The future of work is on everyone’s agenda. This event brings thought leaders together to share cutting edge ideas on the future, from both a people and technology perspective. It will allow an understanding of the key drivers of change and enablers of innovation that will shape how, where and when work takes place. Our conference programme will explore future technologies, cutting edge award-winning workplaces and people, change and engagement.
CONFERENCE AGENDA
Conference Opens
Chairperson's Opening Remarks
Unworking: The Reinvention of the Modern Office
Over the past hundred years, the office has been integral to the development of modern society. It has shaped the architecture of our cities, the behaviour of our organizations and the everyday movements of millions of people. In 2020, however, the global pandemic brought our attendance in the office to an abrupt halt and triggered a complete re-evaluation of the purpose of the workplace. Philip will advance a manifesto for 'Unworking' - unlearning old habits established for an outdated office and creating new ones fit for an age of digital technology, innovation, and diverse workforces.
What’s On The Cards For 2023? Top 20 Trends Explored
Drawing on the latest WORKTECH Academy Trend Reports and stories, data, and evidence from around the Academy network, WORKTECH Academy Development Director, Matthew Myerson paints a picture of the key global trends that are set to shape the next 12 months for organisations.
The Impact on AI on the Future of Work
AI has entered the market in a big way. New applications are continuously and rapidly being introduced. How worried should we be? Will AI take away jobs? The talk provides information about the economic impact of AI, how new machine learning systems like ChatGPT work, and why they still have serious limitations.
Airbnb Offices: Seriously Fun and Suddenly Relevant
The pandemic threw the typical office environment into stark relief. And the digital fluency / remote productivity of employees threatened its entire existence. Hybrid is the answer, but no one wants to work in a new way in the old space; they need something compelling to return to: they need a Destination, that's what we created at Airbnb, and this talk explores the elements of these spaces that can be recreated and reinterpreted to create the post-covid office all employees deserve.
The Seven Megatrends Shaping Our Future Generation
We know Australia is at a pivotal point. There is a tidal wave of disruption on the way, and it’s critical we take steps now to get ahead. We need to deeply understand and respond to the significant megatrends that will shape the future world, and importantly inform what the next generation of work looks like. Our panellists take a deep dive into the key megatrends driving this powerful change and look to how we can capture the enormous opportunities that lay ahead.
Group Discussion
We will invite all our speakers back on stage for a group discussion with the audience
Coffee & Networking Break
Government Workplace Done Differently
At the end of 2019 the Department of Transport had a vision for a new workplace in Ringwood. With initial stakeholder engagement commenced, suddenly the world changed. We were sent home and had to work out how we would not only deliver on a 13,000 square meter workplace for the department, but what we needed to do to futureproof a workplace design through uncertain times. Rhonda Emery, Director at the Department of Transport and Planning together with Rebecca Daff, architect and Director at peckvonhartel discuss the challenges, the innovations and the lessons of a Government workplace project,
How Your Workplace Can Be An Asset, Not A Liability: Reimagining Your Workplace For High Performance
With 4 in 5 people wanting to continue to work in a hybrid model, we’ve realised the true value our workplaces provide, and it’s not somewhere for us to “go” to “work”. As organisations face the challenges of underutilised office space, fading employee loyalty and rising internal conflicts, what emerges is a lack of human connection. An ingredient essential in creating high performing teams. With a data led, evidence-based approach you can design a workplace for any future, giving you investment confidence and establishing your workplace as one of the primary drivers of ROI in your business.
“Earning The Commute” - A Discussion On The Post Covid Workplace And What Really Matters
Nick will lead an interaction session where he and the panellist will explore the future of the office and the challengers companies are facing whilst answering questions from the audience.
Group Discussion
We will invite all our speakers back on stage for a group discussion with the audience
Lunch & Networking Break
The Pilgrim’s Guide to the Workplace
Dr. Agustin Chevez walked in isolation for 42 days from Melbourne to Sydney expecting to incubate a unique idea about workplace design. Over a million steps later, his pilgrimage delivered unique insights which he refers to as Signposts – named for their promise to point to a better place to work for both, organisations and the people who inhabit them. In his talk, Agustin will take us in a journey that revisits our assumptions about the way we use space to host the ever-evolving notion of work – an expedition leading not only to better workplaces, but a better version of ourselves.
Expert Panel: Workplace Experience
This session explores how best to create an optimal environment for employees to do their work. How do we measure what is great? How do we successfully work across functional real estate, human resources (HR) and information technology (IT) to deliver it?
Hybrid Work Bias And Why It’s Disabling Collaboration
We assume hybrid work is understood but organisations still struggle to make this work. Leaders may try to enforce days in the office but this raises problems: some of your people avoid the office while others are keen to return which creates an imbalance. The challenge is how to support diverse preferences and create an environment in which people can thrive, innovate and create together, wherever they might be.
Expert Panel: Emerging Technologies Re-Shaping the Way We Work
In the age of the “anywhere office”, technology will play a more vital role than ever. It is now crucial for businesses to leverage data to understand how people are using workspaces and implement technologies that will keep teams connected, organized, safe and ultimately enhance their experience and productivity.
Group Discussion
We will invite all our speakers back on stage for a group discussion with the audience
Coffee & Networking Break
Humanising the High Rise - Quay Quarter Tower, Sydney
Quay Quarter Tower (QQT), World Building of the Year 2022 by the World Architecture Festival, eschews the conventions of uniform high-rise design to craft a community-oriented vertical village within the city. Quay Quarter Tower humanizes the high rise. The 206-metre commercial tower is composed of five stacked and shifting volumes, each arranged around an atrium and all oriented to face the iconic Sydney Harbour. The atria accommodate the kinds of informal meetings that encourage knowledge sharing and commingling to activate the workspace, aligning with 3XN’s design philosophy that architectu
The Workplace Outside The Walls - A Precinct-Based Approach To Workplace Design
When your co-tenants are collaborators and competitors, the ability of your workforce to innovate is distributed. When technology is at the centre, and you are driving solutions to global challenges, what does the innovation district model have to offer and how do the public and private sectors partner to deliver on the promise?
Trading Places: Designing For Nexus Value In Mixed-Used Development
The new 2023 Mirvac and WORKTECH Academy report will explore the ‘nexus value’ in mixed-use development when different property assets and typologies are purposefully co-assembled as part of a new value proposition.
How to Create a Nature Positive Future
Join Junglefy’s Suzie Barnett for a deep dive into the research that shows plants not only improve our health and wellbeing but they pay off by doubling and sometimes tripling your ROI. Suzie will show the transformative power of nature to boost biodiversity richness, improve air quality, reduce temperatures and storm water pollution. She will inspire you to consider how you can create a nature positive future that will continue to give back to its place and the community.
Group Discussion
We will invite all our speakers back on stage for a group discussion with the audience
Chairperson's Closing Remarks
Conference Close
WORKTECH speakers are leading international thinkers, industry strategists and radical visionaries. Our speakers come from some of today’s most successful companies as well as a broad range of progressive and influential organisations.
Please contact Isabel Dewhurst-Marks for more information about speaking at this event