Dear colleagues
I often say our alumni are UNSW’s greatest ambassadors, and last week’s Alumni Awards were a powerful reminder of why. Our award winners have made exceptional contributions across art and culture, community service, innovation and entrepreneurship, social impact, research and education. While their achievements span many fields, they share a commitment to using their expertise, leadership and opportunities to make a meaningful difference. Their work reflects the very best of UNSW and the impact we hope every graduate will strive to make.
Hearing our winners (pictured top) reflect on their time at UNSW and the connections they continue to hold with the University was the highlight of the evening, making me feel so proud to be a UNSW alumnus. I was delighted to celebrate their achievements and the many ways our alumni community is shaping the future. My thanks to everyone who helped bring the awards together. Read more on the UNSW Newsroom.
Pictured top: UNSW Chancellor Warwick Negus, Emeritus Professor Brynn Hibbert (representing Prof. Jane Catherine Ngila), Rodney Davis, Jennifer Farlow (representing Harriet Farlow), Vincent Allen, Em. Prof. Elizabeth Taylor, Adele Schonhardt, Christopher Marr, Ben Farinazzo and UNSW Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Attila Brungs. Photo: Maria Boyadgis/UNSW Sydney.
Greater Western Sydney Future Skills Forum
Cameron MacLean, Mayor of Parramatta, Professor Zoe Terpening, Pro Vice-Chancellor Precincts and Tom Nance, Campbelltown City Council, at the Greater Western Sydney Future Skills Forum.
Last week UNSW and Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue co-hosted a very successful Greater Western Sydney Future Skills Forum in Parramatta. It was an honour to welcome representatives from schools, TAFE, councils, businesses and institutions across the region and to see how deeply the forum engaged with pressing issues. Western Sydney is young, diverse and dynamic, with enormous talent, ambition and entrepreneurial energy. As emerging technologies transform industries and the workforce, our challenge is to build partnerships that enable the people of Western Sydney with the skills, opportunities and support to shape that future and share in its benefits.
This approach is central to UNSW’s growing commitment to Greater Western Sydney. We are building on decades of engagement in Liverpool and across the region, with Powerhouse Parramatta officially opening next week and our new Parramatta campus soon after that. These places will give us new opportunities to work with communities, industry and government. Many thanks to Professor Zoe Terpening and the team for their brilliant organisation of this event and our expanding partnerships in Greater Western Sydney.
At UNSW we know our excellence is driven by the energy and diversity of our community exemplified by our Western Sydney cohort. UNSW is at its best when researchers and educators work across disciplines and with partners to solve real problems, translate knowledge into practical impact and create opportunity. Greater Western Sydney offers enormous scope to do more of that, and I came away from the forum excited about what we can build together.
UNSW faculty and division visits
Last week, I began a series of visits to faculties and divisions to provide an update on the implementation of UNSW’s Progress for All strategy and continue the conversation about the challenges and opportunities we are facing at the moment. These visits highlight the many ways colleagues across the University are already making incredible progress, showcasing real-world examples of the strategy’s impact and exploring how faculties and divisions draw on their unique strengths to address future challenges.
I was joined by my colleagues Provost Professor Vlado Perkovic and Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education and Student Experience Professor Sarah Maddison, and Dean of Business Professor Paul Andon, who spoke about AI.
I was pleased to meet with colleagues from the faculties of Science, Arts, Design & Architecture, Law & Justice and the Division of Societal Impact, Equity & Engagement (SIEE). I appreciate you taking time from your busy schedules to attend and engage so warmly. These conversations also allow me to discuss directly the issues and priorities most important to you. At every visit, the questions from the floor reminded me of what I love about UNSW. This is a community of scholars who care deeply about students and the challenges facing the world. Perhaps unsurprisingly AI dominated the discussion and question time, with some very fruitful points emerging. I look forward to continuing these conversations with our remaining faculties and divisions over the coming weeks.
UNSW Investor Showcase
2026 UNSW Investor Showcase.
It was a pleasure to attend the second annual UNSW Investor Showcase which brought together more than 350 guests to connect with 54 of UNSW’s most promising startups and spinouts. These ventures are built on breakthrough science, backed by real customers and supported through industry partnerships. They are solving urgent problems and creating new opportunities across healthcare, climate technology, advanced manufacturing, defence, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and quantum.
