Celebrating the 5th anniversary of the Professional Staff Conference
Wednesday 5 September
PROFESSIONAL STAFF CONFERENCE 2018
The 2018 conference has ended.
A big thank you to everyone who participated in this year's conference!
Your contribution and participation has made the conference a huge success.
Stay tuned for the 2019 conference!
Here it is … 2018 Professional Staff Conference – the podcast.
The podcast crew gate crashed the conference to collect great shareable useful ideas.
5 reasons to listen to 2018 Professional Staff Conference – the podcast.
- You didn’t go to the event and need to quell your FOMO (Fear of Missing Out).
- You did go and want to relive the energy and the ideas.
- You missed session but are keen to hear what others thought about it.
- Your commute to and from work will be infinitely more interesting and useful.
- You are curious. Hey don’t go changin’.
PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD
Would you like to revisit an amazing presentation or check out one you missed. Head to the program page to download a pdf copy.
Congratulations to our presentation winners
People’s Choice Prize for Best Presentation
- 1st prize: David Cameron Staples (Autism 101)
- 2nd prize: Margot Eden, Ben Pearce, Inala Cooper, Jefa Greenaway, Allara Pearce, Jo Siebenga, Maryanne Bossen and Paul Duldig (Reconciliation: can you keep up?)
Showcase Presentation Prize Winners
- Alana Pirrone
- Gavin Walsh
- Jon Peacock
- Shaun Blacker
Audience Prize Draw Winners (drawn at random from survey participants)
- Charmaine Swanson
- David Goodridge
- Jennifer Kirkbright
- Kate Taylor
- Libi Vojinovic
Sneak peaks of your 2018 Conference
With an overarching theme of Our World, Our Future, this year's conference takes a future-focus through the lenses of Innovation, Inclusion, Impact and Insight.
OUR WORLD, OUR FUTURE
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Innovation
Have you or your team come up with a creative solution to address an issue or need? Or have you discovered a new concept or idea that you’ve found inspiring?
Innovation is crucial to the continuing success of any workplace. Think change, transformation, new measures and methods approached from an unconventional perspective. How have you created innovation in your work?
What might the future of work look like? How do we create a culture of innovation?
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Impact
Having impact means a marked effect or influence that leaves a lasting impression. How far is your or your team’s reach within the University?
Do you have an example of an initiative, program or examples of work that has had a meaningful impact? How do we make a difference with what we do? How do we make a difference in what we do? What happens when things are disrupted?
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Inclusion
The University is committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is celebrated. Do you have any ideas or suggestions on addressing inclusion in the workplace?
How is your area actively working towards inclusion? What does inclusion mean to you and what is the importance or value of inclusion? Who do you connect with in your work and how do we build those connections? How do we include those who are not included? How might we include students in our work?
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Insight
Every individual has their own set of unique experiences, providing insight that can in turn impact the learning and development of others. Insight can be thought provoking and inspiring.
Do you have an experience you want to share that other staff could relate to? Perhaps you have learnings from something that didn’t quite go to plan (or even something that completely failed)? What have you learned from your work? What expertise can you share with others? How can you help others grow by sharing your story?
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE
The Professional Staff Conference is open to all professional staff of The University of Melbourne.
Our 2018 Sponsors
The 2018 Professional Staff Conference is proudly supported by:
and other sponsors.
ABOUT
Established in 2014 and co-founded by three professional staff – The conference aims to encourage the exploration of best practice, reporting of project outcomes, sharing of new trends and opportunities, while engaging staff through motivational and creative practice.
Delivered within a project framework, the conference focuses on broadening networks and collaboration across the different campuses of the University, while contributing to the sustained excellence of services supporting learning, teaching, research and engagement at the University of Melbourne.
The Conference...
