Research Week

Date: Monday 25 August 2025
Time: 9:30am - 1:30pm
Location: Parramatta City Campus - Peter Shergold Building (1PSQ) | Level 9, Conference Room 1 & 2

Hybrid Event:

Part 1: Hybrid (9.30- 11.15am) - Zoom & f2f

Part 2: Face-to-face (11:30 am – 1:30pm)

Everywhere, children, young people and their communities face significant challenges, and exciting opportunities: a significant evolution in digital technologies and policy; mounting international conflicts and more extreme weather events.

These pressing issues – among others – call for renewed efforts to generate robust evidence about children’s and young people’s experiences, needs and aspirations, and processes and partnerships to drive coordinated, cross-sector action targeting change at scale.

This two-part event will explore how research with children and young people can help change the world – by generating break-though research, engagement and activation of novel data in our world.

Date: Monday 25 August 2025
Time: 10:00am - 12:00pm
Location: Parramatta City Campus - Peter Shergold Building (1PSQ) | Level 9, Conference Room 3 & 4

Face to Face Event:

This industry-academia panel will bring together leaders in advanced manufacturing, industrial innovation and technologies, workforce development, and sovereign capabilities to explore collaborative opportunities that drive Australia's future industries. 

Panel discussions will focus on identifying emerging challenges, innovation opportunities, and workforce needs critical to national growth and resilience. Participants will co-develop project ideas that contribute to a skilled and inclusive workforce, strengthen sovereign capabilities, and accelerate advanced manufacturing initiatives.

This event directly supports the mission of the Global Challenge Lead program under the "Leading Future Industries" theme, providing a platform for meaningful engagement, industry-research alignment, and catalysing high-impact projects with global relevance and local benefit.

Date: Monday 25 August 2025
Time: 2:00pm - 4:00pm
Location: Anne Cutler Seminar Room, Level 4 Westmead Innovation Quarter

Face to Face Event:

This roundtable event will bring together researchers, clinicians, policymakers, service providers, and community leaders to collaboratively identify dementia care and research priorities for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities in Australia.

With a focus on medical and healthcare perspectives, the roundtable discussions are part of a broader initiative to inform an updated CALD Dementia Action Plan and develop a white paper to guide national strategy, funding, and service design.

The session will also involve a showcase of the latest research being conducted at the MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, and International Centre for Neuromorphic Systems, including biology-inspired neuromorphic technologies and sensors, cameras in space, and brain-inspired computing systems.

Date: Wednesday 27 August 2025
Time: 9:30am – 11:30am
Location: MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour, and Development; Fourth Floor Atrium, Westmead Innovation Quarter. Building U, Level 4160 Hawkesbury Road Westmead NSW 2145Australia

Face to Face Event:

Since children spend less than a quarter of their waking hours in school, the Playful Learning Landscapes initiative aims to empower parents to help their children learn.

The goal is to create everyday experiences that are fun learning opportunities in the family leisure time settings.

The event will last for two-hours from 9:30 to 11:30 on Wednesday, 27 August held at the MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development in the 4th floor atrium.

Date: Wednesday, 27 August 2025
Time: 10:00am - 12:30pm
Location: Parramatta City Campus - Peter Shergold Building (1PSQ) | Level 9, Conference Room 1 & 2

Face to Face Event:

This panel will feature a lively and thought-provoking exchange between clinicians, policymakers, and educators on whether broadening professional roles is a necessary evolution or a risky disruption.

Panellists will debate the potential benefits - such as improved access to care and more efficient team-based care models - against concerns about scope creep, variable training standards, and interprofessional tensions.

Date: Wednesday, 27 August 2025
Time: 1:00pm - 6:00pm
Location: Parramatta City Campus - Peter Shergold Building (1PSQ) | Level 9, Conference Room 3 & 4

Face to Face Event:

One of our most popular events, the Research Impact Competition, gives our Early and Mid-Career Academics the opportunity to present their research on one slide for five minutes, with a particular focus on the real-world impact of their research. Each presenter is allocated a further two minutes in which they take questions from the judges.

This cross-disciplinary event offers the audience an effective insight into the breadth of the exciting and meaningful research being conducted at Western.

Date: Thursday 28 August 2025
Time: 9:30am - 3:30pm
Location: Parramatta City Campus - Peter Shergold Building (1PSQ) | Level 9, Conference Room 1 & 2

Face to Face Event:

The aim of this one-day event is continuing the crucial interdisciplinary conversations on gender-based violence, with a focus on the Greater Western Sydney region, and with attention given to identifying strategies for putting the evidence into action.

The event will include a morning panel discussion involving researchers and key stakeholders discussing key relevant research and issues facing services providers addressing gender-based violence in the region.

An afternoon panel discussion will focus on how best to support and enhance the critical efforts currently operating in the region to address gender-based violence – putting evidence into actions.

Date: Thursday 28 August 2025
Time: 10:00am - 12:00pm
Location: Parramatta City Campus - Peter Shergold Building (1PSQ) | Level 9, Conference Room 1 & 2

Face to Face Event:

This Research Week event is a joint initiative of the Global Challenge Leads for Realising Digital Futures and Leading Future Industries.

It brings together leaders from industry, government, academia, and the community for a dynamic panel discussion exploring the opportunities and challenges posed by digital futures in the workplace.

The conversation will examine how emerging technologies are reshaping professional roles, skills, identity, and community engagement - and what organisations and communities can do to build digitally capable, inclusive, and resilient futures.

Date: Thursday 28 August 2025
Time: 1:00pm
Location: Paramatta City Campus, Engineering and Innovation Hub, Ground Floor, 6 Hassall St Parramatta

Face to Face Event:

This session asks: who gets to shape that future? And what will it take to lead?

It is designed as a facilitated focus group – a creative  thinking room – bringing together a diverse group of experts to explore what does good look like in the next generation of cities.

It aims to generate insights from divergent perspectives and explore Australia’s capacity to lead in shaping the cities of the future.

A Keynote address from a Smart Cities industry leader, followed by a facilitated focus group with industry, government, community and academic leaders.

For all event information, including registration, contact Urban Transformations Research Centre via s.cheung@westernsydney.edu.au