Presented by La Trobe University and Swinburne's Social Innovation Research Institute.  

Presently, there is limited understanding in Australia of the notion of Public Interest Technology (PIT), particularly the manner in which technology and systems can be designed, developed and deployed to serve the public interest. This webinar will provide an introduction to socio-technical theory, as applied to PIT, demonstrating the value of an emergent framework for advancing the design, development and implementation of PIT in a way that is human-centric and emphasises values as core to the PIT research agenda.

This webinar will be of interest to people in academia, government and industry who are interested in interdisciplinary, cross-sector collaborations that advance PIT. As part of this, we seek to contribute to a research culture of socio-technical co-design, characterised by genuine collaborations between STEM and HASS academics and between industry and academia. We contend that such research approaches will lead to products and services that are more resilient, and better serve the public interest.
 

About the Technology x Society Forum

The Technology x Society Forum provides a space for engagement between STEM and HASS academics with an interest in the design, development and application of public interest technology. Our aim is to stimulate multi-disciplinary collaborations to address complex social challenges. Forum activities will include a series of curated conversations on key topics, organised by Forum leaders and seeded by the Forum Steering Group. The goal of each forum is to generate opportunities for research, leadership and social innovation by researchers at Swinburne and La Trobe and our partners.

Convened by

Professor Lawrie Zion
Associate Dean, Research and Industry Engagement
School of Humanities and Social Sciences
La Trobe University

Associate Professor Diane Sivasubramaniam
Program Leader, Public Interest Technology
Social Innovation Research Institute
Swinburne University of Technology

Associate Professor Sam Wilson
Program Leader, Public Interest Technology
Social Innovation Research Institute
Swinburne University of Technology

Guest Speaker

Dr Roba Abbas

Dr Abbas is a Senior Lecturer (Operations and Systems) and Academic Program Director with the Faculty of Business and Law at the University of Wollongong, Australia, and a visiting Professor with the School for the Future of Innovation in Society at Arizona State University, USA. She is also a Co-Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Technology and Society and former Associate Editor of the IEEE Technology and Society Magazine. Roba has a PhD in location-based services regulation, and industry experience in web design and development. She primarily researches methodological approaches to complex socio-technical systems design, emphasising transdisciplinarity, co-design and the intersection of society, technology, ethics, and regulation.
 

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