Impact Talks at UTS

Is Australia entering a new political era? With a record majority off a near record low primary vote, the new parliament continues the rise of new electoral coalitions, unsettling our assumptions about class, gender, race, and power. Join our stellar panellists George Megalogenis, Frank Bongiorno, Elizabeth Humphrys, Ben Spies-Butcher, and Emily Foley for a wide-ranging discussion on the future of...

How do we design cities that are both sustainable and deeply liveable?  Christian Bason , Ph. D., Adjunct Professor at the University of Technology Sydney and one of Europe’s leading voices in public sector innovation, brings a unique perspective to this question. Drawing on his research in design for societal challenges and his leadership roles in government and civic innovation, Bason explo...

What does it mean to be “alive” in an age of automation, synthetic biology, and artificial environments? How do artistic practices challenge dominant narratives about life, nature, and control? And if compost, tissue culture, and data can form a new cycle of life, what might that say about our future? In this thought-provoking episode, artist and researcher Ionat Zurr delivers a keynote that trave...

What happens when we break the silence around colonial history? How does acknowledging the past help us heal and connect across communities? And who carries the responsibility for truth-telling—First Nations peoples or non-Indigenous Australians? Through deeply personal reflections and bold insights, Lorena Allam, Kate Grenville, Lindon Coombes, Mariko Smith, and moderator Robynne Quiggin unpack t...

How can we envision trans futures? What does trans flourishing look like? What are the radical challenges to trans and gender diverse rights? And what are the joys, curiosities and possibilities of social justice focused research and truly inclusive futures? After some decades of progress, western governments are now reversing or threatening to reverse the legal rights and recognition of trans and...

How did Australia's first family violence refuge come about? How has the depoliticisation of the domestic violence movement affected outcomes for women and children? While we now understand that domestic and family violence is more than physical violence, how do we continue to recognise and not turn away from the very real physical violence that Aboriginal women experience? What would take to buil...

What if your right to a secure home was protected by law? Why is Australia one of the only liberal democracies without housing rights protection? Could a Human Rights Act help fix Australia’s housing crisis? Everyone should have a safe, secure and healthy place to call home, regardless of your postcode or bank balance. But this is not the reality for far too many people in the community. A new rep...

How will AI really shape our everyday lives? Is AI just a cover for data theft and surveillance capitalism? Are we on the brink of machines outsmarting us at everything? Keynote speaker Professor Emily M. Bender is the co-author of The AI Con: How To Fight Big Tech’s Hype and Create the Future We Want . She was featured in TIME100's inaugural list of most influential people in AI in 2023, and is a...

Is the finance sector equipped for the transition to net zero? What are the origins of ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) and what is its role today? What is 'responsible investment' in a rapidly changing world? How can building skills across the sector drive change? Keynote speaker Paul Clements-Hunt is the former head of the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative, and coin...

What stories does America tell itself - and who do they serve? In this episode of Impact Talks , we launch the 2025 Vice-Chancellor’s Democracy Forum with acclaimed historian, author and cultural critic Sarah Churchwell. In her thought-provoking lecture, Sarah explores the national myths that have shaped the United States. She examines how narratives of freedom and opportunity often conceal histor...

What’s in a name?  In a vibrant, multicultural society like Australia, names hold deep personal, cultural, and historical meaning. Yet too often, non-Anglo names are mispronounced, altered, or avoided—reflecting lingering colonial legacies and contributing to the marginalisation of diverse identities in workplaces, schools, and community life. In this panel discussion, community voices, acade...

What do you need to know to prosper as a people for 65,000 years or more? Alison Page is really obsessed with training up a new generation of Aboriginal designers and that’s been a driving force behind her book, Design and Building on Country: First Knowledges for Younger Readers , co-authored with anthropologist and architect Paul Memmott. It’s a rework of Design and Building on Country , publish...

