Institute Upcoming Events
IHT Morning Teas, Tues 9 Dec 2025 at Burwood and Wed 17 Dec 2025 at Waterfront, Geelong
We hold regular morning teas alternating between the Burwood and the Waterfront campuses – they’re a great opportunity to connect with other Institute members. Please feel welcome to invite your colleagues and RSVP through the calendar invite.
- 10.30am Tuesday 9 December at Burwood
- 10.30am Wednesday 17 December at Waterfront, Geelong
Keep your eye out for the invite to suit your location. Any questions, please email health-transformation@deakin.edu.au.
You’re invited to the launch of Health Voices Victoria, 12pm Wed 10 December 2025
Health Voices Victoria has officially launched its first strategic plan, Stronger Together 2025–2030, marking an important milestone in our work. Developed with more than 250 contributors, the plan sets out a shared vision and priorities for the next five years. It highlights the opportunities emerging for our evolving role within IHT, and across health and related sectors more broadly in Victoria.
We’re excited to support deeper collaboration between researchers, communities and people with lived experience, and to play a meaningful role in addressing emerging needs around consumer and community engagement across Deakin’s newly forming Institutes for Health.
You’re warmly invited to join our online launch event on Wednesday 10 December, 12:00–1:30pm (AEDT), where we’ll celebrate the plan and hear from members of the co-design team who helped shape it.
Register here: https://stronger-together-online.eventbrite.com.au
Explore the plan and video explainer here: https://iht.deakin.edu.au/2025/11/stronger-together
Workshop on Co-Design for Digital Health, Thurs 29 January 2026
Following the feedback from the Faculty Survey to better understand our digital health research capacity and capability, it was shared that people wanted more opportunities for knowledge sharing and skill development. IHT are proud to support a workshop on Co-Design for Digital Health.
This interactive, in-person workshop is open to all Faculty of Health staff and will focus on developing skills in the application of human-centred design and co-design methods to the design of digital health tools. It will cover how to meaningfully engage community members and stakeholders throughout the design process, as well as a micro-training specifically focused on systems/web-engineering (what it entails, how clinicians and researchers can best work with engineers, data management, and ethical considerations).
Date: Thursday, 29 January, 9:30am-3:30pm
Location: Deakin Downtown
Facilitators:
- Dr Jessica Watterson, IHT member and Senior Lecturer in Digital Health, School of Health and Social Development
- Professor Patrick Olivier, Founder, Action Lab, Department of Human-Centred Computing, Monash University
- Dr Grace Xie, Senior Lecturer in Action Lab, Department of Human-Centred Computing, Monash University
- Dr Ling Wu, Senior Research Fellow in Action Lab, Department of Human-Centred Computing, Monash University
Spaces are limited, register now!
Upcoming Events
Inaugural Vic CVRN EMCR Showcase: Precision, Partnership, Progress, Thurs 4 December 2025
The Victorian Cardiovascular Research Network (Vic CVRN) is hosting its inaugural Early and Mid-Career Researcher (EMCR) Showcase, a dynamic initiative celebrating cardiovascular research excellence across Victoria. This event offers Victorian EMCRs a platform to share their research findings, connect with peers, and contribute to the broader scientific community.
Program highlights:
- Presentations from eleven leading EMCRs
- Keynote talks from local and international experts
- Interactive panel discussions with peers
- Presentation of the inaugural Vic CVRN Best Published Paper Award
When: 10:00am – 3:30pm, Thursday 4 December 2025
Where: Cossar Hall, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University Parkville Campus
Deakin Researcher Development Academy Workshops and Webinars
The Researcher Development Academy (RDA) have curated several workshops and webinars that run across the campus network. They are available to all graduate researchers, graduate research supervisors and EMCRs. Here’s a selection of the many opportunities available:
Fellowship Program: Presenting in an Authentic Way, 2pm Thurs 11 December 2025. Find out more and register!
Building positive research cultures (Online via Zoom), Mon 8 December 2025
Are you a research community leader who wants to know more about creating positive research cultures? This 1-day development opportunity focuses on how research leaders can build positive cultures within their local and institutional contexts. What are the elements of a positive research culture? Sessions will share strategies and effective practices for developing and encouraging these cultures. Find out more and register!
Find more opportunities on the Researcher Development Academy page
Deakin GenAI
Enabling Deakin staff, students and researchers to adopt principled approaches and build AI capabilities across our work, study, and research. Deakin needs AI-literate students and staff, who can engage with AI in principled ways. This space brings together resources for our community to explore and experiment with genAI. We’re here to support you in building capability, sparking discussion and embedding genAI into your work in a way that’s ethical, inclusive, and fit-for-purpose.
Read more on the Deakin GenAI Hub
There are weekly opportunities to learn more about utilising AI in your work
Free workshop on monitoring corporate and market power, 9 and 10 December 2025
Join us for a deep dive into methods and data analysis related to monitoring corporate and market power.
