Educating and empowering MedTech's next generation
Medtech is one of the most influential and fast paced industries in the world. With innovative technologies like bioactive implants, AI and robotics shaping the future, there's a growing need to ensure our workforce can access up-to-date and timely training. Join us for a panel discussion on the challenges facing the Medtech industry in accessing skilled personnel for domestic manufacturing, and how we can go about solving them. We’ll delve into the skills and education gaps of today, explore strategies for inspiring and equipping future-ready talent with the specialised knowledge and skills needed for success in the industry, and outline how industry requirements and education offerings can better align to bridge skills gaps, from advanced manufacturing to regulatory frameworks.
This panel is proudly presented by MedTech, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology.
Meet your panellists and chair:
Professor David Grayden (Chair)
Clifford Chair of Neural Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Melbourne
Professor David B. Grayden is Clifford Chair of Neural Engineering in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Information Technology and the Graeme Clark Institute for Biomedical Engineering. He is Co-Director of the Victorian Medtech Skills and Devices Hub and Director of the ARC Training Centre in Cognitive Computing for Medical Technologies. Prof Grayden's main research interests are in understanding how the brain processes information, how best to present information to the brain using medical bionics, such as the bionic ear and bionic eye, and how to record information from the brain, such as for brain-machine interfaces. He is also conducting research in epileptic seizure prediction and electrical stimulation to prevent or stop epileptic seizures. Prof Grayden teaches BioDesign Innovation in collaboration with the Melbourne Business School.
Professor Andrea O'Connor
Shanahan Chair in Frontier Medical Solutions, Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Melbourne
Professor Andrea O'Connor, PhD, FIChemE is the Shanahan Chair in Frontier Medical Solutions and a Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor at the University of Melbourne and the Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery. She is a co-Director of the Victorian Medtech Skills and Device Hub and leads the Tissue Engineering Group in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Her research focuses on design, synthesis and fabrication of biomaterials, porous materials and antimicrobial nanomaterials. She teaches biomedical engineering subjects including Tissue Engineering and Stem Cells. Prof. O'Connor collaborates with clinicians, scientists, hospitals, medical research institutes and medical device companies to address clinical problems.
Professor Rachael McDonald
Director, MedTechVic Hub
Professor Rachael McDonald is the Director of the MedTechVic Hub. The MedTechVic hub creates innovative enabling technology, products and services to enhance lives for people with disability, their families and the people who support them. The hub does this through Development of enabling technology products, Consulting on co-design and manufacture, Best-practice research and development and Educational services, including fellowships and training. Professor McDonald is a clinical, research and teaching Health Professional with an interest in enabling people with lifelong disabilities to participate in life situations. She has worked extensively in this field, with in both children's services and adult settings. She has or is supervising 31 research (honour's, MSc and PhD) students specialising in the care of people with complex disability as well as development and evaluation into the effectiveness of assistive technologies, and has published widely (over 150 outputs). She has qualifications in occupational therapy, biomechanics and higher education in addition to her Doctorate and has attracted over $11m in competitive grant funding.
Gary Haywood
Business Development Manager, Design + Industry
Gary Haywood is Business Development Manager for Design & Industry, Australia's largest and leading product design and development studio. D+I's team of over 80 designers and engineers based in our three ISO13485 accredited studios carry out more than 150 projects each year for global corporations, local enterprises and start-ups. An MBA and experienced Industrial Designer, Gary has worked within design innovation and business development for more than 30 years. Working within advanced additive manufacturing and high-volume production, he has managed technology development and commercialisation projects in Medtech, Automotive, Industrial and Construction, Agriculture, Materials Handling and Packaging industries. As senior manager of the Victorian Government's Design Victoria design initiative, Gary mentored C-Level business managers in design best practices for strategies ranging across product, marketing and digital.