Kicking off Season 5: Emerging Technologies, our Host Rashan Senanayake speaks with Associate Director Natalie Oostergo from the University of Southern Queensland exploring the impact of Gen-AI on Australian education. Natalie discusses the significance of Gen-AI for our future and its potential to revolutionise teaching and learning. She emphasises the importance of maintaining academic integrity in the face of technological advancements. Offering practical strategies and resources, Natalie highlights ways schools and universities can integrate Gen-AI responsibly into education. She also explores the role of design thinking in fostering critical skills for navigating Gen-AI. For students, Natalie provides advice on using Gen-AI ethically by emphasising the importance of digital literacy alongside ethical awareness. Tune into this episode with Natalie Oostergo at the University of Southern Queensland. Join us for an insightful discussion on Gen-AI and its implications for education.

In this episode, join Dr. Kylie Warren, a pioneering figure in Advanced Manufacturing (AM), for an in-depth discussion on the aspects that result in business innovation within an exciting industry. Explore the nuances between quality control, assurance, and management systems, and discover their diverse applications across stakeholders within AM. Kylie shares insights into the pivotal role of technology in driving advancements, showcasing cutting-edge tools and methodologies. Breaking stereotypes in a historically male-dominated field, Kylie highlights exciting career pathways for both genders in AM. She emphasises the crucial blend of hard and soft skills, including design thinking and STEAM education, essential for success in this evolving landscape. For students, graduates, and educators alike, Kylie offers invaluable advice drawn from her experience, guiding aspiring professionals and educational institutions toward preparing for the demands of this exciting industry. Tune in for a captivating conversation filled with industry insights, career guidance, and the evolving landscape of Advanced Manufacturing.

Dive into the realm of design and manufacturing workflows with Nathan Rice, the innovative force behind iFab. Discover how concepts evolve into steel masterpieces through meticulous design and advanced manufacturing, powered by the technologies incorporating Augmented Reality, CAD and automation in future. Nathan unveils the crucial details of the workflow in bringing a concept idea to life, through to construction! Along the way he humbly shares insights on the impact of technology on the industry, reflecting on the past and forecasting the future. Learn about the key skills driving success in this field—sketching, critical thinking, research, and communication—all grounded in design thinking's fusion of creativity and problem-solving. Tune into this video episode, offering a roadmap into the captivating world of design, manufacturing, and innovation workflows.

AR – The Technology that can transform the way we design & create! Join us as we delve into the captivating world of Augmented Reality (AR) with visionary expert Gwyllim Jahn (Co-founder and Creative Director of Fologram). Discover the background, applications, and future prospects of this groundbreaking technology that is reshaping industries and changing the way we design. Gwyllim shares his inspiring journey and the reasons behind his passion for AR alongside the history, fun facts, and the growing importance of AR in various sectors. Gain valuable insights into the immediate future of AR in 2025 as well as its long-term prospects. Explore exciting career pathways within the AR sector and the key skills valued in the industry, from design thinking to STEaM to communication. Uncover the complementary technologies that enhance AR's potential with expert advice for students, graduates, teachers, schools, and tertiary institutions on navigating the world of AR. Tune into this episode for a thought-provoking discussion that unlocks the door to a world where reality and imagination merge, shaping the future of technology and human experiences.

Drive? Fly? No problem! In this episode, we present the futuristic concept of flying cars, brought to life by an advanced manufacturer: Pegasus. To speak about this amazing feat, this episode features the Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of Pegasus, Jacky Yang. Jacky with his unique background of helicopter piloting and driving / mechanical experience in race car driving shares his experience and insight into what it takes behind the scenes to design and manufacture flying cars in Australia. He humbly shares the story behind the start-up, the challenges and the many skill sets, engineering disciplines, alongside design thinking, physics and material understanding that paves the way for a successful flying car designer. Jacky also shares the amazing combination of technologies that are behind the scenes to make flying cars a possibility and how AI integration will be a future milestone. It is said to become a trillion-dollar industry within the next few decades and is the perfect time to harness the power of flying!  Tune into this episode and gain the valuable insights into the combo of vehicle x aerospace sector.

