Top Tech Trends Debate

Date: Wednesday 30th October 2024

Time: 5:15 pm till 8:30 pm

Venue: Seek Office, 60 Cremorne St, Cremorne, Vic

The Top Tech Trends Debate, unlike any other event in Australia, offers an electrifying panel discussion that has quickly become a must-attend yearly highlight.

In a unique format, a hand-picked selection of experts fiercely compete to convince both their fellow panel members and the audience that their tech trend is the one to watch. Each panellist is given a strict time limit to present their case, making every second count.

Fellow panellists then vote for or against each other by the showing of paddles and are called upon by MC Gretchen Scott to justify their decisions!

While this is a contest of ideas, the panellists must also win the favour of the crowd. The winning panellist who presents the most compelling vision is crowned by popular vote – and the outcome often hangs in the balance until the very end, making for an unforgettable experience.

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Feedback from last year:

“Was such a great debate! I really enjoyed it. Well done everyone.”

“Cracker event tonight, well done. Thanks, I really enjoyed being a part of it.”

"That was really good fun, I enjoyed it!”

“This was my first Churchill Club event and thought it was really interesting! Thank you.”

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The event is a replica of the Top Tech Trends event that was successfully run by the Churchill Club in Silicon Valley for 20 consecutive years. It has now become a Melbourne feature event not to be missed.

Past event. Ticket Sales closed.

What is the debate about?

The audience gets to vote.

You help shape the top tech trends with your vote whilst learning how these emerging technologies are set to impact our lives.

It’s an opportunity to peer inside the minds that are investing in our future, to understand how they see our world.

Each speaker will deliver one trend that must meet the following criteria:

Are not obvious today, but may well be in the future; and
There'll be an explosive impact in these areas in 3-5 years time.

The panel debates each trend before they vote.

Watch our promotional video from the 2019 event.

Meet the panellists:

Dylan Brady Creative Director of Decibel Architecture

Dylan is the Creative Director of Decibel Architecture (dB(A)), a practice energised by designing and imagining better futures. dB(A) weave compelling stories that enthral and ignite minds and are committed to defining challenging problems and providing innovative solutions. From suburb designs that smash old paradigms of integration with nature, to left field thinking in schools and hospitals that have transformed mindsets and inspired positive change.

Hon Weng Chong Founder & CEO, Cortical Labs

Hon Weng Chong is the founder and CEO of Cortical Labs, a deep technology startup looking to fuse biological material with computing chips resulting in a proto-AGI device. Previously, he was the founder and CTO of CliniCloud – a medtech startup that built full-stack connected medical devices and was backed by Tencent and Ping A ventures. Hon Weng trained as a medical doctor at The University of Melbourne and was exposed to the world of technology entrepreneurialism during his research year at Johns Hopkins. In addition to being a medical doctor, he is a full-stack software engineer and a machine learning enthusiast. Hon Weng is a 2016 “Forbes 30 under 30” recipient.

Professor Arnan Mitchell Director - ARC Centre of Excellence for Optical Microcombs for Breakthrough Science (COMBS)

Professor Arnan Mitchell is a Distinguished Professor in the School of Engineering at RMIT University, Director of the RMIT Micro Nano Research Facility (MNRF) and is Director of the recently Announced ARC Centre of Excellence for Optical Microcombs for Breakthrough Science (COMBS). He has published more than 700 research papers including publications in Science, Nature, Nature Medicine and Nature Photonics among many others. He is a senior member of the IEEE, SPIE and is a Fellow of Optica. He is a highly multidisciplinary researcher working in micro-chip technologies combining light, sound, fluids and electronics with applications spanning radar systems for defense, high speed fiber optic communications and point of care diagnostic systems for biomedicine. He is enthusiastic about translating technology into the hands of end-users and has dedicated much of his career to building and training diverse teams and comprehensive micro and nanotechnology infrastructure to enable breakthrough discoveries to achieve real world impact.

Olga Hogan Senior Director -Breakthrough Victoria

Originally from Estonia, Olga has lived in Australia for the past 15 years.
Since completing her PhD in Chemistry at the University of Oxford and qualifying as a chartered accountant, Olga has worked at the intersection of research, innovation, and investment. During her career, Olga also co-founded a predictive analytics start-up and has supported many founders as a startup mentor and advisor.

Currently, Olga is a Senior Director at Breakthrough Victoria, where she is responsible for establishing co-investment funds with nine universities under the University Innovation Platform, a $100 million commitment to early-stage research translation startups.

Olga is an Adjunct Associate Professor at Deakin University’s Institute for Health Transformation and a non-executive director of a residential aged care organisation.

Laura Bellino -Engineering Manager at SEEK

Laura is a highly accomplished Engineering Manager at SEEK, based in Melbourne. With a strong focus on delivery, she has applied lean and agile methodologies when leading various software engineering teams. Laura has been instrumental in driving key projects and initiatives at SEEK. Her expertise in business operations paired with her curious mindset, allows her to seamlessly connect technical teams with business stakeholders, ensuring successful project outcomes. She is passionate about leveraging technology to solve complex challenges and is constantly seeking innovative ways to improve processes and deliver value to both internal and external customers.

This event will be moderated by:

Gretchen Scott
Founder and CEO, Kaleida
Committee Member, The Churchill Club