This workshop will, over two days, discuss different methods for monitoring and measuring corporate and market power (via sectors/industries and markets), and the range of approaches for tracing corporate influences on policy and politics.
- Day 1 will involve discussions and strategies involving both quantitative and qualitative methods, with discussions facilitated by leaders in the field. There will be spaces for the exchange of insights and ideas.
- Day 2 will involve training in the uses of business analytics secondary data (e.g. Orbis) for measuring key indicators such as concentration, financialisation, common ownership and M&As.
Note, attendees require no statistical knowledge or experience (we use secondary data).
The workshop is also intended to better link various communities involved in corporate power in health, food, and climate change research with researchers active in the Global Political Economy. We seek to foster a community of practice for those working in or researching corporate power.
The final evening will invite participants to an informal get together.
Register here (free, but places strictly limited):
https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/1324688632359?aff=oddtdtcreator
Business Development and Commercialisation – Researchers’ ‘Ask us anything’ Morning Teas
Deakin Research & Innovation (R&I) Portfolio Research Business Development & Commercialisation (BD&C) are organising a series of ‘Ask Us Anything’ morning teas. Please sign up using the link below for catering purposes. More details will be shared once we have established the numbers for each session.
- 10:30am 11th Dec Burwood
Register: BD&C and Researchers meet and greet morning tea
Informed Consent to AI-assisted Interventions: Everything Old is Old Again, Thurs 22 January 2026
In this talk, Professor Cameron Stewart will discuss the ethico-legal terrain that is currently being mapped for the rollout of medical AI. He will particularly examine the problems of informed consent, the “black box” issues with privacy and big data, and the conundrum of benefit sharing. His contention is that all of these problems already have solutions that have been tried and tested from other areas of bioethics. Our task is to remember the lessons of the last three decades and apply them in rational ways that maximise the benefits of AI while minimising the risks. While exceptionalist regulatory responses may work for emergencies in the short term, the best AI regulation must be built around consistent legal and ethical principles.
Speaker: Professor Cameron Stewart, Sydney Health Law & Sydney Health Ethics, University of Sydney
Date: Thursday, 22 January 2026
Time: 12:30 PM – 1:15 PM (AEDT), including Q&A
Format: Zoom (link will be sent upon registration via Eventbrite)
Register here.
For any enquiries, please contact the Law, Health and Society Deputy Director, Dr Olga Pandos at o.pandos@deakin.edu.au.
2026 Oceania Systems Thinking & Modelling Symposium, 5-6 February 2026 (Hybrid)
You’re invited to the 2026 Oceania Systems Thinking & Modelling Symposium hosted by Deakin University at Deakin Downtown on 5-6 February 2026. Learn about current work applying systems thinking and system dynamics modelling within industry, government, and academia.
This is an exciting opportunity to share your systems thinking work with the region at this free event. Register here.
Reach out to Andrew Brown (andrew.brown@deakin.edu.au) with any questions!
PsychoSocial Aspects of Diabetes (PSAD) Annual Scientific Meeting, 17-19 February 2026
You’re invited to the next PsychoSocial Aspects of Diabetes (PSAD) Annual Scientific Meeting to be held in Deakin’s Waurn Ponds Estate, Geelong, Australia on 17-19 February 2026. The Australian Centre for Behavioural Research in Diabetes (ACBRD) are proud to be the local hosts for this annual international event.
About the PSAD
The international PSAD Group is a network of more than 200 members around the world. Most members are based in Europe (where the PSAD began), but our community extends to many other parts of the world, including USA, Canada, Australia, and South America. Members are united in their common interest in the psychosocial aspects of diabetes.
Important dates to note:
- Registrations and abstract submissions will open on 1st September 2025.
- Abstract submissions will close on 30th September 2025. We aim for a fast turnaround on abstract reviewing.
- You will be notified of the outcome of your abstract submission in mid-late October.
- Early bird registrations will close 30th November 2025.
Onsite accommodation is great value but limited – secure your place now!
For any enquiries please contact the PSAD Study Group at info@psadgroup.org.
Registration and Abstract submission
The Global End Diabetes Stigma Summit, Jaipur India 28-29 March 2026
This Global Summit is a pivotal event to share and showcase responsive and impactful efforts to #EndDiabetesStigma, and to highlight next steps. Specifically, the Summit will:
- Present the latest global and local insights, initiatives, and research
- Share innovative strategies, success stories, and best practice
- Explore ongoing challenges and opportunities
- Foster collaborations and partnerships
- Identify indicators of progress in our collective efforts
- Highlight pathways to policy, healthcare, and societal change
Recent Events
Trisha Dunning Lecture, Wed 12 November 2025
To mark World Diabetes Day, and in collaboration with Diabetes Victoria, we were pleased to welcome Professor Bodil Rasmussen as the keynote speaker for this year’s annual Trisha Dunning Lecture. In this inspirational lecture Bodil explores this year’s World Diabetes Day theme of diabetes and wellbeing.