AI – the leading technological development in 2023. In this episode, we dive deep into the topic of AI and its impact on education with one of the leading Principals in the field, Dr. Paul Browning – Headmaster of St. Paul’s School, Brisbane. We start off by discussing the age-old question: Should we fear AI or embrace it? Pauls shares his insights on this topic and explains how AI is the future and has the capabilities to revolutionise education in the coming years – as it should! Expanding on this, Paul shares his thoughts on how AI can transform the way students learn and how educators need to teach, especially in preparing our students for the future world. Coming to main focus to creative thinking, Paul shares an insightful answer to the question, "Can you actually measure it?", he introduces us to the concept of "Realms of Thinking" and discusses how measuring the unmeasurable is possible with the help of AI, across any curriculum, while being able to measure it in an amazing way. Tune in to this episode and join us as we explore the exciting world of AI, creativity, design thinking, creativity and future of education with Dr. Paul Browning.

Let’s fly! In this episode, we feature an aerospace sector prodigy Karl Domjahn, a Lead Propulsion Engineer at Gilmour Space Technologies. Karl begins by discussing the Aerospace industry's different aspects, such as defence, commercial, and space, and how they contribute to Australia's economy. The Aerospace industry provides direct employment to more than 20,000 people in Australia and contributes billions of dollars to the economy. Karl then expands his insights on the industry's potential for the immediate future and in the next 10-20 years and explains that there is significant growth potential in the industry, particularly in the space sector, as Australia's capabilities in space technology continue to develop. As we continue, Karl sheds light on the exciting career opportunities available in the Aerospace industry. He explains that the industry offers a diverse range of roles, including engineers, scientists, technicians, and project managers, among others. These roles require a mix of hard and soft skills, such as design thinking, critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, and collaboration. Tune into this episode and gain the valuable insights into the Aerospace sector and the exciting career pathways it offers as a major sector in the coming decades.

Design thinking - It is the No. 1 transferrable skill for more than 85% of careers in 2030. This episode features one of the leading minds in design thinking, Ariel Raz - Head of Learning Collaborations at Stanford d.School. Coming from a non-design background, but with a unique experience in the education sector, Ariel goes on to discuss a unique perspective on design thinking and its details. He insightfully discusses detailed answers and resources for questions such as What is the evolution of Design Thinking?, What are the key values of design thinking? How is this skill positioned for the future of work & future of education? How does design thinking work alongside key technologies? Armed with a unique perspective in education and design thinking, Ariel goes on to humbly share valuable advice for educators as well as amazing life advice integrating design thinking. Tune into this video episode and learn more about the most sought-after skill set, globally.

One word – Drones. As Bill Gates once said, “Drones overall will be more impactful than I think people recognize in positive ways to help society.” To lead the way, this video episode (Click Here to Watch on YouTube) features Rob Sutton – The founder and CEO of the record-breaking Drones and AI consultancy: Mirragin Consultancy. Learning from his unique background in the Australian Defence, Rob shares his passion and drive for utilising Drone Technology to do good, to save lives, improve organisational capabilities and not to mention designing world class light shows over Sydney Harbour to a global audience! This episode, being recorded live at the World Drones and Robotics Congress, Rob shares insights (such as the Air Taxis being deployed in the near future) and what technologies, mindsets, thinking patterns, knowledge attributes and skill sets required lead the way in the drones’ sector. He goes on to share the existing career pathways possible and how to enter the industry with constant insights into the amazing world of drones, alongside resources to learn more. Tune into this video episode and learn more about one of the cornerstone 21st century technologies in the modern world.

In this video episode we feature one of the leading minds in the laser technology sector Simon Moore (Director of sales at Trotec Australia) to unveil the latest innovations in laser technology. Simon shares how his passion for pushing the boundaries and continuously improving the use of laser technology has resulted in streamlining workflows and now effectively embedding this technology into 21st century education alongside integrated software and hardware. With his 30+ years of experience, Simon goes on to share and demonstrate how simple it is to now create and manufacture ideas quickly, bridging lo-fidelity prototyping with high-fidelity prototyping without complex software skills – an absolute game changer! This is the new standard and changing the way we design, ideate, iterate and manufacture. Tune into this video episode to learn more about this exciting technology and how it can be utilised in our day-to-day life as well as in the modern 21st century classroom.

