In this episode, FORWARD development partner Daniel Bluzer-Fry talks to Senior Industry Fellow Meredith Doig OAM.

Meredith is a professional company director and governance consultant. She has sat on boards of a variety of commercial and not-for-profit organisations along with university councils. Meredith is also fellow at the Australian Institute of Company Directors and for five years took their flagship Company Directors course.

In this conversation, Meredith reflects and shares insights across a breadth of her experiences - ranging from being Australia’s first chief motorcycling instructor, her work facilitating with the Cranlana program, through to her role on the Higher Education Council in the 1990s.

“One of the things that the Cranlana program did really really well was allow people to discuss together but in depth and at length. I think one of the disadvantages of the technology that we have these days is that there is so much information coming at us all the time, that it’s really easy to just read the surface information, and not to get into those elongated conversations from which you can actually garner or call it wisdom, maybe just learning lessons”

LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/meredithdoig/

Transcript

https://otter.ai/u/kMhY6g7Pw5HnyikDkk-rAzUxAR4

As our network of FORWARD Fellows grows and gets to know each other, we're inviting them to get together for impromptu discussions on topics that are on their minds.

In this episode, we invite you to join FORWARD development partner Daniel Bluzer-Fry and Fellows Diana Wu David, Sarah Lorimer and Sami Makelainen for their discussion about the kinds of skills and capabilities that underlie the practice of foresight.

Transcript

https://otter.ai/u/Ab8an75XYT5Px6CIze_WA7Kb8Ig

Production by Michael Donaldson https://8sided.blog/8sided-about/

Image by Francesco Paggiaro, Pexels.

How do young people succeed in the face of setbacks, and what can we learn?

The current and future drivers of our workforce are facing unprecedented obstacles – from completing schooling in a time of COVID-19, rapid changes in technology and worldwide increases in mental health challenges. In some cases, young people face extremely tough situations at home and school.

In what ways can dealing with adversity increase resilience to change, and help with future success for students? In what situations can it be harmful and detrimental? What structures, supports and methods can support young people to use this resilience well, especially if they have high potential?

Host Helen Babb Delia (Development Partner at RMIT FORWARD) discusses these questions and more with Martin Jellinek, General Manager, Learning Services at Skyline Foundation.

Skyline Foundation’s vision is that VCE students who have high ability or are gifted become more resilient leaders in the face of social and economic adversity. Martin specialises in recognising high-ability students and supporting them to reach their full potential.

Also read:

Change Resilience: skills for the future that we need right now

https://medium.com/rmit-forward/change-resilience-a-skillset-of-the-future-that-we-need-to-develop-right-now-dd2d86d3c231

About Skyline Education Foundation: https://skylinefoundation.org.au/about-us/

Production by Michael Donaldson https://8sided.blog/8sided-about/

Pete Cohen introduces FORWARD Senior Industry Fellow Lex Li, founder of Deckle - a software application designed to help students stay productive and social by studying together. As a recent graduate himself, and being so focused on the current generation of learners, Lex brings an important and relevant perspective to the FORWARD community.

In this conversation, Lex gives us some insight into his vision for Deckle and how it intersects with future skills.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexonli/

https://deckle.app

https://www.tiktok.com/@deckleapp

Otter transcript of this conversation https://otter.ai/u/FI9tEIArAw8pnm53EqG67_4GDgo

Production by Michael Donaldson https://8sided.blog/8sided-about/

Debuting at a recent event titled “Nothing is quite what you think it is: Stories from the future of work”, Diana Wu David has crafted a story that teleports us into a fictional future context that brings to life how the various innovations we are just hearing about today, such as DNA profiling and the metaverse, could reshape work and society as we know it.

In this episode of the podcast we hear Diana reading her story, followed with some reflection and commentary.

You can also watch it on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3iuNluoTFo

Or read the transcript here: https://bit.ly/story-future-of-work-diana-wu-david-Oct-2022

Based in Hong-Kong, Diana is an author, Future of Work strategist, Financial Times Faculty member, TEDx speaker and an RMIT FORWARD Fellow.

