We’ve got you covered with a list of exciting events happening on and off campus this August and September, including both free and paid events for QUT Alumni.
Featured Event:
QUT Business Leaders’ Forum: Erica Berchtold, CEO, David Jones
Join us for the next QUT Business Leaders' Forum as we welcome Erica Berchtold, CEO of David Jones, for a compelling conversation on leadership, transformation and the future of retail. As the first female CEO in the company's 188-year history, Erica is leading the next phase of the iconic retailer's transformation, focused on accelerating growth, strengthening commercial performance, advancing digital capability and enhancing the customer experience across stores and online.
- Date: Tuesday 15 September
- Time: 12:00pm - 2:00pm
- Price: $199
- Location: Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre
- Find out more and purchase your ticket
Main Events:
Building in the Cognitive Industrial Revolution with Dr Jonathan Reichental
This is a free event.
A Silicon Valley technology leader, Forbes contributor and bestselling author, Dr Jonathan Reichental will join the QUT Centre for Future Enterprise to show us why AI resets the rules for entire industries, instead of being just another technology cycle, and what leaders should be building now.
- Date: Monday 17 August
- Time: 5:30pm - 7:30pm
- Price: FREE
- Location: The Gibson Room, Level 10, Z Block, QUT Gardens Point Campus. Parking for this event will be validated.
- Find out more and register
QUT Centre for Decent Work and Industry Research Annual Spotlight – Unfinished Business: Equality at Work?
This is a free event.
Ex-ABC journalist and presenter, Rebecca Levingston will lead a panel discussion and Q&A with leading Australian scholars to address what equality looks like in the workplace today. Panel members will address this through different lenses, including gender, intersectionality, Indigeneity and the experiences of rural, FIFO, and migrant workers via individual presentations.
- Date: Wednesday 19 August
- Time: 1:00pm - 3:00pm
- Price: FREE
- Location: QUT Gardens Point Campus, OJW Room, S block, level 12. Parking for this event will be validated.
- Find out more and purchase your ticket
TEDxQUT 2026: Catalyst, Crossroads and Change
This year, TEDxQUT explores Catalyst, Crossroads and Change with people and perspectives that challenge how we think, and who we become. Speakers will share powerful stories and ideas born from moments of uncertainty, discovery, and reinvention. They come from different backgrounds and disciplines, but each has encountered a turning point that challenged them to see the world differently and inspire change.
- Date: Tuesday 25 August
- Time: 5:00pm - 7:15pm
- Price: $35
- Location: QUT Gardens Theatre
- Find out more and purchase your ticket
QUT Graduate Research Student Showcase 2026 (3MT Grand Finals)
This is a free event.
Please join us as we celebrate QUT's graduate research (PhD, MPhil, and Professional Doctorate) student talent with the QUT Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) Grand Finals. Graduate researchers have just 3 minutes to consolidate their ideas and research discoveries so they can be presented concisely to a non-specialist audience.
- Date: Thursday 3 September
- Time: 11:30am - 1:00pm
- Price: FREE
- Location: QUT Kelvin Grove Campus, E Block Function Space
- Find out more
Brisbane Festival
QUT is a sponsor of the Brisbane Festival in 2026, supporting one of SouthEast Queensland’s largest celebrations of arts and culture. The festival is powered in part by QUT alumni, including:
- Brisbane Festival CEO Charlie Cush (Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Education),
- acclaimed playwright Suzie Miller (Doctor of Philosophy),
- theatre producer Trish Wadley (Bachelor of Business Communications),
- Dead Puppet Society founders David Morton (Bachelor of Creative Industries, Doctor of Philosophy) and Nicholas Paine (Bachelor of Creative Industries, Master of Creative Industries).
- Date: 4 - 25 September
- Time: Various
- Location: Various
- Find out more
QUT Commercialisation Club: Built to Last - The Partnerships Behind Innovation
This is a free event.
Successful partnerships don't start with funding—they start with people. This QUT Commercialisation Club brings together research and industry leaders for a conversation about collaboration, opportunity and the relationships that underpin successful innovation.
Through real-world partnership stories and an interactive panel discussion, speakers will share lessons from working across industry and academia, offering insights into how strong collaborations are built and sustained over time. Whether you're a researcher, industry professional, entrepreneur, student or innovation leader, join us for an honest conversation about building partnerships that thrive in a changing innovation landscape.
- Date: Thursday 10 September
- Time: 3:45pm - 6:30pm
- Price: FREE
- Location: E5 Function Space, QUT Education Precinct, E Block, Level 5
- Find out more and register
Celebrating 50 years of QUT Industrial Design
Join us as we celebrate 50 Years of Queensland Industrial Design and Commercial Excellence, proudly supported by the Design Institute of Australia, QUT, Griffith University, The University of Queensland and IDNet. Tickets are available through the Design Institute of Australia - contact Mel Finger on m.finger@qut.edu.au to be added to the invite list.
- Date: Sunday 30 September
- Time: 6:00pm - 8:30pm
- Location: St Johns Cathedral, Brisbane
- Find out more
Author
Jenni is an innovative communications, marketing and engagement specialist with fifteen years of industry experience. She is also a proud QUT alumnus with a Bachelor of Creative Industries (Interdisciplinary).