive voice for youth as the 2018 Gold Coast Young Citizen of the Year and contribute to creating awareness and advocating for the importance of women and children’s health, wellbeing and rights as Australia’s representative in the 2018-2019 Class of Women Deliver Young Leader’s Program. Inspired by individuals such as the Hon. Michael Kirby and Former US President Barack Obama, Madison hopes to work for the United Nations in the future and continue to serve others.

Mirandi Riwoe (Tjia)

Mirandi Riwoe (Tjia) is a Brisbane-based writer. Her novella The Fish Girl won Seizure’s Viva la Novella V and was shortlisted for The Stella Prize. Her debut novel She be Damned is followed this year with A Necessary Murder. She is Peril Magazine’s prose editor. Her work has appeared in Best Australian Stories, Meanjin, Review of Australian Fiction, Griffith Review and Best Summer Stories. Mirandi has a PhD in Creative Writing and Literary Studies (QUT).

Nic Vogelpoel

Dr Nic Vogelpoel still has good days and bad. He doesn’t mind anymore. He works with charities, foundations and government in public health, culture and community development. He works within systems, to change them. They never worked for him, and he wants them to for someone else, next time. He wants us all to get better at being available to receive stories of trauma, and support those on their way towards recovery.

Nicole Robinson

Dr Nicole Robinson is a Research Fellow at the Australian Centre for Robotic Vision. Nicole is passionate about the use of innovative technology to create a better future for humanity. Nicole has completed a PhD thesis on the topic of using humanoid robots to interact with people. Nicole’s research interests revolve around computer science, behavioural science and robotics to help discover new ways that intelligent machines can help people to live a happy, productive and healthy life.

Santiago Velasquez

Santiago Velasquez is the founder of EyeSyght, a budding tech company with a focus on solving one of the biggest accessibility issues in the modern world. Additionally he is a two times participant for the Kokoda challenge, has completed the Oxfam trail-walker, Ride for Life challenge, participated in the Opti Minds challenge, and has also taken part in the Griffith and Google robotics challenge. He is the first visually impaired person to attempt an electrical engineering degree in Australia and has repeatedly been invited to participate in the MIT innovation and entrepreneurship boot-camp. In addition to all of the aforementioned experiences, he was invited to be a Mentor and a judge at the first Hackathon that was run by the Perkins School for the blind in Boston. Massachusetts.

Tony Wiggins

Tony Wiggins is a social innovator who leads Re-think Re-engage Australia (RRA), an Australian non-profit organisation. He is committed to influencing and supporting Australia’s older workers and transforming this talent to drive innovation and prosperity in the Australian economy. As an experienced HR expert and influencer, Tony led the way in Australia in developing ROI models in the Learning and Development field while working for the Queensland Public Service. He was awarded an Australia Day Achievement Award for his contribution and dedication to the HR profession in the Queensland Government In 2004, and again in 2005, his research-based work received two HRMagazine National Awards for demonstrating the value of ROI in Learning and Development and its contribution to the business bottom line. Tony is passionate about building organisational capability. He engages, influences and educates the hearts and minds of leaders and organisations.