A beginning can mean many things: a fresh new idea, reimagining a complex system, or opening a document and staring at it for several minutes. But how do we begin? And can we strengthen our ability to start new things, ideally without a coffee, a deadline, or mild panic?

Join three researchers and a comedian as they discuss different ways to approach beginnings.

Explore the benefits of utilising creativity, the role of plants and cultivating new ideas, and engineering sustainable energy systems.
Are you ready to get started?

Host/Comedian: Jason Chong

Researchers:

Dr Maria Vieira

Maria holds a PhD in STEM and is a Lecturer in the School of Education at Adelaide University. Her work is grounded in a deep commitment to advancing educational equity through innovative, research-informed teaching practices that nurture creative confidence.

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Professor Rachel Burton

Rachel is a plant scientist and molecular biologist, passionate about plant cell walls and all the useful things they can do for us. She is also interested in renewable biofuels and believes that making use of feedstocks, many of them perceived as waste, will be fundamentally important to meeting our future energy needs.

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Dr Cristian Birzer

Cris Birzer’s research focuses on the development of humanitarian technologies for resource-constrained countries and regions. His motivation is to make complex engineering available and affordable to those who need it most, in order to help raise their quality of life, increase life expectancy, and reduce preventable deaths.