QUT News & Events Wrap – August 14 edition

NEWS



Robotronica 2017: Your essential guide to Australia's biggest one-day robotics festival: Australia's biggest one-day robotics festival at QUT this Sunday is a must for lovers of technology, robotics, AI and free fun.

How artists help humanise robotics: the art of Robotronica: When robotics are discussed, art doesn’t automatically spring to mind but QUT’s free Robotronica spectacular on August 20 will comprehensively demonstrate how essential creative practice is to artificial intelligence.



We’re designing robots that see for Aussie SMEs: Meet the first in a new wave of robots that will revolutionise manufacturing among Australia’s small to medium size enterprises – creating more jobs locally.



Australia-first toolkit helps students prescribe medicines safely and effectively: Prescribing medicines is a common healthcare intervention requiring specific knowledge and skills. Now, for the first time, a toolkit is available to help universities teach students the skills they need to prescribe safely and effectively.

QUT researchers named finalists in Young Tall Poppy Science awards: Two of QUT’s top young researchers were named finalists at this year’s Queensland Young Tall Poppy Science awards.



Going for the higher fruit: Universities post peak public funding: QUT Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Coaldrake has presented a public lecture on universities post peak public funding.

The Lens’ open toolkit maps and measures how public research influences innovation: QUT spin-out company The Lens has launched a new open web platform that reveals how academic research impacts industry and innovation.

EVENTS
 

Aug 20: Robotronica (free) @ QUT
Aug 20-Oct 29: Machination (free) @ QUT Art Museum
Aug 20-Oct 29: Why future still needs us: AI and humanity (free) @ QUT Art Museum
Aug 20: Discussion panel: RoboCop - Robots, Ethics and Law Enforcement @ Gardens Point
Aug 21: Workshop: Machine learning for creatives @ QUT Art Museum
Aug 28: Public lecture by Mark Dreyfus: Terrorism, Law Enforcement and the Challenges of Countering Violent Extremism @ Gardens Point
Sept 1: QUT Public Lecture: The Delicate Tension of Digital Technology (free) @ Gardens Point
Sept 9: QUT Business Leaders' Forum with Lance Hockridge @ Hilton Brisbane
Sept 12-30: Brisbane Festival Theatre Republic @ QUT Creative Industries Precinct
Now - Nov 24: STEM for Schools: What's on in  2017 @ QUT
 

 
MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS



- Belinda Ward’s robotics research with ‘Pepper’ and Professor Mia Woodruff’s ‘Hospital of the Future’ was reported across Fairfax, including the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, and Brazil Business Today in the lead up to Robotronica.
- Professor Jonathan Roberts spoke to Macquarie Media’s  2UE about consumer-based air taxis and flying cars as well as ABC Radio Brisbane (30mins in) about key highlights for Robotronica.
- Dr Jared Donovan spoke to ABC TV news about bringing agile robots to small-medium manufacturers. ZDNet, Business Insider (twice), MSN, Yahoo Finance, and Voxy also ran the story.
- Dr Kate Letheren was interviewed by RN Drive about the use of chatbots in banking. This followed a piece she wrote for The Conversation with Dr Paula Dootson which was reprinted on Business Daily.
- ArtsHub covered Robotronica and associated exhibitions at the QUT Art Museum, Must Do Brisbane talked up The Cube’s Code-A-Bot installation which will be launched at Robotronica, and The Sunday Mail previewed Robotronica in its events section.
- QUT experts Professor Ian O’Hara, Professor Richard Brown and Dr Tom Rainey were all interviewed for a Qweekend feature in The Courier-Mail on biofuels and E10.



- Associate Professor Gary Mortimer talked to 7 News about chemist chains, to 9 News about Weis being sold to Unilever, to news.com.au about telco providers, to ABC Riverland about online shopping in regional areas, and to Smart Company about Fairtrade logos. He also joined ABC Brisbane Mornings retail discussion panel, which was also broadcast on Facebook Live. 
- Associate Professor Mark Lauchs talked to ABC Radio Sydney’s Wendy Harmer about the rise of tobacco smuggling.
- Campus Morning Mail covered Professor Peter Coaldrake and Dr Lawrence Stedman’s paper on funding challenges and their suggested way forward for the Australian higher education sector. 
- Campus Morning Mail also ran a piece on QUT spin-out company The Lens, founded by Professor Richard Jefferson.
- Professor Marilyn Campbell spoke to ABC Radio Adelaide (at 17 mins) about WA’s football mercy rule for under 12s and 16s. She also spoke to 2GB about children learning to lie and teaching right from wrong.
- Professor Terry Flew was interviewed on 2SER about the ‘Splinternet’ and whether the “global” experience of the internet is actually a myth.
- Professor Rebekah Russell-Bennett was interviewed on ABC Radio’s AM about digital technology, consumers and energy use.
- QUT CEA had a big week in the news, featuring in Techly, the Sydney Morning Herald, Brisbane Times, The Martec, Ragtrader, WA Today and Canberra Times.



- Scope spoke to Dr Deb Polson about the IFE’s Future Fruit project and to Professor Anthony O’Mullane about his nanofabric that soak up oil spills.
- Dr James Davis was on ABC Wide Bay to talk about learning science at school, STEM at QUT, and National Science Week.
- The North West Star in Mount Isa previewed a school visit by science and technology experts including Dr Angela Daly.
- Queensland Country Life and the North Queensland Register ran stories about QUT fashion students involved in the Ekka.
- Professor Bill Lott joined ABC Radio Overnights for his usual talkback spot discussing what’s making news in science.
- The Australian Journal of Pharmacy featured Professor Lisa Nissen on 15 ideas for a career in pharmacy.
- Dr Cassandra Cross wrote a Conversation piece regarding online credit card fraud that also ran on Smart Company, Business Standard.
- Associate Professor Evonne Miller spoke to Brisbane Times about whether high rise is the answer to aged care accommodation. The story ran across the Fairfax network.
- Dr Deanna Grant-Smith discussed the rise of the intern with Lawyers Weekly.
- Australian Teacher featured Dr Karen Joyce and Dr Catherine Ball work with the She Flies program and encouraging girls to study STEM.
- Industrial design student Tom Emmett’s award-winning public artwork at the Brisbane Showgrounds ran in The Urban Developer.
- ABC Rural ran a story about joint QUT and Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries trials to change the way fertiliser run-off is managed on farmland.
- Rockhampton’s Morning Bulletin ran comments by Professor John Scott in a story on safe sex and the Australian sex industry.
- The Senior News online ran a story on an airport guide for people with dementia, developed by the QUT-based Dementia CRC: Carers and Consumers.
- North Lakes Messenger ran QUT research by Dr Andrea Blake and Dr Lucy Cradduck into Queensland’s Retirement Villages Act.
   
Media release date: Monday, August 14, 2017
Media contact: media@qut.edu.au
 
 
QUT is part of a national collaborative group of five major Australian universities that form the ATN (Australian Technology Network of Universities).