2023 Cisco Higher Education
Study Tour to
Norway & Denmark
Creating Economic Impact Through Digital Innovation and Industry Collaboration
It has been three years since Cisco’s last international study tour. Since then, a number of issues have come into sharper focus: management of sovereign risk, decarbonisation/Net Zero, global skills shortages and the accelerating pace of digital adoption. The 2023 study tour provides an opportunity for Australian and New Zealand universities to discuss these issues and better understand how some of the world’s most digitally- advanced and collaborative economies are responding to these and other global priorities.
The 2023 event is Cisco’s 10th international study tour and the first since the establishment of the National Industry Innovation Network (NIIN). Over the last decade, more than 30 individual universities have participated in Cisco’s higher education study tours designed to create peer-to-peer conversations between universities and expose them to innovative practice and new ideas.
Cisco is pleased to be formally hosted by the Australian Ambassador to Denmark, Norway and Iceland.
Delegates
Professor Amanda Gudmundsson
Executive Dean, Faculty of Business and Law, QUT.
Professor Amanda Gudmundsson is Executive Dean, Faculty of Business and Law at QUT. Amanda has spent more than 25 years at QUT undertaking a variety of academic and leadership roles. Her leadership experience has included study area leadership for the Human Resource Management field, MBA Director, Director of the Brisbane Graduate School of Business, Head of School of Design, and Associate Dean, Learning & Teaching.
Byron Collins
Executive Director, Business Services and Chief Technology Officer, University of Melbourne
Byron Collins is the Chief Technology Officer at the University of Melbourne. Prior to joining the University of Melbourne, Byron worked in consulting and corporate leadership roles, including at IBM, SMS Consulting and AWB Limited.
Professor Cameron Newton
Deputy Dean, Faculty of Business and Law, QUT.
Cameron Newton is the Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Business and Law at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Cameron commenced his professional life in the finance services sector where he held various management positions before moving to academia. An active and innovative researcher, Cameron’s research focuses on organisational culture, organisational effectiveness, innovation, and clean energy market development.
Craig Mutton
Chief Digital Officer, University of Canberra.
Craig Mutton is the Chief Digital Officer at the University of Canberra. Prior to his current role, Craig was Executive Director Strategy & Transformation at the Environmental Protection Authority Victoria. He has also held roles at Telstra Corporation, Manheim Asia Pacific, NAB and WorkSafe Victoria, focused on devising and implementing digital strategies, business operating models, and new technologies.
Craig Warren
Chief Digital Officer, Deakin University.
Craig Warren is the Chief Digital Officer at Deakin University. Craig has worked in ICT at Deakin University for over 23 years, previously having held positions as Executive Director, Infrastructure Services and Infrastructure Services Director.
Jason Cowie
Chief Information Officer, Curtin University.
Jason Cowie is the Chief Information Officer at Curtin University. Jason has more than 25 years of experience in the IT industry, having previously been CIO of Calibre Group, Cape Australia and Macmahon Holdings. Jason has also held strategic advisory roles within Gartner.
Kirsty Mosley
Associate Director, IDS Delivery Capability and Support, Flinders University
Kirsty Mosley is the Associate Director of IDS Delivery Capability and Support at Flinders University. In this role, Kirsty is responsible for building capability within IT at Flinders including architecture and integration, planning and analytical services, knowledge management, and CX and UX. Prior to her current role, Kirsty was a Product Owner at People’s Choice Credit Union.
Professor Lucy Johnston
Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research & Enterprise, University of Canberra
Professor Lucy Johnston is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research & Enterprise at the University of Canberra. Lucy joined the University of Canberra after three years as Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research & Innovation) at Murdoch University. Previously she was Dean of Graduate Research at the University of Newcastle and Dean of Postgraduate Research at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. In 2004, she was a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Connecticut.
Dr Megan Fisher
Pro Vice-Chancellor Industry Engagement, La Trobe University
Dr Megan Fisher is the Pro Vice-Chancellor for Industry Engagement at La Trobe University. Megan has held previous roles as Director of Research, Innovation and Commercial Engagement at the University of Melbourne, Director of Business Development and Commercialisation within CSIRO and as Vice President of Research and Development for an ASX and NASDAQ listed Australian biotechnology company.
Professor Paul Brunton
Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic, Curtin University
Professor Paul Brunton is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic at Curtin University. Prior to his current role, Paul was Pro-Vice Chancellor of Health Sciences at the University of Otago where he cemented the University of Otago’s Division of Health Sciences as a national centre of excellence for research, education and healthcare.
Rowan Salt
Chief Information, University of Queensland
Rowan Salt is the Chief Information Officer at the University of Queensland. As the CIO, Rowan is responsible for managing the provision, security, architecture and governance of information technology for staff, students and the wider UQ community.
Shainal Kavar
Chief Information Officer, La Trobe University
Shainal Kavar is the Chief Information Officer at La Trobe University. Prior to joining La Trobe, Shainal was head of IT strategy, architecture and business engagement at Downer. He has held senior IT positions for global enterprises including Spotless, Clarity Consulting, LogicaCMG and Accenture.
Sinan Erbay
Chief Information Officer, RMIT University
Sinan Erbay is the Chief Information Officer at RMIT University. Prior to his current role, Sinan held positions as Director, Technology – University Operations at RMIT and Director, Transformation, Change & Delivery at Super partners.