- Celebrates the contribution made by professional staff to the wider success of the University
- Acknowledges the expertise and passion of professional staff through presentations that share best practice and showcase innovation in higher education administration
- Provides participants and organisers mentoring and professional development opportunities and creates time for networking, collegiality and fun
OUR 2018 SPONSORS
The 2018 Professional Staff Conference is proudly supported by:
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2018 CONFERENCE PROGRAM
Would you like to review a wonderful presentation or did you miss out on seeing one and would like catch up on what you missed?
Presenters have provided pdf's for you to download. Check out the program title below.
Program
Please note that this is a provisional program at this stage.
The table below is not compatible on mobile browsers. Page is best viewed on desktop.
| 8.00am – 9.00am | Registrations | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.00am – 9.35am | Welcome and Introductions Plenary 1 (enter via Doors 5 and 6) | |||||
| 9.35am – 10.25am | Morning keynote: Steve Sammartino Plenary 1 | |||||
| 10.25am – 10.50am | Morning break Level 1 | |||||
| Sub- themes | Innovation | Inclusion | Improvement | Impact | Insight | |
| 10.50am – 11.20am | Customer Experience (Cx) and Human-Centred Design (HCD) Kylie Hicks, This session will explore human centred design as a customer-centric approach to business improvement, service design and customer experience, debunking myths and demystifying a whole lot of jargon along the way. Project case studies will be presented, both in University Services and Academic Divisions, to illustrate the insights that can be gained from this approach, as well as the energy and passion they create within the organisation. | Autism 101 David Cameron Staples A discussion on what Autism is, what it is not, how Autists work, what their strengths are, what accommodations they might need, and what we can do to make everyone's lives better. | Just My Type: an electronic exam case study Kate Bartlett, Joe Matthews, Lai Sim Woon Professional staff from Melbourne Law School present on their experience trialling electronic exams in the Juris Doctor program. | Lucy Buzacott, Joann Cattlin, Stanley Koh, Kathy Racunica, Hilary Slater What role do project and centre managers have in research engagement and impact? This forum will feature experiences of 5 staff and audience discussion on how to capitalize on this expertise. | Innovation & Insight through Internships Lea Campbell, Fiona Simpson, Dajana Vucic Discover how to engage students in paid (S@W Program) and for-credit (Work Integrated Learning) internship opportunities on campus. Learn the best kept secret: why, how & when you can host an intern. | |
| 11.30am – 12.00pm | A person-centred strength-based advising approach Karen Dacy, A person-centred approach focuses on the individual, rather than disability. We explore ways to help students be of, not just in, the university community via strength-based advising for all students. | Challenger Thinking Suzy Irons, Explore what challenger thinking is and why developing a challenger mindset in the professional staff body is critical to our future success. | Yves Makhoul, Clem Wetherall, How the External Relations Social Media team has been using the features available on various social platforms to engage with targeted audiences to achieve the University's strategic priorities. | Future space strategies and analytics Jon Peacock, Jade Germantis, Grant Dean, Jonathon Lake, Andrew Selvaggi The future space proposition is improved utilisation, functionality and flexibility; new workspace designs and work styles to improve productivity; and accurate analytics by pivoting to digital. | ||
| 12.10pm – 12.40pm | Showcase: PechaKucha MDHS Research Project – Suzy Ryan Data visualisation – Alana Pirrone Agile management – Sonia Ramza | Be an active bystander: know when and how to help Dan Persaud, When you see something wrong, you want to be able to put it right. But what should you say? And when? We’ll share practical strategies and responses so you’ll know where to go and who to talk to. | Erin Wilson, Consider how subject lines, content, design and timing can maximise engagement. Learn insights and tricks from those who’ve sent over 4.5 million emails around the world (and across the corridor). | Tomorrow and Beyond: a Long-Term Perspective Rory McNeice Whether we realise it or not, everything we do today shapes the Australia of 2035. What will our legacy be? And how do our choices today lead to a better tomorrow? | Rose Hiscock, This new gallery offers an innovative, bold, provocative and future-focused experience. Hear the Science Gallery team talk about forthcoming exhibitions and opportunities for cross faculty engagement. | |