How do you build successful businesses while creating meaningful impact? How can companies foster inclusive cultures during periods of growth? Panelists share their journeys and offer insights on navigating the complexities of entrepreneurship, advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion and responding to current societal shifts. Speakers Famey Williams  (Githabul),  Chief Executive,...

Kidfluencers are social media influencers with accounts managed by adults. This global trend casts children as brand ambassadors but with their ‘everyday life’ as the show.  What's the risk of harm to kid influencers? Can children consent to their private life being readily available online? How do we draw the line between play and labour? What is 'playbour'? When a guardian controls the 'tal...

For the first time, a new report quantifies the employment and educational impacts of domestic violence on Australian women. Professor Anne Summers AO’s new report, The Cost of domestic violence to women’s employment and education, quantifies the financial impact on women for the first time. This report builds on her groundbreaking previous report, The Choice: Violence or Poverty. Professor Summer...

Australians must change how we consume goods and services to reduce our environmental impact, but what can businesses do when consumers resist change? How can companies encourage more sustainable behavior while decarbonizing supply chains? In this episode of Impact Talks at UTS, a panel of experts explores the challenges organizations face in driving this shift. Speakers Catherine King  is th...

Change for Good at UTS means a transdisciplinary, strategic, systems-thinking approach, combining critical, participatory, and multi-level strategies to create practical solutions for addressing complex health and social issues. In this episode of Impact Talks at UTS, the UTS Business School launches its new centre Change for Good with an expert panel discussion addressing the question: What are t...

Anna Funder, award-winning writer and author of Wifedom: Mrs Orwell's Invisible Life, unpacks how the patriarchy continues to maintain the status quo – using the extraordinary lives of Eileen O’Shaughnessy and George Orwell, and her thoughts on the 2023 hit movie Barbie . In a patriarchal system, women’s relationships transform into a role – Mother. Wife. – that erases their individuality and sign...

How do organisations identify and enact purpose? How can we drive connection between personal and organisational purpose, meaning and values? And how important are these issues in navigating an increasingly complex world? Dr Suzy Green and Dr Rosemary Sainty pose these questions and more to Professor Emeritus Robert E. Quinn, Professor Carl Rhodes and Corene Strauss in a conversation about purpose...

This year, Australia is set to establish the role of a Poet Laureate, as part of the federal government’s Revive national cultural policy. What is the relationship between poetry and the public realm—from bards to court poets to laureates? How will a poet laureateship help shape the reception of Australian poetry at home and abroad? Professor Holland-Batt talks to these questions, follow...

What does it mean to belong in the water? How can we get more women surfing? How can we create more inclusive line-ups?  What challenges do Australian women surfers still face?  Hear how surfing is changing in Australia - from the rise of women’s participation to equal pay, and find out why barriers like intimidation, unequal access, and outdated norms persist.  How has media repres...

With the advent of generative AI, manipulation of information and data is taking a new turn. Deepfakes and AI generated and propagated misinformation and disinformation are proliferating online. These trends are already undermining the reliability of news, disrupting elections, challenging democratic processes, and infringing rights globally. As automation rapidly expands the reach and scale of th...

How can carbon be remade into stuff that we want and use every day? Imagine a world where all the products we want and interact with become 'carbon sinks' and reduce atmospheric carbon emissions.  In this world, when you buy a product, you'd decarbonise the atmosphere, make sure that the carbon stays out of the atmosphere and is repurposed in innovative ways.  Production and consumption...

World cities are home to the vast bulk of humanity. Urban environments are also responsible for 75% of global emissions.  In this international discussion, experts explore the transformative power of Green Infrastructure (GI) in urban landscapes and examine innovative ways to make cities smarter, greener, and more communal - places where people can live for generations to come.    The transformati...

Six problems. Six solutions.  Natural disasters and local communities. Sustainable building on a large scale. A carbon tax and climate economics. Engaging the public on climate change. The potential of algae to replace common materials. Recycling glass in new ways. Hear three minute presentations from leading UTS experts and industry practitioners on solutions related to rethinking disaster r...