Cisco
Sam Gerner
Managing Director, Public Sector & Strategic Industries, Cisco ANZ
Sam Gerner is Managing Director, Public Sector and Strategic Industries for Cisco ANZ. Sam's career in the information technology and communications industry spans 27 years. Since joining Cisco in 1999, Sam has held various sales and leadership roles in Australia and throughout the Asia Pacific region. His current role involves leading the teams responsible for Cisco's Australian Public Sector customers. Sam also heads Cisco A/NZ's Strategic Industries Development Group, which is responsible for vertical market development, where Cisco's innovations in emerging technologies are enabling significant digital transformation.
Reg Johnson
Director, Education & Strategic Industries, Cisco ANZ
Reg is responsible for formulating and executing Cisco‘s strategy across higher education and other strategic industries within Australia and New Zealand. Reg has over 25 years’ experience in the ICT industry in professional sales, marketing management and business development. Reg created and leads the National Industry Innovation Network (NIIN) for Cisco and recently received the ARN personal innovation sales excellence award in recognition of his contribution to innovation and digital transformation.
John Karabatich
Director, Collaboration, Cisco ANZ
John Karabatich is Director of Collaboration at Cisco ANZ. Prior to his current role, John was Regional Manager Collaboration Sales for Cisco APJC and a Collaboration Specialist for Cisco ANZ, where he helped clients define collaboration strategies and solutions.
Facilitators
Brad Davies
Managing Director, Vector Consulting
Brad Davies is Managing Director of Vector Consulting. Brad has spent more than two decades working at the intersection of technology, industry and education. Brad’s work is grounded in experience having worked in economic development roles within the Victoria Government, where he helped to attract technology multinationals to Victoria and brokered major government investments in ICT projects.
Nic Henwood
Associate Director, Vector Consulting
Nic Henwood is an Associate Director at Vector Consulting. Over the past 10+ years, Nic has led major strategy, evaluation and implementation projects across a range of industry, education and policy areas. Prior to his current role, Nic worked as a Management Consultant at dandolopartners and as a policy advisor for the New Zealand Government.
Site Visits
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo (UiO) is Norway’s oldest university. UiO is a research-intensive university and has a major focus on contributing to the UN Sustainable Developed Goals. UiO hosts the Sustainability Lab (focused on researching sustainable digital technology solutions), Oslo Centre for Interdisciplinary Environmental and Social Research (a strategic research collaboration focused on environmental and climate research) and the Centre for Development and the Environment (focused on global and regional governance for sustainable development).
OsloMet
OsloMet is a large public university based in the heart of Oslo. OsloMet has a strong focus on the application of digital technology and innovation to education, business and society. OsloMet is home to Digital Innovation and Strategic Competence in Organizations (a research group focused on the implications of digital technology in organisations), OsloMet Artificial Intelligence Lab (a joint research centre for applied and basic AI research), and the Research Centre for Digitalisation of Public Services and Citizenship (a research group focused on the ethical and legal factors of government-led technology transformation).
Oslo University Hospital, Radiumhospitalet
Oslo University Hospital, Radiumhospitalet is one of the four campuses of Oslo University Hospital and is the most specialised hospital in Norway for cancer therapy and cancer research. In partnership with Cisco, Oslo University Hospital is pioneering new care delivery models. This includes using Webex to create a more interconnected and collaborative healthcare ecosystem that brings multi-disciplinary teams together for shared-care decisions.
Technical University of Denmark (DTU)
DTU is recognised internationally as a leading university in the areas of technical and natural sciences and is ranked as one of Europe’s leading engineering institutions. DTU is home to DTU Skylab, a cross-disciplinary innovation hub used by various institutes at DTU. DTU Skylab is located at the main DTU Campus in Lyngby and is housed in a facility of 5500 square meters, complete with labs, workshops, auditoriums, open spaces and project rooms. DTU offers soft funding, business acceleration, prototyping and a space to grow for deep tech start-ups and pre start-up projects based at DTU.
CopenHill
CopenHill is a 41,000m2 waste-to-energy plant in the port and industrial area of Copenhagen. CopenHill is regarded as the cleanest waste-to-energy power plant in the world. CopenHill converts 440,000 tons of waste annually into enough clean energy to deliver electricity and district heating for 100,000 homes. Copenhill is not just a power plant, but is also a recreational hub – its façade is climbable, its roof is hikeable and its slopes are skiable.
Danish Outdoor Lighting Lab
DOLL (Danish Outdoor Lighting Lab) is Europe's largest test field, showroom, and innovation hub within the field of intelligent lighting. Its living lab is located in the suburban municipality of Albertslund, located some 15 kilometres west of Copenhagen. Whereas the initial aim of using the living lab as a testbed for LED solutions was energy efficiency, today the living lab has broadened its activities to include Smart City solutions across mobility and parking, Internet of Things (IoT) communication systems, environmental monitoring, waste management, indoor lighting, and driverless busses.
Australian Embassy in Denmark
The Australian Embassy in Denmark is accredited to Denmark, Norway and Iceland. Its role is to promote Australia's relationships with the region and to provide consular assistance to Australians overseas. Our visit to the Australian Embassy is hosted by Her Excellency Kerin Ayyalaraju. HE Ayyalaraju is a career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and was most recently Australia’s first Pop Up Ambassador to Estonia. She has served as Deputy Ambassador in the United Arab Emirates, APEC Liaison in Vietnam and Second Secretary in Lebanon.