The 2026 Investor Showcase attracted over 100 investors and philanthropic funders. The audience represented a diverse capital community spanning venture capital, angel investment, family offices and corporate investment. Organisations included Main Sequence, Artesian, Giant Leap, Virescent Ventures, Uniseed, ARENA, CEFC, the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation, and more. The event showcased UNSW at its absolute best. It was an extraordinary evening and huge congratulations to the organisers and all involved.
UNSW By Design
By Design: showcasing projects across research, education and innovation.
Last week, UNSW Chancellor Warwick Negus AM and I hosted the By Design event at UNSW’s Paddington campus. The evening brought together donors and supporters to thank them for their generosity and showcase the work it makes possible. Guests explored interactive installations and heard from UNSW researchers, project leaders, students and staff about projects across research, education and innovation. The Makerbus (pictured) was one of the projects featured on the night, demonstrating how UNSW is bringing hands-on STEM learning to schools and communities, inspiring creativity, problem-solving and the skills students will need for the future. Read more in Inside UNSW.
UNSW Council meets in Canberra
UNSW Chancellor Warwick Negus with Federal Education Minister Jason Clare in Canberra.
On 12 October, UNSW Council travelled to Canberra for a special day highlighting the University’s growing presence in the nation’s capital. Council members and senior leaders were hosted for morning tea at Parliament House by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Hon. Milton Dick MP, with the Minister for Education, the Hon. Jason Clare MP, among the parliamentary guests. The visit provided an opportunity to strengthen connections between UNSW and government and to discuss the important role of higher education, research and innovation in Australia.
Council then visited the UNSW Canberra City Campus for a tour of the developing precinct before holding its Council meeting on campus, the first time Council has met in Canberra and the first time it has met outside New South Wales. The day was a valuable opportunity for Council to see first-hand UNSW’s expanding footprint in Canberra and the potential of the City Campus to deepen connections across government, industry and the community. My thanks to our UNSW Canberra colleagues and the Governance team for arranging the day, and to our Canberra colleagues for their warm hospitality throughout the visit.
Women in Trucking research
UNSW Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Attila Brungs with Professor Ashish Malik, Professor Douglas Guilfoyle, Dr Catherine Deen, Dr Briony Lipton, Professor Verity Firth, and Associate Professor Sharron O’Neill.
Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of launching Women in Trucking: Perceptions, Contributions and Experiences of Truck Drivers in Australia at Parliament House in Canberra. I was enormously impressed by the research and glad I could participate in the event.
The report tackles a very practical national challenge: how to support careers of women in trucking, increasing its attractiveness as a critical industry for Australia, particularly regional Australia. Just as importantly, how we make sure women can build lasting careers in the industry. It is thoughtful and evidenced research with a clear path to real-world impact.
Congratulations to Dr Catherine Deen, Associate Professor Sharron O’Neill, Dr Briony Lipton and Dr Vindhya Weeratunga from UNSW Canberra, and thank you to TEACHO and everyone who contributed. This is exactly the kind of work that makes me proud of UNSW: excellent research, strong partnership and a genuine commitment to improving the world beyond the University.
There’s more to read Inside UNSW…
- Congratulations to UNSW researcher and Diraq Founder and CEO Professor Andrew Dzurak who has been elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society, recognising his outstanding contribution to silicon-based quantum computing and the development of scalable quantum technologies.
- Congratulations to Professor Theunis Roux, Professor Gary Edmond, Professor Jessica Grisham and Professor Jill Newby who have been elected 2026 Fellows of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia for their significant contributions to research on mental health, justice and society.
- In this edition’s staff profile we meet Emma Peters, an Education-Focused Lecturer leading the Textiles Discipline in the School of Art & Design.
- Associate Professor Fei Huang, an academic in the School of Risk and Actuarial Studies, calls her classroom a ‘cognitive gym’, where students build the judgement muscles they need to assess AI outputs and make responsible decisions. Read more in this edition’s AI Insider.
Best regards
Attila
Professor Attila Brungs
Vice-Chancellor & President
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