A great idea isn’t just words on a page.

In today’s competitive funding landscape, developing the skill to communicate complex ideas to non-specialist grant reviewers, from government to industry, has never been more important.

The process of distilling the essence of a complex research grant proposal into a short, plain English pitch can help researchers identify and amplify key messages they want reviewers to remember, not just understand.

Getting Pitch Perfect is a series of online sessions delivered by the Research Development Program where ‘the art of the pitch’ will be showcased and dissected. In each Getting Pitch Perfect session you will see a live pitch – typically motivated around a future funding opportunity – and watch an interdisciplinary assessment panel deliberate and present feedback to the pitcher. The sessions are interactive. Participants are invited to evaluate the pitch using live polling, and engage in Q&A with the pitcher and the panel. By participating in these sessions, you will be inspired, build an appreciation of what makes a great pitch, and learn what to avoid in your own pitch.

This is the registration page for Getting Pitch Perfect session #1: 10 June, 12:30-2pm

The pitch

The session features a pitch by Dr Lucy Bryant. Based in the Graduate School of Health in the Faculty of Health, Lucy is a Lecturer in Speech Pathology and also a certified practicing speech pathologist. In her pitch Lucy will mount her case for a nationally competitive ARC research fellowship, with a project that will investigate the co-design and use of immersive virtual reality environments to promote communication access and participation for people with a range of communication disabilities.

The interdisciplinary panel

An interdisciplinary panel of UTS academic and professional staff has been assembled to deconstruct this pitch. The panel has broad expertise in speech pathology, clinical psychology, virtual and augmented reality technologies, and media and communications.

All UTS researchers, particularly ECRs, are encouraged to attend what is sure to be an entertaining and informative session.