QUT will host the inaugural Future of Sport Conference in Brisbane this March, bringing international and Australian experts together to explore how innovation, technology and research are shaping the future of sport ahead of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The Future of Sport Conference 2026 will be held on March 27 at QUT’s Gardens Point campus, with an industry roundtable and networking dinner scheduled for March 26. The event is presented by QUT in collaboration with MIT Sloan School of Management, with Cisco as a major sponsor and PMY Group as a supporting sponsor.
Keynote speakers include Matt Pasco – Vice President of Information Technology, Las Vegas Raiders and Ben Shields, Senior Lecturer in Managerial Communication at the MIT Sloan School of Management and a leading expert in sport strategy, analytics and data-driven decision making.
QUT’s Vice President (Administration) and University Registrar Leanne Harvey said the conference reflected the university’s role in supporting major sporting events coming to Brisbane and translating research and innovation into real-world outcomes.
“Our inaugural Future of Sport Conference broadens the conversation beyond performance and profit to include culture, community and impact, which is particularly timely as Queensland prepares to host a pipeline of major sporting events,” Ms Harvey said.
“Sport has a unique ability to connect industry, government, research and community, and those relationships will be critical to delivering long-term value from the events leading into 2032.
“With the world watching Brisbane, universities must do more than provide sideline support.
“We must help build lasting capability across sport, science and innovation, through research, partnerships, skills and infrastructure that endure well beyond the Games.”
QUT Director of Sport Emily Rosemond OLY said the conference highlighted sport’s role as a powerful connector across disciplines.
“Sport acts as a nexus where health science, data and technology come together and are translated into real-world practice,” Ms Rosemond said.
“It provides a living test bed for innovation – allowing evidence, analytics and emerging technologies to be applied at scale while driving meaningful engagement with communities and fans.
“While 2032 is a major catalyst, Queensland will host many significant events beforehand, and this conference brings industries together to maximise collective impact.”
The Future of Sport Conference 2026 will explore themes including:
- emerging sports technologies and performance analytics
- mental health and wellbeing in high-performance environments
- the business of sport and sustainable futures
- inclusion and social impact
QUT Professor Sarah Kelly OAM, a globally recognised sport researcher, sports administrator and conference host, said the event provided an important forum for aligning research, industry and policy.
“The conference brings leaders together to address shared challenges and opportunities shaping the future of sport and enables access to experts from the most innovative sporting precincts in the world,” Professor Kelly said.
“Through collaborations with MIT Sloan School of Management and Cisco, it connects global insight with local priorities and supports informed decision making and foresight as Australia enters a decade of major sporting events.”
That alignment is increasingly being driven by data-informed practice across sport and exercise science.
QUT Professor Glen Lichtwark said the conference would showcase how evidence-based approaches were transforming high-performance sport.
“Data now underpins how athletes train, recover and perform,” Professor Lichtwark said.
“By integrating physiological, biomechanical and performance data, practitioners can optimise performance, reduce injury risk and better support athlete wellbeing.
“This conference connects research with real-world application to ensure human performance and wellbeing remain central to future high-performance environments.”
Event: Future of Sport Conference 2026
Date: March 27 (8.30am-6pm)
Venue: Gardens Theatre, QUT Gardens Point, Brisbane, Queensland
Registrations: events.humanitix.com/future-of-sport-conference-2026
Main image at top: The QUT Kelvin Grove Sports Field is one of the university’s impressive sports assets and neighbours the Victoria Park site of the 2032 Games stadium. The sports field is a state-of-the-art complex with a LigaTurf Football Field, Spurtan Athletics Track, seminar room and change room facilities. Its acrylic surfaces are line-marked for soccer, touch football and a four-lane 80m running track.
Media contact:
- Mechelle McMahon, QUT Media
- media@qut.edu.au or 0407 585 901 (After Hours)