“Design isn't just what it looks like and feels like — design is how it works.” Steve Jobs (Founder of Apple Inc.). In an essence, this is what ‘Industrial design’ is all about and hence one of the most versatile and integrated design careers in the modern world. The experts on this episode – Tim Williams & Andrew Peterson (Industrial Designers and Senior Lecturers of Industrial Design) shares practical and contemporary details of this exciting sector. Tim and Andrew speak passionately about how industrial has been shaped by technology, its evolution and the amazing career paths available as an Industrial Designer. Ideation developed from sketching, through to CAD and now the integration of designing in Virtual Reality (VR), the speakers share their expert opinion on the progression of mass customisation within Industry 5.0, alongside additive manufacturing. Both the experts identify the key skills required to succeed as an Industrial Designer and valuable advice applicable to students, teachers, and educators as well as any aspiring designer. Tune into this episode to learn more about this exciting industry that Steve Jobs himself dubbed as “one of the coolest careers” in history.

Combining the best of science, design and manufacturing, the Orthotics industry has been transformed with the integration of 21st century technologies such as CAD, SMART device scans, 3D printing etc. A leading expert in this industry, Dean Hartley (Chief Technical Officer of iOrthotics) shares his humble beginnings transitioning from conventional podiatric practice and effectively integrating the use of industry 4.0 technologies to lead the market in orthotics manufacturing. Working with leading brands such as MyFootDr and now diversifying their services, Dean shares his knowledge and experience in this rich industry – unveiling insights on where this industry is headed, the skills required to succeed, exactly how technology has transformed what they do to achieve amazing feats as well as the various career paths available in the 21st century. Dean, as one of the brightest minds in this industry, goes on to share his valuable advice for teachers, schools & universities as well as students interested in exploring this as a career possibility. Tune into this episode to learn more about how science, design, technology and manufacturing meets to create life changing outcomes in this exciting sector.

Dams – A magnificent harmony of design and engineering. A crucial component within the built environment. A thoroughly underrated sector! In this episode we feature one of the leading minds in Dam Engineering and Safety on a global scale: Dr Gamini Adikari. As the Chief Technical Principal of Dam Safety at SMEC, coupled with over 43 years of experience in the industry, Gamini humbly shares his knowledge and learnings, uncovering the vast field of Civil Engineering and how it branches off into a variety of disciplines and industries, including Dams Engineering. He details how this colourful industry has evolved and where it is headed, how technology is integrated as well as the crucial skills and attributes aligned with STEM required to be successful in this sector. Gamini, not only an industry expert, but also an academic, goes on to share his valuable advice for teachers, schools & universities as well as students interested in exploring this fascinating industry. A key component for civilisation within Industry 4.0. Tune in to celebrate an exceptional career of a leading expert and dive into the amazing world of Dam Engineering.

One of the most crucial elements towards the sustainable future of our planet is clean and renewable energy productions & consumption practices. Climate change, life on land, life below water and many other natural ecosystems heavily depend on the production and consumption of energy. The solution lies within a fully integrated life cycle approach with renewable energies. Vivienne Roberts (Founder of Energy Ramblings) details crucial discussion points and sheds light on this industry. The essential requirement of design thinking, empathy alongside STEaM skills, creative problem solving alongside the renewable energy design implication and its ripple effects towards the future. This is just the start! Vivienne’s goes on to share her experience and directly integrate the various career paths and technologies integrated towards the evolution of this crucial industry within the current context of industry 4.0. Tune in for the latest on renewable energies and understanding how to enter and success within this growing sector!

Steel fabrication has been an ever-evolving industry since the beginning of human civilisation alongside the consecutive industrial revolutions. We are now at the transition between industry 4.0 & 5.0 technologies where integration is evolving to support the way we work and the way we learn. Watkins Steel does exactly this and has been setting the standard for the industry. This episode features one of the leading minds in technology integration within the bespoke steel fabrication sector – Dr. Vitor Bottazzi (R&D Manager and Robotics Engineer at Watkins Steel). Vitor unravels detailed discussion points stemming from his unique overseas experience and how current technologies such as Mixed Reality (MR), alongside Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), Drones, Internet of Things (IoT), Robotics, AI, software/CAD, laser scanning etc. have been successfully integrated to unlock more capabilities through a more streamlined, faster and accurate approach towards bespoke steel fabrication. Watch the evolution on Youtube for this video episode and tune into for the future of the advanced manufacturing steel industry!

