Sydney Nano Retreat 2020

On 27 November 2020, Sydney Nano held its annual retreat at the University’s CBD Campus.

Sydney Nano Director, Prof Ben Eggleton welcomed all participants, followed by an outline about the importance of MDIs in general and Sydney Nano specifically for the University strategy by the PVC Research, Prof Laurent Rivory.

Prof Kathryn Refshauge, Chair of the Sydney Nano Y3 Review Panel, provided an overview about the findings of the panel. She highly commended Sydney Nano and the academic leadership team for the engagement across the whole University and the outcomes achieved by the institute in such a short time after its launch. 

Following the review, Prof Benjamin Eggleton introduced the Sydney Nano Network initiatives, how they align with the faculty strategies, and the roadmap to establish capability clusters in working groups and their subsequent transition into research networks. The Sydney NanoHealth Network has recently been launched and two additional scoping groups will kick off by the end of this year, followed by a third one in early 2021. 

The following breakout session focussed on the alignment of Sydney Nano activities with Faculty strategies. Deputy and Associate Deans representing Faculties of Science, Engineering, Medicine & Health and the Business School, as well as leadership from University portfolios, participated in group discussions focused on specific areas where Sydney Nano and the Faculties have synergies and can complement each other. Key areas of alignment across all faculties have been identified to enhance academic outcomes of research, coordinate academic development for key staff and the recruitment and retention of students and strategic hires. This session will be followed up by agreed joint actions of Sydney Nano and Faculty leaderships. 

During the afternoon, Sydney Nano Deputy Directors provided a review of the activities in 2020 and the action plans for 2021 in the portfolios.    Sydney Nano thanks everyone for their contributions and participation in the retreat. This was a highly enjoyable and constructive day. Sydney Nano appreciates the good will and positive energy that everyone brought to these sessions.