Day 1: AI Workshop – Wednesday 29 April
Venue: Western Beach Room, Deakin University Waterfront
Day 2: Summit – Thursday 30 April
Venue: Crowne Plaza Geelong
Program
| Venue | Western Beach Room, Level 6 Sally Walker Building, Deakin University, Waterfront Campus |
|---|
| Time | Sessions | Presenter |
|---|---|---|
| 10:00am | Opening remarks | |
| 10:05am | Keynote | Svetha Venkatesh, Deakin Distinguished Professor and CoDirector, A2I2 |
| 10:55am | Detailed case studies: Two real world case studies including discussion on application, ROI and risk management | |
| 11:45am | Expert panel | Svetha Venkatesh, Deakin Distinguished Professor and CoDirector, A2I2 Bianca Hayes, Global Leader – Client Experience, GHD Chris Thompson, ComplyIQ360 |
| 12:25pm | Break for lunch & networking | |
| 1:00pm | Workshop: AI Opportunity Mapping - Guided workshop with A2I2 | |
| 2:00pm | Live Hack & Cyber Risk Management | Paul Marino, Manager – Corporate, Gallagher |
| 2:35pm | Cyber Security | Ivan Janssen, CEO, eManaged |
| 3:00pm | Afternoon tea & networking | |
| 3:30pm | Event close |
| Venue | Crowne Plaza Geelong |
|---|
| Time | Sessions | Presenter |
|---|---|---|
Day 2 of the Tech & Innovation Summit brings together government, industry leaders, researchers, and innovators to explore how Australia can strengthen industrial sovereignty, accelerate decarbonisation, and unlock advanced manufacturing opportunities. Sessions are grouped into thematic streams - Influential, Bold, Visionary, Game‑Changers, and Trailblazers -and combine keynotes with high‑impact panel discussions. | ||
| 8:40am | Welcome from GMC | Thys Heyns, GMC Chair |
| 8:45am | Opening address | Deputy Prime Minister, Defence Minister and Member for Corio, the Hon Richard Marles |
| 9:00am | Keynote | Tim Ayres, Federal Minister for Industry and Innovation |
| 9:30am | INFLUENTIAL (enablers): Panel - Australia's Big Challenges: Enabling manufacturing growth and innovation in the decade ahead Discussion focuses on productivity, industrial growth, decarbonisation of hard‑to‑abate sectors (steel, transport, construction), and building Australia’s industrial sovereignty. | Vanessa Lenihan (Viva Energy) Roy Green (ARM Hub, CSIRO) Grant Johnston (Alter Steel) Sarah Ashmore (MC) |
| 10:15am | Keynote | David Gall, CEO National Reconstruction Fund |
| 10:30am | Morning tea break | |
| 10:45am | BOLD (solutions): Energy & circular economy advances Exploring transport fuels, bio‑plastics, energy management, wastewater heat recovery, next‑generation batteries, and the commercialisation of world‑class research amid rising demand from AI and data centres. | Vanessa Lenihan (Viva Energy) Travis MacLachlan (FlowPower) Shaun Cumming (CEO Barwon Water) Andrew Davies (CFO Li-S Energy) Dr Clare Anderson (Worley) |
| 11:35am | VISIONARY: Keynote Global food and agribusiness transformation, breakthrough innovations, high‑growth opportunities, and practical systems for scaling innovation. | Angeline Achariya (Innovation GameChangers) |
| 11:55am | VISIONARY (opportunities): Panel - Advanced innovation & opportunities From space technologies to construction and agribusiness—where Australia can win and how to get there. | Matt Dingle (FormFlow) James Heffernan (Modularity) Jason Crusan (AROSE) Angeline Achariya (Innovation Game Changers) Nick Birbilis (Deakin) |
| 12:40pm | Lunch | |
| 1:10pm | Welcome back | Stretch Kontelj (Geelong Mayor) |
| 1:20pm | GAMECHANGERS: Keynote Stop Managing the Pressure. Start Designing Game-Changing Performance. When everything feels urgent, working harder isn’t the answer. Drawing on real manufacturing examples, discover how to reduce reactive work, unlock capacity, and embed innovation into daily operations. | Andrew Jones (G2 Innovation) |
| 2:00pm | TRAILBLAZERS (success stories): Panel - Regional success stories & opportunities Regional leaders showcasing success in AI adoption, sustainability, and defence manufacturing. | Jack Fitzgerald (Think Fencing) Ryan Veale (Hanwha) Samantha Van Zyl (LoomTex) James Mullins (Deakin) |
| 2:45pm | Summit Program Close | Jennifer Conley, CEO GMC |
| 2:45pm - 5:00pm | Optional Summit Attendee Tours of Viva Energy's New Energies Service Station, Deakin University's Institute for Intelligent Systems & Deakin Manufutures, to follow. Further details will be provided to ticket holders by 24 April 2026. |