We featured Diana in Episode 5 which you can listen to here https://soundcloud.com/rmit-forward/rmit-forward-skillscast-s1e5-diana-wu-david

Image generated by DALL·E 2

Production by Michael Donaldson https://8sided.blog/8sided-about/

Demystifying diversity, equity and inclusion – what does it really look like?

You might have heard the terms diversity, equity and inclusion at work, in newspapers or in conversations about leadership.

But what might be harder to work out is what to do about it. Why does future-facing leadership require us to develop our inclusive leadership skills? What does doing a good job at diversity, equity and inclusion really look like? What principles and skills can we use to improve our workplaces, employee experiences and attract a diverse range of customers?

Host Helen Babb Delia (Development Partner at RMIT FORWARD) discusses these questions and more with Khayshie Tilak Ramesh, Inclusion & Diversity Lead at Mecca, lawyer, board director, speaker and writer.

Production by Michael Donaldson https://8sided.blog/8sided-about/

Pete Cohen introduces FORWARD Senior Industry Fellow Lene Rachel Andersen, author of several books on the topic of bildung and co-founder and president of the future lab Nordic Bildung.

In this conversation Lene introduces the concept of bildung, which we are waving into several of our workstreams at FORWARD, and gives a rich overview of its history and applications in a skills context.

“Bildung is moral and emotional maturity. Bildung is also to have the education and knowledge necessary to thrive in your society; bildung is to be deeply embedded in culture and community while having the autonomy to carve your own path in life. Bildung is always personal and unique. Bildung is a German word that has no word in English. Beginning in the 1770s, German philosophers explored bildung as a secular form of inner development and it became popular among the bourgeoisie.” -from 'Bildung: Keep Growing'.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lenerachelandersen/

https://www.globalbildung.net

Transcript of this conversation

https://otter.ai/u/iB3gGxS7FE-rtIfZ-n0mpcDGFb8

Production by Michael Donaldson https://8sided.blog/8sided-about/

Pete Cohen introduces FORWARD Senior Industry Fellow Antony McMullen where they discuss his background working in the community sector and his current focus on cooperatives and the dynamics surrounding shared ownership.

Freelancing and the gig economy are also discussed in the context of the Co-operative Freelancers Society - an initiative that Antony and Pete are incubating with the support of FORWARD.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/antonymcmullen/

http://bonds.coop

https://www.888causeway.coop

https://twitter.com/antonymcmullen

https://antonymcmullen.ghost.io

Otter transcript of this conversation

https://otter.ai/u/LXBkaYZ51vfDbQSxmA2-uKg1qxg

Production by Michael Donaldson https://8sided.blog/8sided-about/

Pete Cohen introduces FORWARD Senior Industry Fellow Jerry Michalski, who 24 years ago started feeding a mindmap which is today the world’s largest - which is reflective of his gift and commitment to connecting concepts, people and communities.

Jerry is a keynote speaker on topics including consumerisation and trust, and in this conversation he weaves the threads of these themes back to the skills and future of work context.

https://www.jerrymichalski.com

https://www.jerrysbrain.com

https://openglobalmind.com

http://twitter.com/jerrymichalski

Transcript here

https://otter.ai/u/HDBirP7c14KL4E_wDGkZqR2hJVw

Production by Michael Donaldson https://8sided.blog/8sided-about/

Development Partner Daniel Bluzer-Fry in conversation with FORWARD Senior Industry Fellow. Sarah Lorimer.

Sarah is a cultural insight strategist with a background in brand strategy, and a focus on using futures to push brand and narrative growth. She is interested in how technology can illuminate predictive shifts in culture.

Beyond her experience conducting research and consulting, Sarah has been a mentor for CSIRO ON-accelerator, Co-authored ‘Disruptive Futures and Brands’ for Pause Festival (2017) and Contributed to 'Reconstructing Identity' (Palgrave MacMillan 2017) in a chapter titled ‘The Role of Narrative in the Creation of Brand Identity’.

In this conversation, Sarah shares her eclectic educational background, her passion and perspective around democratising futures and foresight, along with some key interests in the world of skills and workforce transformation.

Transcript here

https://otter.ai/u/F8tfS7ZtYmQd-XhHrRJnM9EDhYQ

Production by Michael Donaldson https://8sided.blog/8sided-about/