Collaboration and knowledge sharing at the 2025 ARC Centres of Excellence Summit
Author
Date 28 July 2025
Leaders and professional staff from ARC Centres of Excellence across Australia gathered in Melbourne from 23–25 July for the annual ARC CoE Summit, a key professional development event designed to build collaboration, capability, and shared vision across the ARC Centre of Excellence Directors and professional staff community.
Bringing together more than 160 staff members from 24 Centres around Australia, the event was facilitated by the Melbourne-based ARC Centres of Excellence.
“The Summit provides a critical opportunity for CoE staff from across Australia to come together to share insights into the innovative and transformational research being undertaken across the diverse group of ARC Centres,” said ADM+S Chief Operating Officer Nick Walsh.
“The annual gathering fosters cross-centre collaboration, serves as a strategic forum for shaping future directions, and highlights the collective impact of the ARC Centres of Excellence on both national and global challenges.”
The Summit featured keynote presentations by Prof Ute Roessner AM FAA, ARC’s Chief Executive Officer, and Prof Gavin Reid, ARC’s Executive Director for Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences and Prof of Bioanalytical Chemistry at the University of Melbourne. Professors Roessner and Reid shared insights on how the ARC defines success in a Centre of Excellence, highlighting impact, interdisciplinary collaboration, and long-term legacy.
The program explored impact and engagement, career development, cross-centre collaboration, and inclusive practice. Professional staff from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society (ADM+S) made key contributions to the program:
- Leah Hawkins (Research Communications Officer) joined a panel on Career Pathways within CoEs, sharing her journey and insights into communications roles in research.
- Sally Storey (Manager, Research Training and Development) spoke on a panel about collaborating across CoEs, drawing from her work in the joint CoE School for Early Career Researchers with the Digital Child and Life Course centres.
- Matt Warren (Outreach and Partnerships Officer) presented on the CoE Pride Network, supporting diversity and inclusion across the CoE landscape.
The three-day event included a networking dinner and communities of practice sessions for staff working across Communications, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), Training and Professional Development, Finance, and Administration.
View images from the event on the ADM+S Flickr account.
