Top Tech Trends Debate 2022

The Top Tech Trends Debate returns in 2022 with a great line up and the opportunity to meet in-real-life.

Unlike anything else that exists in Australia, the Top Tech Trends Debate showcases the visions of five leading industry professionals. They pitch their ideas on the next big thing, and the audience votes.

The event features as a closing event for the emerging technologies powering investment stream of the State Government of Victoria's Digital Innovation Festival.

Ticketing:

• Early Bird Ticket: $99.00 (no GST) .Closes 26th Aug
• General Tickets: $125.00 (no GST). Opens 27th Aug till Monday 5th Sep 2022
• Corporate Early Bird ticket: Group of 10 tickets $900.00 Closes 26th Aug
• Corporate General Ticket Group of 10 tickets $1,125.00 Opens 27th Aug till Monday 5th Sep 2022.

Purchase Tickets Here

Our beverage sponsor for this year is Starward,  award winning whisky distillery in Port Melbourne. 

Our venue sponsor this year is Melbourne Connect, the amazing event space and event management team in Carlton. Melbourne Connect is part of University of Melbourne. 

Our prize sponsor is RSM Australia, a world leading provider of audit, tax and consulting services to entrepreneurial growth-focused organisations globally.

Meet our Panellists: 

Bienna Chow

Bienna is the Executive Director of Investment Management at Breakthrough Victoria, which manages the Victorian Government’s $2 billion Breakthrough Victoria Fund. Breakthrough Victoria invests in emerging technologies to uplift Victoria's innovation ecosystem and deliver impact returns.

As an international strategist, technologist and investment professional, with a passion for commercialisation of Australian science and technology, Bienna combines experience from multinational corporations and deep tech start-up
investments. Bienna has led Bosch’s corporate strategy for Asia Pacific, established Robert Bosch Venture Capital and mentored start-up founders.

Bienna holds a Master of Applied Cybernetics, is a CFA Charterholder and co-founder of Ada's Tribe, an inclusive community to support women in Analytics, Data Science & AI (ADA).

Professor David Grayden

Professor David Grayden is Clifford Chair of Neural Engineering in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering & Information Technology and the Graeme Clark Institute for Biomedical Engineering.

Prof. Grayden's main research interests are in understanding how the brain processes information, how best to present information to the brain using medical bionics, such as the bionic ear and bionic eye, and how to record information from the brain, such as for brain-machine interfaces. He is also conducting research in epileptic seizure prediction and electrical stimulation to prevent or stop epileptic seizures.

He teaches BioDesign Innovation in collaboration with the Melbourne Business School. 

Dr Shaanan Cohney

Shaanan Cohney is a Lecturer at the University of Melbourne, and a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. His research area is at the intersection of Computer Security and Law where he focuses on technology to product consumers and businesses. Shaanan’s past experience includes placements as a Cybersecurity Fellow in the office of U.S Senator Ron Wyden, and in the Office of Policy Planning at the Federal Trade Commission. His work has received multiple awards from both research and industry.

Shaanan holds a PhD and Masters in Law from the University of Pennsylvania, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Princeton University.   

Constantine Frantzeskos

Con Frantzeskos is one of the world's leading digital marketing strategists, with over 30 years of experience building magical digital products, growing digital businesses, and advising startups, scaleups, enterprises and governments on how they might innovate, invest and grow in the digital era.

He is the Founder and Managing Director of PENSO, a visionary digital strategy consultancy, he is a founding Director of LaunchVic, Victoria's startup agency, he is on the advisory board of the Swinburne University of Technology Innovation Precinct, and he is a Presenting Partner of The Future Laboratory, one of the world’s most renowned futures consultancies.

He is also an investor and advisor to early-stage B2B SaaS startups whose customers are small-medium businesses.

Penelope Barr 

Penelope Barr is an advisor to Privay - privacy management experts.  She previously headed up the Legaltech Product Lab at Allens, international commercial law firm .  Penelope has 20+ years’ experience leading local and global product, digital, technology, agile, innovation and transformation businesses.