Speakers

DAY 1 Keynote Speaker


Marita Cheng 
2012 Young Australian of the Year Marita Cheng has demonstrated vision and leadership well beyond her years and is
Marita Cheng - Keynote Day 1
dedicated to encouraging young women to pursue careers in engineering. The daughter of Chinese parents, Marita was born and raised in far north Queensland and now studies at the University of Melbourne.

She founded Robogals Global in 2008 as a response to the traditionally low levels of participation by women in engineering and technology. Robogals uses fun and educational activities to teach schoolgirls about engineering and the difference that engineers make to our lives. Already Robogals has run robotics workshops for 25,000 girls across 300 schools in Australia and now has 27 chapters across Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States and Japan. 

For her work with Robogals, in October 2012 Marita was named one of 100 Women of Influence by The Australian Financial Review and Westpac.

Marita's career path includes studying for a Bachelor of Engineering and a Bachelor of Computer Science on a Paterson Scholarship. She has a Nancy Fairfax Churchill Fellowship, an International Youth Foundation YouthActionNet Fellowship and an Anita Borg Change Agent Award. A former panellist on ABC TV's New Inventors, Marita serves as a Board Member for the Foundation for Young Australians.
Marita stepped down as the Executive Director of Robogals at the end of 2012 in order to start 2Mar Robotics, creating robots that will take care of many everyday and mundane tasks, including robotic arms for wheelchair users. In 2013, 2Mar Robotoics swept the fifth annual Tech23 awards, winning top honours - the Innovation Excellence Award - in addition to four other awards. Marita continues to serve as a Board Member for Robogals and mentors the new CEO, and remains dedicated to changing the way that girls view their capacity to contribute to engineering and technology.







DAY 2 Keynote Speaker

Like you, Dr. Jordan Nguyen is on a mission to change the world.
Day 2 Keynote Speaker Dr Jordan Nguyen

At a moment of the most extraordinary breakthroughs in our understanding of the human brain, Jordan has a magical combination of technical brilliance with the unique ability to inspire people.

A truly inspirational communicator, Jordan presents on technology and the power of the mind at prestigious events internationally including Think Inc., Wired for Wonder, and the Engineering for Medicine and Biology Conference – the world’s largest annual biomedical conference.

Upon completing his PhD in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Technology Sydney, Jordan was accepted into the prestigious UTS Chancellor’s List. Now his mission is to improve the lives of as many people as possible. As founder of Psykinetic he designs life-changing technologies focusing on intelligent, futuristic and inclusive technology.

Drawing on his experience of almost breaking his own neck, Jordan developed a mind-controlled smart wheelchair for people with high-level physical disability.

A hot topic of discussion in the media, Jordan’s amazing work has been featured in a range of TV, radio,magazine and newspaper interviews, including ABC’s Catalyst and Channel TEN’s The Project.

As a speaker Jordan has the ability to translate highly technical concepts and future trends into clear and concise content, relevant to any organisation looking to proactively embrace and adapt to technological change.


from "BECOMING SUPERHUMAN" ABC TV Catalyst