UNSW

By imagining and planning for the future, we can create a more resilient, adaptable and innovative workforce that is well-prepared to meet the health challenges and opportunities of tomorrow. In a discussion led by Dr Louise Messara, NSW Health Strategic Medical Operations Unit Director, experts from across the Australian health landscape, including NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant, Dr Jan Fizzell, Ms Karen Booth, Dr Michael Wright and Professor Eleanor Beck shared insights into the future health workforce in Australia.

Proud partners of this MedConnect: NSW Health, the Future Workforce Unit and UNSW International Centre for Future Health Systems.

International Women’s Day has become a collaborative effort of people across the globe calling for action to accelerate women’s equality. And while there's still work to be done to close the gender gap, the day also provides us an opportunity to celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. Celebrate the stories of three inspiring women who are making an impact in STEMM: Scientia Professor Veena Sahajwalla, Director of the Centre for Sustainable Materials Research & Technology at UNSW Sydney; Hannah Beder (B.Eng ’18), Learning Designer and Research Lead at Creatable; and Scientia Professor Anushka Patel, Chief Executive Officer at The George Institute for Global Health, UNSW Sydney.

Join host ABC journalist Tegan Taylor in conversation with Professor Jason Wu, UNSW Professor and Head of Nutrition Science at The George Institute for Global Health, and Vanessa Matthijssen, Deloitte Asia Pacific ‘Future of Food’ lead for a fascinating look into how the power of nutrition can be harnessed to revolutionise health and wellbeing.

Join our host ABC journalist Tegan Taylor as she talks to the chair of the Dementia Australia Board Professor Graeme Samuel, and geriatrician Dr Stephanie Ward, UNSW Senior Research Fellow from the Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA) about the challenges imposed by this disease. Without a medical breakthrough, dementia will cost the economy $6 billion this year in healthcare and loss of productivity. And that number is set to triple by 2050. What can we, as researchers, clinicians, employees, loved ones and the community, do in the battle to tackle it?

Hear some of the world’s leading experts discussing what you and your loved ones can do to help put the brakes on this cruel and debilitating disease.

This event is presented by UNSW Medicine & Health.

Music: Brendon John Warner

Script: Brad Hall

Producer: Lee Henderson

Narration: Chris Turney

Audio Engineer/mixing: Martin Jamieson

additional Production: Zoe Thomas

Blending real audio samples from the Antarctic and a haunting four-part composition, come on a voyage to the southern continent. Starting at Hobart, the gateway to Antarctica, we set out on a journey across the Southern Ocean to Antarctica and share the beauty, the often-ferocious conditions, and the majestic wildlife we encounter on the way. The final fourth movement is a call for action, on how we can limit the impact of climate change on this precious environment.

‘We would like to give a huge thanks to the following amazing people and organisations that helped support this project, including through the provision of wonderful audio from the Antarctic. A particular massive thanks to Jackie Randles (NSW Science Week), Simon Drake (National Film and Sound Archive), Professor Tracey Rogers (University of New South Wales) and Tim Hewette (Antarctic Logistics and Expeditions). This composition was supported by an Australian Research Council Discovery Project grant (DP210103621). Some of the ‘Icescapes’ we recorded by Philip Samartzis in the Southern Ocean and Eastern Antarctica in 2010 and 2016; Philip would like to acknowledge the support of The Australian Antarctic Division, The Australia Council for the Arts, The Bogong Centre for Sound Culture, Creative Victoria, The National Gallery of Victoria, and the School of Art at RMIT University.

If you would like to learn more about our work in the Antarctic, please visit www.intrepidscience.com.’

Farmers and climate change in rural Australia.

Anika Molesworth is Deputy Chair of Farmers for Climate Action, a PhD in agricultural science and a sheep farmer in Western NSW. In this conversation with Prof Anthony Burke, UNSW Canberra, she discusses the challenges that a rapidly changing climate is posing to Australian farmers, the challenges of adapting and changing as a result, and the role farmers and government could be playing in climate action.

Is the Paris agreement on climate change likely to fail? And can new treaty concepts help support it to prevent catastrophic climate change? Professor Anthony Burke, an expert in global climate governance, talks with Professor Shirley Scott about a new proposal for a Coal Elimination Treaty.

In this conversation, Ben talks to Damon Gameau Director of the hugely successful documentaries ‘That sugar film’ and ‘2040’, one of the few films to offer a positive vision of our future on this planet. They discuss Damon’s journey from climate-sceptic to passionate advocate, the potential for the pandemic to be a pivot-point for behaviour change, the importance of story-telling and Damon’s many visions for how we can thrive in the Anthropocene.

Stephen Oliver is Manager of Documentaries at the ABC. We discuss Stephen’s involvement in major shows such as the War on Waste, Fight for Planet A and the upcoming new series Big Weather and How to Survive It; his desire to drive impact and change that goes beyond the passive viewing of TV; the importance of understanding the interconnectedness of our species; and Stephen’s vision for the Anthropocene.

Climate change, pro-environmental behaviour & the problem with academic jargon.

Craig Reucassel is host of the ABC’s Fight for Planet A and the War on Waste. In this Conversation he talks to Ben Newell about what individuals and governments can and should be doing to address climate change; whether we should be ‘nudging’ or ‘boosting’ pro-environmental behaviour; comparisons of our response to COVID-19 and our response to climate change; Craig’s vision for the Anthropocene (and his dislike of academic jargon…)!