Anything and everything in the built environment and human civilisation have stemmed from mining & exploration of the earth and its natural resources. An essential, exciting and a fast-evolving industry and to lead this topic this episode features of the best experts in the mining and exploration industry - Kate Dickson (QLD Director of AMEC). Kate breaks down detailed responses to crucial learning areas all stemming from her interest in geological sciences evolving into leading the industry and its advisory & direction. Kate unveils answers to questions such as “what is the mining industry in the 21st century?”; “How technologies are driving mining and exploration with automation, AI, robotics integration?”; “What core skills are required to succeed in this industry now, and in the future?”. This is just the start! Tune into the episode to understand the direction of one of the largest industries and exciting future opportunities stemming into space exploration and mining… out of this world! The future is already here, tune in now!

2 x defining technologies that underpin almost everything we do today - Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data. This episode features two bright young minds - Rahul Kota (Data Scientist) and Matthew Lakis (Mechatronics Engineer) from Athena AI. Both working with the utilisation of AI and integration of big data in a variety of fields. This tech talk features Rahul and Matthew both unveiling detailed and technical responses to questions such as “What exactly is AI & BigDATA? What are the capabilities of this technology? How have these technologies evolved and what to expect in the future? How does this play a role in automation and the evolution of humans - the future of work, the future of education? What are the new emerging careers that come with integration of these technologies? This was only the beginning! This must-listen episode then takes a humble turn when Rahul and Mathew go on to share their experiences, insights and advice for students/graduates as well as for educational institutions and professionals on the do’s and don’ts of harnessing the power and working with AI & Big Data. The future is here, tune in now!

Building Information Modelling (BIM) – the way we design and construct is not what it used to be! BIM’s integration into the design and construction industry globally has revolutionised the way we build our cities. Today’s episode features one of the leading BIM experts - Nathan Love (Construction BIM Coordinator for Queens Wharf, Multiplex). Nathan, coming from his extensive experience with BIM and structural engineering, sheds light on to BIM knowledge by detailing responses to: What is BIM? What’s involved with it? What did the design and construction industry look like 20-30 years ago and in comparison, to now? How has data changed the way we work and integration of technologies such as VR/AR, AI? How is BIM utilised? What are the different career paths & employment opportunities possible with the use of BIM? As well as what are the key skills & attributes required for BIM. Nathan then concludes with some valuable advice for students as well as professionals interested in working with BIM. Tune into the 12th dimension episode!

Robotics! How about Advanced Robotics? One of the leading technologies and tools within industry 4.0 and 5.0, specially within advanced manufacturing. In this episode, we feature one of the leading minds in this field Dr Cori Stewart (CEO & Founder of the ARM Hub) alongside our host to unwrap the details of advanced robotics. Cori talks tech with detailed answers to questions such as: What technologies are being used to transform manufacturers? AI, cobotics, robotics, design-led manufacturing, AR/VR, IoT, Cyber, Bigdata etc. as well as what technologies are coming in the near future. How does this industry compare to its evolution in the past 20-50 years? What about job losses due to automation? How has it evolved career paths and moving on to industry 5.0 technologies such as 5G telecommunications? Cori humbly follows on to sharing valuable advice for students, teachers, schools, universities and anyone interested in entering this Tony Stark-esque industry as well as what is takes to succeed alongside STEaM skills. Tune into this (video - YouTube) episode to learn the latest technologies within industry and advanced manufacturing.

Food! The very sustenance of life. With the evolution of the human race, our production of food manufacturing has now involved into the largest sector within the various advanced manufacturing industries in Australia. In this episode, we showcase four leading experts within food manufacturing, food technology and food science! Jana Cameron (President of the Food Association of QLD), Lea Reid (Senior Development Technologist at Earlee Products), Trish Linderman (R&D Manager) and Juju Chen (Food Technologist) join forces to deep dive into a detailed discussion on this amzing industry. Each guest humbly shares their expertise on the various details of the food industry unravelling responses to questions such as: What is involved in the food industry and food sciences? How has it evolved? What are the technologies involved? Robotics, Data, IoT…, What are the different career paths & employment opportunities within the food industry? What are the key skills & attributes required? Following this knowledge share, each guest goes on to details advice for future food technologies and scientists as well as what 21st century educators now need to take on to align with the requirements of the industry. Tune into this delicious episode for all the ingredients required to understand exactly how to succeed within food industry.