07 Aug EA Conference 2017 Wrap Up
The 2017 Engagement Australia Conference was a highly informative event, encouraging all in attendance to participate in active discussions and workshops, gain insight from engagement speakers and network with fellow engagement professionals. Hosted at Flinders University, engagement professionals from across the country made their way down to the Bedford Park Campus in Adelaide to be engaged, inspired and challenged.
The event included a variety roundtable discussions, six fantastic keynote speakers, plenary and panel discussions, spotlight sessions and café conversations.
The keynote speakers were extremely valuable, with expertise and knowledge in the areas of engagement in higher education systems, science, experimental education and service learning, and social justice within universities along with many other areas of passion and knowledge. Their insights throughout the event was captivating and left all attendees inspired.
The keynote speakers who presented at the 2017 conference included:
- Professor Andy Furco (University of Minnesota, USA)
- Professor Clare Pollock (DVC, Flinders University)
- The Hon. Verity Firth (Executive Director Social Justice, University of Technology Sydney)
- Dr Charles Day (CEO, Innovation and Science Australia)
- Associate Professor Billy O’Steen (University of Canterbury, NZ)
Roundtable discussions also allowed attendees to address engagement issues, topics and areas of interest under the umbrella of four key themes: Leveraging Cultural Institutions and Assets for Engagement, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Students and the Community, Engagement and Impact for Era-Strategies for Researchers & Academics, and Co-Creation, Culture and Society. We received fantastic feedback about these discussions and find them to be a fantastic element of the conference each year.
The event also consisted of four spotlight sessions. These sessions focused on different areas of engagement and provided attendees with a great variety of engagement areas they could discuss and become more informed about. The session topics included ‘The Benefits of the 2018 Era Round’, ‘Telling Engaging Stories’, ‘Engagement 101 Workshop’ and ‘Entrepreneurship and Innovation: Space, Place, and Culture’.
How can we forget about the amazing conference dinner at The Sanctuary Adelaide Zoo! What a spectacular location to end a great first day of our conference, along with a fantastic Industry breakfast at the Alere Function Centre at Flinders University to start off day two. These networking opportunities allowed attendees to get to know each other and build some great contacts with professionals based across Australia and overseas.
Overall, the 2017 Engagement Australia Conference was a huge success. We thank all who attended and were involved for making this a conference to remember. Thank you to Flinders University for hosting us.