If you missed the Lecture, you can view the recording here: https://youtu.be/jDPEnPDIOqw
IHT Partner and Consumer Involvement Grant Outcomes
QPS Rural and Regional Nursing and Midwifery event, 5 September 2025
Supported by the Institute for Health Transformation (IHT) Partnership Funding Grant, QPS hosted a Rural and Regional Nursing and Midwifery event bringing together the Chief Nurse of Victoria and Directors of Nursing from all regional health networks. The event showcased QPS research projects and engaged participants in co-design activities to identify and prioritize research needs and workforce development priorities. Discussions focused on potential research collaborations, infrastructure requirements for rural and regional health services, and strategies to support evidence-based practice and policy implementation.
Key outcomes included:
- Recognition of the importance of engaging rural and regional nursing leaders to define research priorities.
- Identification of opportunities for workforce training to enable evidence-based practice and participation in QPS research.
- Plans to establish a QPS-moderated community of practice to share research, advertise project opportunities, and support nurse leaders in practice and policy development.
No mental health without oral health: why is it important and how do we close the gap? Mental Health and Oral Health Symposium, 31 October 2025
Supported by Oral Health Victoria, the Institute for Health Transformation (IHT) Partnership Funding Grant helped support consumers to attend the inaugural Mental Health and Oral Health Symposium 2025 in Naarm (Melbourne). This research priority-setting event held on October 31st, set the scene why oral health should be an integral part of mental health services, particularly for youth with severe mental illness. About 20 participants attended the event, of which half were consumers, including those working in the mental health field.
Chaired by Prof. Alison Yung, Deakin University, the opening address was by Prof. Steve Kisely from the University of Queensland, who provided an overview on the epidemiology and intersection between mental health and oral health. Prof. Amanda Wheeler from Griffith University, discusses the limited prioritisation of research and policy gaps to support the oral health of people experiencing mental ill-health, with insights from prior work on recommendations for action. The third speaker, Prof. Santosh Tadakamadla explained the important role of non-dental health professionals in promoting oral health for people with severe mental illness, including opportunities for integrated service delivery models. Tan Nguyen from Deakin University closes with key insights, highlighting synergies between mental health and oral health, and how health economics and value-based healthcare can drive much needed attention for mental health and oral health for policy-decision makers.
The research priority-setting workshop was facilitated and Chaired by Adj. Prof. Werner Bischof from Oral Health Victoria. Participants discussed into small groups on suggestions for research topics to improve the oral health for people with severe mental illness. High priority research areas were rated for having trauma-informed training of dental practitioners, having a non-clinical approach to oral healthcare supports, and addressing inequity in access to oral healthcare. It was also highlighted by consumers that there is still a critical need to understand the population better, particularly for young people accessing mental health supports, and where oral health best fits into integrated service delivery models. The outcomes of the symposium provided a platform for further testing and validation of research priorities with potential subsequent workshops, and will inform consumer engagement activities with forthcoming Category 1 grant funding applications for 2026.
If you’re interested in applying for an IHT Partner and Consumer Involvement Grant in 2025, the grant guidelines and application form are available on the funding page on the IHT members portal.
Showcase – Western Alliance Symposium
Each year, the Western Alliance community gathers for the Annual Symposium, an opportunity to reconnect with colleagues and forge new collaborations, and to showcase some of the fantastic research from across western Victoria. This year, over two hundred people across two days gathered in Ballarat in November and featured our DELIVER project team.
The DELIVER showcase program is here, detailing the various presentations and discussions: 2025-DELIVER-and-STaRR-Showcase-Program.pdf
IHT EMCR: AI in Research
In October, the IHT EMCR Committee ran an engaging session exploring the role of AI across different stages of the health research lifecycle. The event looked at guidelines and considerations for tool selection and explored some case studies of AI and genAI use in health research. Presented by Angela Gleeson, Scholarly Services Librarian (STEMM) and Chloe Hollard, Librarian, Digital and AI Literacies. You can access the webinar recording via the link below: https://deakin.au.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=d393df5d-f036-4beb-8a63-b392017366fe
National Sustainable Asthma Care Roadmap
It’s been a year since the release of the National Sustainable Asthma Care Roadmap, and for the last 2 days, asthma leaders from around Australia have been working together at Deakin Waterfront, to progress the implementation of better, safer and easier asthma care, with a lower environmental footprint.
Thank you to all attendees and organisations who dedicated their expertise wisdom and ideas, including (TAG) NAC, TSANZ, NAC, Australian Centre for Airway Disease Monitoring, RACGP, HEAL Network, NHSCU, with industry support from Modeus and Novartis.
Go back to the December 2025 Newsletter
