When Rona Puntawe applied to host a GRADS event this year, she was hoping to support interdisciplinary collaboration on how to best work with the uncertainties of the future – an increasingly important skill for today’s research professionals.
“Collaboration and networking opens you up to possibilities and opportunities you probably never thought about. A GRADS event connects us beyond our silos and reinvigorates us with fresh perspectives,” Rona said.
The Graduate Research Activities and Development Scheme (GRADS) provides funding that enables student-led events for Higher Degree by Research (HDR) students. Hosts create events on topics important to graduate researchers, which build skills and foster the sense of belonging across the research community.
Rona is a first year HDR student from the University of Sydney Business School in the discipline of Strategy, Innovation, and Technology.
Her PhD explores innovation and addresses societal challenges in emerging technologies. This interest inspired her to run a GRADS event in July called the Flourishing Futures Lab.
The two-day workshop used play, foresight, and imagination to support 20 HDR students to develop capabilities in futures thinking and foresight.
“Futures thinking or studies is about the ability to anticipate and use imagination to create diverse or different futures,” Rona said. “Foresight is putting that capacity to work: scanning for early signals of change, mapping how the past, present, and futures interact, and using that awareness to make decisions and choose actions.
“I believe futures and foresight is something that is useful for everyone, especially in navigating the uncertainties we are faced with as PhD researchers. It can give us agency over our relationship with the future and in making a positive difference.”
Rona added that her PhD topic was a fantastic opportunity to contribute, collaborate, and connect with the HDR community through the GRADS scheme. “I would encourage all HDR students to attend GRADS events to push beyond your comfort zone, grow skills and invest in their future.”
Shermon Cruz, UNESCO Chair in Anticipatory Governance at Northwestern University in the Philippines, facilitated the workshop using his award-winning Dreams and Disruptions game.
Rona said it was great to see attendees sharing their ideas with fellow PhDs from across the university. She said feedback from the event showed a 100 percent satisfaction rating, with participants saying they enjoyed the creativity of the workshop and gained new insights.
“It’s rewarding to make an impact with the HDR community by delivering something that helps in their development, personally, academically, and professionally.”
“Collaboration and networking opens you up to possibilities and opportunities you probably never thought about. A GRADS event connects us beyond our silos and reinvigorates us with fresh perspectives.”
Discover more learning and development opportunities for HDR students, including upcoming GRADS events, on the Graduate Research Hub.