About the event
The future of engineering is exciting. As the world looks to solve more complex problems in a more sustainable way, engineers will be at the forefront, applying their innovation and problem-solving skills to deliver new solutions for future generations.
In this event, we will be testing with leading thinkers our hypothesis that the future of engineering:
- Is purpose-led – Engineering organisations and their people will stand for something bigger than their business. They will be driven by their contribution to the community, focusing not just on infrastructure but the impact that it can have to make the world more liveable.
- Treads lightly – Engineers will come together to reduce our impact on the environment, achieve net-zero carbon emission and build a sustainable and resilient future.
- Is trans-digital – Engineers will lead the charge into the metaverse, combining the real and the virtual through digitally connected infrastructure overcoming the limitations of physics and time.
We will explore with our panel the reasons why inclusion and diversity are critical for achieving the future of engineering. We will draw on Engineers Australia research that shows that diverse perspectives, combined with an inclusive culture, enable better decision-making, drives innovation and helps organisations remain competitive and resilient amidst changing market dynamics.
Together, we will identify key actions that the engineering community, (business, education and government) can take to increase the inclusion and diversity of our industry to ensure that we are future-ready and we maximise our impact on the world.
Who should attend
This event is relevant to all engineers at any level of seniority operating in any sector or discipline.
You do not need to be an Engineers Australia member to attend.
Keynote speaker
Tammy Falconer Partner, Engineering, Assets & Project Delivery - Water, KPMG Australia
Tammy is a Partner in KPMG’s Infrastructure, Assets & Places division and national water sector co-leader. With extensive experience across the asset value chain and as a Certified Asset Management Assessor, Tammy specialises in supporting asset intensive organisations to maximise value from assets through data driven decision making.
Prior to joining KPMG, Tammy had a successful career in power and water utilities in urban, regional and remote contexts. Tammy’s diverse career has centred around building asset management capability across people, process, information and technology to embed sustained positive change.
Panel Members
Prof Dong (Tracy) Ruan, Department Chair of Mechanical and Product Design Engineering, Swinburne University of Technology
Prof. Dong (Tracy) Ruan is the Department Chair of Mechanical and Product Design Engineering at Swinburne University of Technology, and a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Australia (FIEAust). She has conducted innovative research and provided solutions to industries such as automotive and defence. Her research areas include: (1) characterisation of novel materials and light-weight structures under dynamic loadings; (2) additive manufacturing of continuous fibre reinforced composite materials and structures.
Prof. Ruan is an Associate Editor of Engineering Structures, and an Editorial Advisory Board member of International Journal of Impact Engineering,. She received two prestigious national awards: Eureka Prize in 2013 and AGM Michell Medal from the Institution of Engineers Australia in 2022.
Lara Olsen BEng (Chem) (Hons), BArts, MBA, GAICD Managing Director, South East Water
Lara is the Managing Director of South East Water, which serves 1.9 million customers in the South East of Melbourne. She has extensive experience in the utility sector, focused on customer experience and innovation. Before joining South East Water, Lara was the Global Head of Business Development and Industrial Products at Tesla Energy based in the USA and also led the Business Development and Policy team for Tesla Australia. Lara was also Head of Strategy for CitiPower PowerCor and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), Project Leader with the Boston Consulting Group and co-founded Billcap (an energy management software as a service business).
Luke Belfield is the Victorian Chief Engineer who champions engineering and project delivery excellence and works collaboratively with industry, academic experts, and delivery agencies on technical, design and engineering aspects of government service and project delivery.
Luke leads OPV’s Engineering and Innovation team responsible for advancing engineering in Victoria and leading technical infrastructure innovation. Luke is an experienced infrastructure professional with over 15 years of experience in policy, technology and business strategy and project management. Luke’s expertise is drawn from diverse roles prior to joining OPV. He has previously worked at the Department of Premier and Cabinet, as a management consultant for PwC and EY, as a project manager for a metropolitan based water utility and as an engineer for a large global engineering consultancy in the oil and gas and petrochemical industry.
Flora Chung, Director, Engineering, Assets & Project Delivery, KPMG Australia
Flora Chung is a Director with KPMG’s Engineering, Assets and Projects Delivery team, part of the national Infrastructure, Assets & Places group. She has extensive experience in change implementation, continuous improvement and project delivery across oil and gas, mining, construction, rail within Australia and in Africa. She was most recently the A/General Manager – Network Change & Integration Team at V/Line within the Major Projects Team. Flora is passionate about setting people up for success, knowledge sharing and embedding compounding change management practices, to pragmatically and sustainably embed strategic plans. She has a background in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from the University of Melbourne and is a certified change practitioner with AIPM.
Moderator
Maria Koutsimpiris GAICD, FIEAust, Eng Exec Chair WiE VIC, Engineers Australia
Maria is a globally experienced operational, project and strategic executive with a solid governance background that has been strengthened through her non executive director experience. She has worked extensively across complex capital-intensive multinationals and on large billion dollar plus projects. Her career spans oil and gas, automotive, consulting engineering, technical services and infrastructure. She is passionate about improving diversity in Engineering and volunteers through the Power of Engineering Advisory Committee and Chairing Women in Engineering Victoria through Engineers Australia.
In partnership with
Please Note: This is an in-person event only. Register to access details.