Professional Staff Conference
The 2021 Professional Staff Conference (PSC) took place as a virtual conference over two days and presented a great opportunity to interact with colleagues, share experiences and celebrate the role of professional staff at the University of Melbourne.
The PSC is organised by a committee of volunteers from across the University and is an excellent professional development opportunity for both committee members and presenters.
If you would like to get involved next year, please send an email to psc-info@unimelb.edu.au.
2021 Professional Staff Conference summary
With 30 sessions to attend, presented by over 50 University staff, there was plenty to learn at the 2021 Professional Staff Conference – and there still is!
Recordings from the conference are available to staff via our Professional Staff Conference channel on Microsoft Stream.
The theme of the 2021 Professional Staff Conference was "Skilled Now, Future Ready” where “Skilled Now” sessions explored how we use digital and data to our advantage and embrace technology and “Future Ready” addressed how we explore opportunities, prioritise our wellbeing, and understand the benefits (and navigating challenges) of a more reliant digital world.
Across the two days we had 30 sessions and an estimated 4800 hours of learning content split across the following categories:
- 9 Skilled Now
- 12 Future Ready
- 3 Main Stage
- 6 All About you
We were lucky to be joined by three keynote speakers at the 2021 Professional Staff Conference. Their sessions were part of the Morning Show (Day 1 & 2) and Grand Finale sessions that are available to watch on our Microsoft Stream site.
- Petra Kalive, Associate Director at Melbourne Theatre Company
- Michelle Fitzgerald, Chief Digital Officer at City of Melbourne
- Simon Waller, Futurist
The 2021 Professional Staff Conference committee was led by Assyl Haidar (Chair) and Julie Kennedy (Deputy Chair). Assyl and Julie are both from the Operational Performance Group within the Chancellery & Chief Operating Officer Portfolio (COOP). The following staff led the four main portfolios:
- Logistics: Julie Kennedy (COOP)
- Program and Content: Myron Yovannidis (MGSE)
- Promotion: Lucy Keller (Strategy & Culture)
- Sponsorship: Robin Chako (FEIT)
The committee was supported by the Professional Staff Conference Advisory Board:
- Neil Robinson (COOP), Chair
- Lyn McColl (FVAS)
- Trisha Kirkland (Strategy & Culture)
- Stephanie Spence (COOP), 2020 PSC Chair
The 2021 PSC committee was made up of a team of dedicated volunteers from across the University.
2021 committee (listed alphabetically): Amy Huynh, Andrea Lou, Andrew Siebel, Ashley MacMahon, Assyl Haidar, Charlotte Hurry, Di Doyle, Elise Newman, Emma Russo, Jess Ridout, Julie Kennedy, Lauren Gutches, Louise Craven, Lucy Keller, Michael Stephens, Myron Yovannidis, Petra Van Nieuwenhoven, Preethika Padmanabhan, Robin Chacko, Rossella Lo Conte, Sandie Tsan, Sheridan Nanscawen and Tai Smith-Moir.
The 2021 Professional Staff Conference Committee would like to thank the generous support of our sponsors.
Gold sponsor

Silver Sponsors






Bronze Sponsors


Building Resilient Futures
Adapting to Change - Building Capability
When the 2020 Professional Staff Conference committee convened to discuss potential themes for this year's conference in March, the Australian bushfires were top of mind. We had seen how both staff and students from across Australia had been impacted by the bushfires, and we discussed how important resilience is in the face of adversity.
At the time, COVID-19 was beginning to spread throughout Australia, too, though none of us could have predicted just how disruptive this virus would become. We anticipated how we might need to change our ways of working, should the virus continue to spread, and discussed how resilience would be important to get through this crisis as well. We decided on the theme of "Building Resilient Futures" as it would encourage forward-thinking in the midst of whatever challenges we might face in the coming months. Just weeks after that first brainstorming session about themes for the conference, the committee had shifted to working entirely remotely, in line with COVID-19 restrictions.
As we continued to plan for the conference from our home workstations, we developed the sub-themes of "Adapting to Change" and "Building Capabilities." We saw that it would be essential for professional staff at the Uni to be comfortable adapting to change this year, as further change was inevitable given the ongoing and widespread effects of COVID-19. At the same time, professional staff would need to build their capabilities and skill sets in order to best respond to these changes.
The keynote speakers, panel discussion and individual sessions held throughout the 2020 Professional Staff Conference tied into our main theme of Building Resilient Futures, and we hope that attendees were able to walk away from the conference with enhanced skills to embrace change and build capabilities for the future.
There were 1688 staff registrations from across the university to attend the 2020 virtual UOM Professional Staff Conference which spanned over 5 days (Monday 14th September to Friday 18th September 2020), with an average attendance rate of 70%.
2020 Professional Staff Conference Summary
Missed a session? or want to relive your favourite session of the 2020 Professional Staff Conference?
The session recordings from the conference are available to staff via our Professional Staff Conference channel on Microsoft Stream (link below) until the end of the year.
Please note that a small number of sessions were only delivered live and have not been uploaded.
The fantastic and engaging keynote speakers were:
- Hugh van Cuylenburg, Co-founder of The Resilience Project
- Dr Jenny Grey, CEO of Zoos Victoria
Read more all about the University of Melbourne's 2020 Professional Staff Conference - written by Stephanie Spence.
Established in 2014 and co-founded by three professional staff, the conference aims to explore best practices, report project outcomes and share new trends and opportunities, while engaging staff through motivational and creative means.
Delivered within a project framework, the conference broadens networks and encourages collaboration across the University’s different campuses, while contributing to the sustained excellence of services supporting learning, teaching, research and engagement. The conference:
- Celebrates the contributions made by professional staff to the success of the University
- Acknowledges the expertise and passion of professional staff through presentations that showcase innovation in higher education administration
- Provides participants and organisers with mentoring and professional development opportunities
- Creates time for networking, collegiality and fun
The Professional Staff Conference is organised by a Committee of volunteers from across The University of Melbourne. If you have questions or comments, please email psc-info@unimelb.edu.au.