About the webinar

From a relatively unknown term to one now accepted as being critical to achieving a more sustainable and equitable world, the circular economy concept is influencing policies and practices right across government, industry, and society. It is changing the way we behave as individuals. Turning the linear ‘take, make, dispose’ extractive economic model on its head, however, requires concerted innovative approaches, where success is not always guaranteed, and failure may sometimes be experienced. In this webinar, participants will bring their perspectives on the key tenets of the circular economy. They will provide examples of research, innovative and entrepreneurial practice which are charting a way forward in a redesigned model that builds economic, natural, and social capital through designing out waste, keeping materials in use at their highest value for as long as possible, and regenerating natural systems.

Join our panellists:

Professor Rowena Barrett, Pro Vice-Chancellor (QUT Entrepreneurship and Regional Innovation)
Professor Christopher Barner-Kowollik, Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor & Vice-President (Research) QUT
Professor Allan Dale, Professor of Tropical Regional Development, The Cairns Institute, James Cook University

in a panel discussion moderated by Professor Robina Xavier, FQA Deputy Vice-Chancellor & Vice-President (Academic) QUT.

More about our speakers

Professor Robina Xavier, FQA

Robina Xavier is QUT’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic) with overall responsibility for the quality and integrity of learning and teaching across the university. She has more than 25 years’ experience in the tertiary sector including serving as Executive Dean, QUT Business School. Prior to joining QUT, Robina worked as a consultant to both the private and public sectors, specialising in corporate and financial relations. She has served on international committees for the Association of Advanced Collegiate Schools of Business in the US and currently chairs the European Foundation for Management Development EQUIS Accreditation Board in Brussels. Robina is President of the Queensland Academy of Arts and Sciences and chairs the Queensland Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) network.

Professor Rowena Barrett

Rowena Barrett is an expert in thinking innovatively and being entrepreneurial to get things done. She leads QUT’s priority for entrepreneurship creating the environment in which entrepreneurship amplifies discipline expertise for students, staff and alumni. Through programs, events and mentoring individuals can develop an entrepreneurial mindset and generate action to deliver value to others. QUT was awarded Asia-Pacific Entrepreneurial University of the Year 2023, by the Accreditation Council for Entrepreneurial and Engaged Universities (ACEEU).
Rowena is an experienced and authentic leader who brings integrity, purpose and commitment to engaging people across many domains inside and outside the university. She is responsible for developing and curating QUT’s Regional Strategy and the ways the university innovatively engages in regional and remote Australia.

Professor Christopher Barner-Kowollik

A graduate in chemistry from Göttingen University, Germany, Christopher joined the University of New South Wales in early 2000 rising to lead the Centre for Advanced Macromolecular Design in 2006 as one of its directors. He returned to Germany to the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in 2008, where he established and led a German Research Council-funded Centre of Excellence in soft matter synthesis and served as the Head of School of the School of Chemical Technology and Polymer Chemistry at the KIT. Following a period as an adjunct professor and collaborator with QUT, he moved to QUT in early 2017 and established QUT’s Soft Matter Materials Laboratory, now one of the world’s premier macromolecular laboratories. Over his 24-year career to date, Christopher has attracted over $50M in funding from the German Research Council, the Helmholtz Association, the Australian Research Council and the private sector. He has developed and supported highly collaborative large teams, often across continents. He authored over 780 peer-reviewed publications in leading journals (cited over 46 000 times) and was plenary and invited speaker at over 260 conferences. Christopher’s research achievements have been recognised by an array of national and international awards including the coveted Centenary Prize of the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Belgian Polymer Medal, the United Kingdom Macro Medal as well as national awards by the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, the Royal Society of New South Wales, an ARC Professorial Fellowship and an Laureate Fellowship. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Royal Australian Chemical Institute.

Dr Allan Dale

Allan Dale is a Professor of Tropical Regional Development at The Cairns Institute, James Cook University and the Chief Scientist for the Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia (CRCNA). Allan has a strong interest in integrated societal governance, with a particular focus across the tropical world, northern Australia and the Great Barrier Reef. He leads JCU’s contributions to Queensland’s Rural Economies Centre of Excellence (RECoE), the Communities in Transition Program and emerging approaches to Collective Impact. He works extensively with governments, regional and local communities on issues related to economic, social and Indigenous development, water and natural resource management. Allan is Deputy Chair of the Premier’s Queensland Plan Ambassador Council and was previously the Chair of Regional Development Australia Far North Queensland and Torres Strait (RDA FNQ&TS) and the ex-CEO of Terrain NRM.

Contact the host of Data Science in the News - Circular Economy: Progress and Barriers to a more sustainable and equitable world

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