| 12.40pm – 1.30pm | Lunch break | |||||
| 1.30pm – 2.00pm | Meredith Hinze, Mitch Buzza, VR experiences provide opportunities for staff and students to interact with interactive and immersive environments thereby augmenting object-based learning and research activities | Showcase: Three Minute Thesis Creativity manifesto – Stephen Pfeiffer University Contract Register – Chris Stueven Change in Research Contracts team – Shaun Blacker Grant toolkit – Patrick Condron University Web Archive – Imogen Telfer | Anna Foundling, Come along to hear about a highly successful program that gives professional staff an opportunity to learn from our leaders. See a live demonstration of a seminar & gain leadership journey insights! | Green Impact and the Eco Heroes Harriet Deans, The presentation will demonstrate the University of Melbourne Early Learning Centre participation in the Green Impact program & the enactment of the commitments outlined in the Sustainability Charter. | Same, same but different: how we work together Hilary Dolan, Teaching Librarians and Skills Advisers discuss their new collaborative methods for working with academic colleagues and students to improve learning outcomes in FFAM and FVAS. | |
| 2.10pm – 2.40pm | Enterprise strategy and Intellectual Property Doron Ben-Meir,
Learn about the systems, infrastructure and exciting initiatives the University is developing to support and realise new opportunities and industry relationships including innovation precincts, business development, intellectual property management and venture catalysts. | Reconciliation: can you keep up? Paul Duldig, The University’s third RAP has accelerated our reconciliation efforts and attracted national attention. Learn about our reconciliation journey, our national leadership role, some of our extraordinary RAP initiatives and how you can contribute. | Anne-Maree Butt, Setting objectives & evaluating performance are key enablers for continuous improvement. We’ll help you to improve your marketing & recruitment activities by sharing what we have learnt from ours. | Lisa Cornish, Therese Kosmer, James Cornish Informed by the latest research on adaptive leadership and the outcomes of an international study of higher education institutions this session explores how to translate strategy into results. | Morag Burnie, Student-centred design is becoming a widely-used approach to ensure services and programs are appropriate and valuable for students. This session will explore three examples of student-centred design. | |
| 2.50pm – 3.20pm | Showcase: PechaKucha Returning to work after trauma – Arjun Rajkhowa U21 scholarship – Barbara Slattery Teaching Spaces – behind the scenes | Telling Tales: Powering-up your communications Emma Brimfield-Walsh, Learn how to power-up your internal and external communication efforts to tell stories that maintain effective engagement in the University's activities and compel readers to read on to the end. | Elisa Rivera When change happens in a team, a few things are impacted: dynamics, focus and flow. This is an insight into how one team built their resilience during times of change to stay effective and productive. | |||
| 3.20pm – 3.45pm | Afternoon tea break | |||||
| 3.45pm – 4.35pm | Afternoon keynote: Dr Anita Heiss | |||||
| 4.35pm – 5.00pm | Closing remarks | |||||
Morning Keynote – Steve Sammartino
A media commentator on technology and the future, Steve is a regular on the ABC and provides expert assessment on the rapidly evolving technology sector. He has also been featured on the BBC, The Smithsonian Institute, The Discovery Channel, Mashable, Wired, The LA times, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and even had documentaries made about his projects.
Read more about Steve
Afternoon Keynote – Dr Anita Heiss
Dr Anita Heiss is the author of non-fiction, historical fiction, commercial women's fiction, children’s novels and non-fiction. She is a regular guest at writers' festivals and travels internationally performing her work and lecturing on Aboriginal literature. She is a Lifetime Ambassador of the Indigenous Literacy Foundation and a proud member of the Wiradjuri nation of central NSW.
Do you want to be part of the 2019 committee?
Work with the behind the scenes team that brings everything together. Interested?
Complete the expressions of interest form to register your interest
If you have questions or comments, please contact the committee via email
psc-info@unimelb.edu.au