Future of Work Forum 3 Resources

The Future of Public Service and Work: Shaping the Future while Delivering Today

Forum 3 was held on Wednesday, 7th February 2018 at Parramatta City Campus, The Peter Shergold Building. This forum explored how public service and work can deliver today while shaping the future, and how the University can equip our students to engage productively with this future of work.

Chancellor of Western Sydney University, Professor Peter Shergold delivered the keynote in which he explored the landscape of the public service sector in the midst of advanced technology, AI, automation and robotics. Professor Shergold asks will cognitive technology actually be transformative? And, if it is, what will the work of public servants look like in the future?

This was followed by thought provoking insights from the esteemed panel of guests which included a city council member, a former CEO of the Australian Government’s Digital Transformation Office, an associate professor of law and technology at UNSW, and a current Western Sydney University student.

To watch the full length videos of all presentations and Q&A times, please go to the below list of videos.

Forum Program (PDF, 8529.42 KB) (opens in a new window)

Keynote and Address

Is the Future of Public Administration Robotic?
Professor Peter Shergold, Chancellor Western Sydney University

View the video below to see Western Sydney University Chancellor, Professor Peter Shergold, speak about the limitations of predicting the future. He argues that predicting the direction of change is relatively straightforward, while predicting its speed and scale is far more challenging.

Closing Address

Phil Minns, Deputy Secretary People, Culture and Governance, NSW Ministry of Health

In this closing address Deputy Secretary Phil Minns speaks about three broad themes and the changing FOW: our notion of work and how we construct it, ideas or reflections on the potential scale of change and the types of challenges government will face as a result of the changes.

Panel Discussion

Panel Discussion Video

This panel discussion focuses on the FOW and the public service, and particularly the challenges for universities in preparing students for the FOW in the public service. Chaired by Jan Fran, The Feed SBS, view the Panel Discussion Video (opens in a new window)

Panel Members

Dr Eddie Jackson –Director City Community and Culture, Liverpool Council, NSW
Paul Shetler – Former Chief Executive O_cer, Australian Government, Digital Transformation Office
Associate Professor Lyria Bennett Moses - Director Allens Hub for Technology, Law and Innovation, UNSW
Lakshmi Logathassan - Founder The Laptop Project, and Law student, Western Sydney University