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.

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%.

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.