Speakers: Richard Simpson, Robert Wilson, Scott Thompson-Whiteside

With dire predictions about the future of manufacturing in Australia, we should remember that manufacturing has been an important contributor to national development. There was a thriving manufacturing industry up to 1945, sufficient to supply most domestic needs. Post-war, new industries flourished and a golden era of manufacturing followed. By the late 1950s manufacturing accounted for 29% of Australia's GDP. By the 1960s, growth and productivity was faltering and manufacturing had begun to stagnate. Today, manufacturing accounts for less than 10% of Australia's GDP, the lowest level since early colonial times. This is due, in large part, to global economic changes and the economic processes of comparative advantage. However, the innovative spirit that drove previous successes remains and a new generation of leaders and enterprises has emerged. Richard Simpson of Furnace Engineering and Robert Wilson of the Wilson Transformer Company will be discussing the leadership styles and approaches they have used to ensure their companies are national manufacturing success stories. Scott Thompson-Whiteside of Swinburne University of Technology will be analysing their experiences to outline the leadership needs for innovation in Australia. Recorded on 26 June 2014.

Jennifer Westacott draws on her experience in both the public and private sectors to explore why and how we need to transform the VET system, in particular, if we are to prepare and equip our future workforce, and enable every Australian to be a part of it. Recorded on 19 June 2014.

Travis Smith, National Education Specialist at Microsoft, provides his perspective on the flipped classroom using Microsoft technologies. This video is part of Swinburne's Digital Aquarium Deep Dive series.

Travis Smith, National Education Specialist at Microsoft, provides his perspective on the flipped classroom using Microsoft technologies. This video is part of Swinburne's Digital Aquarium Deep Dive series.

Speaker: John Fien

Leadership for the public interest is not easy to achieve. Many of the issues leaders face are so complex that they have been called 'wicked problems' - not in the sense of being evil, but because they seem almost intractable. What sort of leadership is needed to address such complex issues? What sort of tools and strategy can leaders best bring to bear upon them? Recorded 29 May 2014. Includes the video 'How to work with Wicked Problems?' http://vimeo.com/85428754 by Kennisland CC BY-SA 3.0.

Leadership for the public interest is not easy to achieve. Many of the issues leaders face are so complex that they have been called 'wicked problems' - not in the sense of being evil, but because they seem almost intractable. What sort of leadership is needed to address such complex issues? What sort of tools and strategy can leaders best bring to bear upon them? Recorded 29 May 2014. Includes the video 'How to work with Wicked Problems?' http://vimeo.com/85428754 by Kennisland CC BY-SA 3.0.

Leadership for the public interest is not easy to achieve. Many of the issues leaders face are so complex that they have been called 'wicked problems' - not in the sense of being evil, but because they seem almost intractable. What sort of leadership is needed to address such complex issues? What sort of tools and strategy can leaders best bring to bear upon them? Recorded 29 May 2014. Includes the video 'How to work with Wicked Problems?' http://vimeo.com/85428754 by Kennisland CC BY-SA 3.0.

Speaker: John Fien

Leadership for the public interest is not easy to achieve. Many of the issues leaders face are so complex that they have been called 'wicked problems' - not in the sense of being evil, but because they seem almost intractable. What sort of leadership is needed to address such complex issues? What sort of tools and strategy can leaders best bring to bear upon them? Recorded 29 May 2014. Includes the video 'How to work with Wicked Problems?' http://vimeo.com/85428754 by Kennisland CC BY-SA 3.0.

Presented Assoc. Prof. John O'Meara on 6th July 2014.

Through the combination of large telescopes, advanced computer simulations and advancing theory, cosmologists have made significant progress in describing the universe on the largest scales and over cosmic times. However, many questions remain. Amongst these is a fundamental question underpinning the formation of galaxies - how do galaxies get the gas they need to fuel stars? In this talk, Assoc. Prof O'Meara will describe the hunt for this "pristine gas", left unaltered since its creation shortly after the Big Bang, and explore its implications for galaxy formation, including the formation of our own Milky Way.

Presented Assoc. Prof. John O'Meara on 6th July 2014.

Through the combination of large telescopes, advanced computer simulations and advancing theory, cosmologists have made significant progress in describing the universe on the largest scales and over cosmic times. However, many questions remain. Amongst these is a fundamental question underpinning the formation of galaxies - how do galaxies get the gas they need to fuel stars? In this talk, Assoc. Prof O'Meara will describe the hunt for this "pristine gas", left unaltered since its creation shortly after the Big Bang, and explore its implications for galaxy formation, including the formation of our own Milky Way.