Spotlight Sessions

Spotlight Sessions

During the 2017 Engagement Australia Conference there will be 4 spotlight sessions for delegates to choose from.

1. Engagement 101 Master Class
2. Telling Engaging Stories
3. The Benefits of the 2018 ERA Round
4. Entrepreneurship and Innovation: Space, Place and Culture

Delegates will be asked to select their chosen stream upon arrival, so please familiarise yourself with the below topics and choose the session most appealing and beneficial to you. Each of the sessions are described in more detail below.

1. Engagement 101 Master Class

Presented by Jodie Duignan-George – Associate Vice Chancellor, Cairns and Far North Region, CQUniversity and Deputy Chair, Engagement Australia.

The term ‘Engagement’ has multiple definitions. The breadth of meanings applied to this simple term often results in confusion around how the term applies in different settings. In modern times, the word engagement is often tied to other terms.

We have all heard references to:

  • Community engagement
  • Stakeholder engagement
  • Customer engagement
  • Student engagement

However what do all these terms really mean and how do they differ? More importantly what do they all have in common? 

This Master Class will explore the concept of engagement in terms of:

  • Applied meaning
  • Benefits
  • Outcomes
  • Do’s and Don’ts

Through the use of case studies and scenario discussions, Master Class participants will explore examples of best practice in engagement and develop tips on how to apply engagement techniques and practices in professional and social environments.

2. Telling Engaging Stories

Presented by Professor Drew Dawson – Engaged Research Chair, CQUniversity

The key to successful engagement is the capacity to ‘pitch’ your involvement in a way that aligns with your partner’s interest. However, effective pitches are a challenge for many of us. More so when we are highly educated experts and professionals.

Evidence-based storytelling is probably one of the hardest skills for many professional people to master. Nevertheless, skilfully weaving a compelling narrative is a skill. It can be learnt and must be endlessly practiced – if one is to persuade others to a shared course of action.

In this workshop, the essential skills necessary to craft and communicate a compelling narrative will be deconstructed into a simple recipe. You will work interactively with others to develop, craft and refine a short narrative in an area of personal or professional interest.

Above all it will be fun and entertaining and will definitely not involve ‘butchers paper’ or Texta colors.

3. The Benefits of the 2018 ERA Round

Presented by Ms Leanne Harvey – Action CEO, Australian Research Council

How do you measure Engagement?

Ms Harvey will provide an update on the ARC’s Engagement and Impact pilot taking place this year and run an interactive workshop on developing engagement indicators.

What indicators can be used to measure universities engagement outside of academia?

Ms Harvey will discuss what engagement indicators the ARC is testing in the Engagement and Impact Pilot exercise. These indicators fall under four broad categories – patents and patent citation data, research output analyses, research income analyses, and co-supervision of HDR students.

The pilot will look at a sample of indicators across STEM and HASS disciplines. Panels of experts from both academia and research end-users will test these indicators and comment on their use and applicability. In ERA indicators must meet criteria such as being repeatable, verifiable, time bound, they should drive responses in a desirable direction.

The session will discuss other possible indicators for the evaluation of public engagement of universities and provide participants with an opportunity to identify and test their own shortlist of indicators based on validity and feasibility.

4. Entrepreneurship and Innovation: Space, Place and Culture

Presented by Bert Verhoeven – Senior Lecturer in Innovation and Enterprise, New Venture Institute Flinders University

Traditionally, Universities have embraced innovation and entrepreneurship education, particularly of the experiential variety, in a somewhat haphazard fashion.

This session shines a spotlight on a bold vision, to embed innovation and enterprise into the DNA of the University by enabling access to innovation and enterprise education for all students, staff and stakeholders.

Through annexing Australia’s first innovation district, the New Venture Institute is leading the charge for Flinders University to embed entrepreneurship. This Spotlight Session will discuss approaches and the challenges that arise out of re-inventing how a university creates and delivers impact, at scale, and provide an interaction with the hybrid space.