Victorian disaster research capabilities present unique opportunities for innovation, supporting responses to natural hazards, climate, and community risks both in Victoria and around the world.

Building on the successful 2024 Victorian Disaster Research Forum, this one-day free and in-person forum in the Melbourne CBD brings together Victoria’s world-leading, impact-focused disaster and natural hazards research capabilities across multiple universities, agencies, and stakeholders.

The forum is organised by the VDRA (Victorian Disaster Research Alliance, http://vdra.org), a network of interdisciplinary disaster researchers across Victoria’s universities (https://vdra.org/vdra-members/).

Who should attend

The Forum is open to all researchers in Victoria with interests in natural hazards and disaster-related research, as well as to practitioners who want to shape an applied disaster research agenda for Victoria. When registering, please indicate if you plan to attend both morning and afternoon sessions, or the afternoon session only.

The 2025 Forum includes an PhD/ECR (early career researcher) Symposium in the morning sessions. All are welcome to the morning session, with Victorian researchers, supervisors, and early-career researchers and PhD students are especially encouraged to attend. PhD students and ECRs have the opportunity to present their work in the morning Symposium.
The afternoon session focuses on the wider Victorian disaster community, with keynote speakers and a panel session on innovation in disaster resilience and natural hazards research.

Outline Program

Morning Session I: 9:30-10:45 (Recommended for researchers; government and industry also welcome)

9:00am: Registration opens
9:30am: Opening and Welcome
9:45: PhD/ECR Symposium Session #1
10:45: Morning tea and networking

Morning Session II: 11:15-12:30 (Recommended for researchers; government and industry also welcome)

11:15am: PhD/ECR Symposium Session #2
12:30pm: Lunch (provided) and networking

Afternoon Session: 1:00-3:00 (Recommended for government, industry, researchers, and all stakeholders)

1:15pm: VDRA Keynote
2:00pm: Panel discussion, with facilitated participant discussion
2:45pm: Close and networking

Get involved

We are seeking presentations (oral or poster) from Victorian disaster research PhD students or ECRs (early career researchers). If you would like to present your research in a supportive environment with an interdisciplinary mix of like-minded Victorian disaster researchers, please complete this short form by October 22nd.

Contact

This VDRA initiative brings together researchers from across Victoria's university research sector, Please contact Christopher Hamon in the first instance with any questions.

Organisation

The forum is organised by the VDRA (Victorian Disaster Research Alliance, http://vdra.org). The VDRA aims to assist Victorian researchers to grow and diversify pathways to impact and ultimately to help address Victoria’s unique innovation needs for disaster resilience and natural hazards research. For more information about the VDRA and the University members, see https://vdra.org/vdra-members/.

The PhD/ECR Symposium program in the morning is organised by Dr Annette Kroen and Tarun.

The 2025 Victorian Disaster Research Forum is co-hosted by the RMIT Enabling Impact Platforms Information in Society EIP and the Swinburne Innovative Planet Research Institute.