Your guide to picking the right Raising the Bar talk for you
Calling all curious minds and lifelong learners: we’re taking education out of the lecture theatre and bringing it to a venue near you. On 4 April, 30 of Sydney’s top researchers and entrepreneurs are giving free talks in bars, breweries and live music spots across the inner city.
We’ve partnered with the City of Sydney to bring you big ideas, in 30 minutes, over your favourite drink. From architecture to robotics, film production to new therapeutics, a Raising the Bar talk makes for a great brain date. Each of the 15 venues will host two talks on the night, at 6pm and 8pm.
You can’t be everywhere, so we’ve put together a guide to help you make your pick.
Collagen: Shelf supplement or life-saving medicine?
Dr Jingjing You at The Abercrombie, Casa Rosa in Chippendale at 6pm
Collagen is an ingredient we tend to see a lot in supermarket supplements. It promises healthy skin, nails and hair. But how much do you really know about collagen?
Head to Casa Rosa in Chippendale to learn how a clever protein can go from supplement bottles to building our bodies. Jing will explain what role collagen might play in wound healing and how it may replace donor tissue in the future.
“If you are taking a collagen product, or are uncertain about collagen commercials on TV, you should come along to learn what collagen really is,” said Jing.
What can electronics do for my brain?
Associate Professor Omid Kavehei at SHADES near Central Station at 6pm
When medications fail, electronic therapeutics can be an effective way to treat Parkinson’s and severe epilepsy.
However, the brain is also extremely complex: it has 100 billion neurons and approximately 1,000 trillion synapses. Interacting with such a complex organ using wearables or implants is astonishingly difficult.
Come along to hear Omid explain brain-machine interfacing technology. You’ll walk away with the knowledge that electroceuticals are changing how we understand the brain, human communication and even ways to treat disease.
Finding your climate superpower
Arielle Gamble at SHADES near Central Station at 8pm
When we think of climate action, leaders such as Greta Thunberg and street protests come to mind. These figures tend to make headlines, but the quiet collective work of the climate movement is more diverse and innovative than you may realise.
After Omid’s talk, stick around at SHADES to learn more about our country’s growing ecosystem of climate action, from community organising, to strategic litigation, to shareholder lobbying.
Arielle will inspire you to think about how we can exponentially magnify our impact by working together.
Ethical hacker reveals cybercrime secrets
Martin Boyd at Camperdown’s Wayward Brewery at 6pm
Recent cyber-attacks have brought new attention to the importance of online security. We have locks on our doors, but some of our most valuable assets, from personal data to our savings, are stored on unprotected computers and cloud systems.
Martin, who learnt how to code and hack at 14, introduces us to cyber security. He explains how cyber-attacks happen and the big ways they can impact our lives.
You’ll leave with 3 things you can do today to keep your data safe.
Feel, hear and smell architecture before it’s built
Dr Anastasia Globa at Camperdown’s Wayward Brewery at 8pm
Virtual Reality (VR) technology has the power to help us imagine what architecturally designed spaces might look like, but have we unlocked the full potential of VR technology?
Join Anastasia, who will explore how we can have life-like encounters with spaces before they are built, using lighting, sound, temperature, weather, texture – and even smell.
Tickets
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