Pearcey to address the role of technology in ‘building back better’ at this year’s Digital Innovation Festival (#DIF2020)
Announcement posted by Pearcey Foundation 25 Aug 2020
The Pearcey Foundation is returning for the fifth year as a feature event host of this year’s Digital Innovation Festival (DIF2020), which is running virtually state-wide from 21 August to 4 September 2020. Pearcey events included in the DIF2020 line-up are the 2020 Pearcey Oration (which will also feature the presentation of the 2020 Victorian Pearcey Entrepreneur of the Year, the 22nd year for this award); the Pearcey Conversations webinar ‘Tertiary Computer Science - preparing future leaders?’; a live series of ‘Cards for the Future’ with DSI Australia; and the first ever High School Hackathon, to be launched on the final day of DIF2020.
DIF2020 is curated by Digital Innovation Futures Victoria, an initiative of the State Government of Victoria in collaboration with a network of partners, including the Pearcey Foundation. DIF2020’s program of events showcases emerging tech, promotes jobs of the future and fosters digital inclusion for all Victorians.
“Elevating the debate on the role of transformative digital technologies in reshaping Australian society and its economy was a commitment from the Pearcey Foundation to the Digital Innovation Festival at the time of its inception in 2016. Pearcey is continuing this tradition with the range of events and activities planned for DIF2020, and I’m especially thrilled to see what happens during our High School Hackathon, because this is where our next generation of technology innovators and entrepreneurs will be discovered,” said Wayne Fitzsimmons, Chair, Pearcey Foundation.
2020 Pearcey Oration. Air Vice-Marshal John Blackburn AO
How do we address our resilience and preparedness in this age of mistrust?
Wednesday 2 September 2020, 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
The Foundation’s flagship event, the Pearcey Oration, now in its 12th year, has been held during DIF alongside Pearcey’s Victorian Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, also an annual feature of the Festival. This year’s Pearcey Orator is John Blackburn AO, Air Vice-Marshal (Ret’d) and Chair of The Institute for Integrated Economic Research (IIER). He will explore how our national preparedness for the coronavirus pandemic, and thus resilience has been found wanting, particularly with regard to technology systems and solutions.
The Oration will be followed by the presentation of the 2020 Victorian Pearcey Entrepreneur of the Year, the 22nd year for this award. All past Victorian winners can be found at https://pearcey.org.au/vic.
For more information and to register for the Pearcey Oration webinar, go to https://dif.vic.gov.au/event/11757089-a/2020-pearcey-oration-victorian-entrepreneur-of-the-year-award.
Pearcey Conversations
Tertiary Computer Science - preparing future leaders?
Wednesday 26 August 2020, 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
This webinar features a panel discussion on how we are currently preparing students at university for the work they may undertake in the future, with an eye to past experiences and their relevance in planning and presenting tertiary computing courses today. The panel features Professor Katrina Falkner from University of Adelaide, Professor Elanor Huntington from Australian National University and Alan Noble, founder of AusOcean.
DIF2020 Pearcey Institute Roundtable
Australia as a Technology-led Economy after the 2020 Pandemic: Enabling a Resilient Future
Wednesday 2 September 2020, 12:00 - 1:30 PM
The 2020 pandemic and resulting economic shutdown is one of the greatest challenges that our government and society has faced in many generations; we must address this together if we are to be successful. How do we seize this moment to measure and force the continued engagement of new technology to build a stronger Australia? A panel of cross-sector experts will discuss this and more.
Cards for the Future with DSI Australia
What future do we want to create? How can we get there together?
Monday 31 August to Wednesday 9 September 2020
Cards for the Future encourages people to think about positive visions of technology and society through play. At DIF2020 this open innovation experiment will see players co-create a sociotechnical imaginary, a crowdsourced vision of desirable futures where humanity shapes technology. The game was developed as part of the DSI4EU project by Nesta UK, based on Situation Lab’s 'The Thing from the Future' and has been adapted to an online format by DSI4AU.
Register: https://events.humanitix.com/cards-for-the-future-daily-draw
High School Hackathon
How might digital innovations support Victorians to adapt to change?
Friday 4 to Wednesday 9 September 2020
As part of the Digital Innovation Festival, join us as we hack digital solutions in response to our changing world. With support from industry professionals, Pearcey Foundation and Museums Victoria staff, high school students have the opportunity think innovatively and pitch ideas for the future in an event launched on the final day of DIF2020.
https://museumsvictoria.com.au/scienceworks/learning/high-school-hackathon/
About the Pearcey Foundation
The Pearcey Foundation Inc. is a non-profit organisation established in 1998 to raise the profile of the Australian Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry and profession. It was created in the memory of one of the greatest pioneers of the Australian ICT industry, Dr Trevor Pearcey. By celebrating the heroes in our industry, past present and future, the Foundation is looking to attract and encourage young Australians into this most exciting of global high technology sectors of our nation.
About the Pearcey Conversations
In 2020 we introduced the Pearcey Conversations as an online webinar series on technology industry issues, held on the last Wednesday afternoon of every month. More details on upcoming Conversations can be found here https://na.eventscloud.com/ereg/index.php?eventid=546577& and recordings of previous Conversations are at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLG6TC16Jt3idEoSBU0g4cmGEb6LtZt0ra.
About the Pearcey Oration
The Pearcey Oration is presented each year by an eminent expert reflecting on critical contemporary issues arising from the introduction and adoption of new and advanced technologies. Past Orations have been delivered by industry leaders with diverse views such as Roger Taylor, Chair of the UK Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation in 2019 exploring the key challenges Australia faces as we become increasingly reliant upon a data driven world, and Paul Shetler on the topic "Be Bold Australia" in 2018. A complete historical record of Pearcey Orations can be found at https://pearcey.org.au/pearcey-orations.
Web: www.pearcey.org.au
Twitter: @Pearcey_org #PearceyAwards #PearceyOration #DIF2020
LinkedIn: Pearcey Foundation #PearceyAwards #PearceyOration #DIF2020