ACM Celebration of Women in Computing: Bridging Academia, Industry and Careers in AI
On Tuesday 2 June, Monash University’s ACM-W Student Chapter welcomed more than 80 academic leaders, industry professionals, researchers and students to the ACM Celebration of Women in Computing: From Research to Reality, held at Monash College, Docklands.
Organised with the Faculty of Information Technology’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Portfolio and the ACM SIGCHI Melbourne Chapter, the full-day event explored the future of computing and careers in the age of AI – particularly those for graduate research students.
The day opened with a keynote from Professor Shonali Krishnaswamy, Director of the Monash AI Institute and Associate Dean (Innovation) in the Faculty of Information Technology.
In her presentation, A Hitchhiker's Guide from Research to Innovation and Entrepreneurship in AI, she drew on her own journey as a researcher, entrepreneur and innovation leader to illustrate how research can drive societal impact and challenge attendees to think broadly about what their own journeys could be.
Dr Niels Wouters, Senior Research Manager at Envato, offered a compelling counterpoint to the pace of modern AI-enabled research. In his presentation drawing on fieldwork spanning law enforcement, placemaking and sustainability, he made the case for slowing down and argued that deep community engagement, trust-building and genuine understanding of human experience remain as important as ever.
Aligned to the career focus of the day, the morning panel moderated by Professor Rashina Hoda featuring Professor John Grundy, Professor Iadine Chadès, Sabina Streatfeild and Professor Abbi Sharma, explored how academia and industry are shaping the future of technology in the age of AI.
Several academic and industry panels followed, where practitioners from both worlds shared their lived experiences – covering postgraduate study and academic pathways, industry expectations, professional growth and navigating career transitions in a rapidly-evolving landscape.
Students and early-career researchers also had the chance to connect directly with experts through a series of one-on-one career consultation sessions, seeking tailored guidance on everything from research opportunities to professional development and future pathways.
Overall, the event fostered genuine connection between our students, researchers, academics and industry professionals, providing food for thought on the future of computing and the role of technology in addressing real-world challenges.
As the field continues to evolve, events like this play a vital role in shaping an inclusive future for the tech industry.
Acknowledgements
We thank the following contributors for their expertise and time across the day’s panels and career consultation sessions.
From Academia: Prof Shonali Krishnaswamy (Monash University), Prof John Grundy (Monash University), Prof Iadine Chades (Monash University), Prof Abbi Sharma (Monash University), Prof Rashina Hoda (Monash University), Prof Helen Purchase (Monash University), A/Prof Bimlesh Wadhwa (National University of Singapore), A/Prof LayKi Soon (Monash University Malaysia), Dr Alison De Kruiff (Swinburne University of Technology), Dr Alicia Takaoka (Erasmus University Rotterdam), Dr Deepti Aggarwal (Deakin University), Dr Golnoush Abaei (RMIT University), A/Prof Elakkiya Rajasekar (BITS Dubai), Dr Sachith Seneviratne (University of Melbourne), A/Prof Anuja Dharmaratne (Monash University).
From Industry: Dr Niels Wouters (Senior Research Manager, Envato), Sabina Streatfeild (Executive Manager - Innovation Ecosystems & Tech Community, Commonwealth Bank Australia), Prof Ange Ferguson (Professor of Practice, Monash University), Dr Upali Wickramasinghe (Principal Solution Architect, Zooss Consulting), Dr Alphan Culha (Founder & Chief Operations Officer, Premium Traffic Limited), Dr Kugamoorthy Gajananan (Senior Consultant, Cloud Security and Compliance, Vivanti Consulting), Dr Deepak Poola (Lead Infrastructure Architect, Melbourne Airport), Dr Champ Mendis (Chief Technology Officer, Integra Technology Solutions), Dr Waldemar Jenek (Demand Generation Coordinator, Education (ANZ) , Graphisoft), Dr Indi Ubhayaratne (Senior Software Engineer, Aurizn), Dr Bhanuka Gamage (Senior Data Engineer, Human Health), Dr Jojo Wong (Data Scientist, Gravitas Co), Dr Arash Kaviani (AI/ML Engineering Manager, Data & AI Solutions, Australia Post).
