Research and Innovation Events
Registrations now open for Research & Innovation Week (7-11 Sept 2026)
Find out more
Upcoming events
Research and Innovation Convo (monthly)
Research and Innovation Convo at Monash Health is a monthly event that aims to bring external national and international KOLs, entrepreneurs and investors to Monash Health engaging in conversations with our clinicians, researchers, sharing insights and expertise on healthcare innovation.
These sessions also provide attendees the opportunity to visit Monash Health flagship facilities including Monash Children’s Hospital, the Victorian Heart Hospital, Monash Children’s Hospital and our precincts partners including Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation and Monash University, Clinical Sciences at Monash Health.
This is an in-person and online event. Participants are welcome to join via Microsoft Teams if you are not able to make it in-person.
The next Innovation Convo
Date
Thursday 06 August 2026
Time
Arrival from 12:15 pm
Session: 12:30 to 1:30 pm
Venue
Monash Children’s Hospital, Lecture Theatre, Level 5, Clayton
Theme: Culture of Innovation
- What distinguishes an “innovative” health system from a reactive one: mindset, leadership behaviors, and tolerance for ambiguity.
- How leadership sets the tone: psychological safety, permission to experiment, and accountability for outcomes.
- Governance models that enable innovation without compromising safety or compliance (e.g., adaptive regulatory pathways, innovation sandboxes).
- Embedding innovation roles within clinical teams (e.g., clinician–innovators, digital champions).
Panellists:
- Stuart Elliot, CEO & Co-Founder, Planet Innovation
- Angela Luttick, EVP 360, Commercial, BioLabs
- Assoc Prof Alicia James, Operations Director Allied Health, Monash Health
- Prof Nick Freezer, Monash Children Hospital, Global Lead, Monash Health
- Vinayak Smith, Head of New Ventures, Virtus Health
Moderator: Assoc Prof Tam Nguyen, Director Research & Innovation
We look forward to seeing you and would appreciate it if you could accept the invitation RSVP if you are able to attend. Thank you.
Sign up: Please register via this Registration Form.
Research and Innovation Week 2026
Five days. Dozens of speakers. One precinct-wide celebration of the research and innovation happening right across Monash Health.
Research and Innovation Week (RIW) is back this September, and the program is now locked in — from neonatal research to AI in radiology, from bedside nursing innovation to a public conversation on AI and big data in health.
Whether you work in a lab, a ward, a clinic or a corporate team, this week is designed for you!
Why we run Research and Innovation Week
The week has 4 clear goals.
- Celebrate the research and innovation achievements across our precinct.
- Share opportunities to grow research and innovation, including new platforms and technologies.
- Showcase our research strengths to our executive, board, partners, government, industry and community.
- Engage with key government stakeholders about potential opportunities.
What’s on, day by day
Monday 7 September — Women’s & Newborn, Mental Health, and Innovation Showcase
The week opens with a Women’s & Newborn session chaired by Professor Ryan Hodges, Program Director for the Women’s and Newborn Program and Director of Maternity Services, covering topics from fetal movement tracking to the new Women’s Stroke Clinic, followed by a Mental Health session chaired by Professor Megan Galbally, Program Director of Mental Health.
The afternoon features the Homegrown Innovation Showcase — 9 short talks spanning everything from the Protect Me trial for fetal growth restriction to Australia’s first dedicated Psychiatric Genetic Counselling Service — plus Emerging Researchers panel discussion.
The day closes with the official launch, with a panel discussion on AI & Big Data.
Tuesday 8 September — Children’s Program
A dedicated program for paediatric research, running across 2 sessions at Monash Children’s Hospital.
The first session covers newborn topics, including portable neuroimaging for infant follow-up, microbial composition in early life and safe feeding for preterm infants.
The second session of the children’s program covers topics such as optimising healthcare experiences for neurodivergent children with complex needs, innovations in sleep diagnostics, and simulation-based education, and closes with a demonstration by the Simulation Centre team over lunch.
Wednesday 9 September — Challenges of Being First, Nursing & Midwifery, and a Public Panel
The general program opens with ‘Challenges of Being First’, which covers cell therapies, circulating tumour DNA in pancreatic cancer, first-in-human trials, device trials and biobanking and is chaired by Associate Professor Zee Wan Wong, Director of the Oncology Unit.
A practical workshop on Intellectual Property & Patents for health researchers follows.
Running in parallel, the Nursing and Midwifery program offers a workshop, ‘Start Small: Unlocking the Research Process,’ and a symposium on redesigning clinical practice.
In the evening, the community is invited to a public panel event, ‘A Community Conversation: AI, Big Data and Health’, moderated by multi-award-winning health and science reporter Tegan Taylor, followed by a networking opportunity.
Thursday 10 September — Surgery at Victorian Heart Hospital, and Allied Health
The Surgery program at Victorian Heart Hospital showcases innovations including the Da Vinci robot, a novel photoactivated liquid embolic agent and the Cleft & Craniofacial Unit, followed by a Fundamental Services & Innovation Supporters session covering Pathology, Radiology AI, Library & Knowledge Services, Pharmacy and more.
After lunch, there will be a MedTech Innovation in Healthcare Pitch Competition organised by Monash Institute of Medical Engineering and Monash Health Innovation.
The Allied Health program runs exclusively online with a full afternoon of presentations based on Monash Health’s 3 accelerators: Care beyond the hospital, Tomorrow’s care today, and Joy in work.
Friday 11 September — Golden Years
The week closes with ‘Golden Years’, a session dedicated to healthy ageing — covering memory, social connection, nutrition, mobility, medication management, and the day-to-day needs of people receiving government-funded home care.
Get involved
Sessions run in a hybrid format across most days, so you can join in person or online, no matter where you’re based across the precinct.
Register now to secure your spot, whether for sessions tied directly to your role or one that simply caught your interest.
Past events
International Clinical Trials Day 2026
Date
Wednesday 20 May 2026
Time
4:00 to 5:30pm
Venue
Lecture Theatre 1, Monash Medical Centre, Clayton
Celebrating ‘International Clinical Trials Day: A conversation with our participants on their experience’
Join us for an important panel discussion with our clinical trial participants, Principal Investigator and Research Coordinator on participant’s experience of being on a trial at Monash Health.
This session aims to provide an opportunity for participants to share their experience/thoughts on issues such as how they came to know about clinical trials, what information they would like the public and health service to know about the experience of trials participants, what was positive for them going on a trial and if they have a message for the health service about conducting trials what would that be, amongst other topics.
Moderator: A/Prof Tam Nguyen, Director, Research and Innovation
Sign up: Register by completing the International Clinical Trials Day Registration Form
Takeaways from Past Research & Innovation Convos 2026
05 February Convo – The Year Ahead for Healthcare & Life Sciences Innovation
- Australia has a world-class healthcare system but faces growing demand from an ageing population
- Monash Health is driving innovation to become a leading neurology centre in Asia-Pacific
- Early-stage industry collaboration is key to validating technologies and enabling startup success
- AI and big data are critical tools for improving decision-making in neurology and patient care
05 March Convo – The “How” of innovation
- Innovation succeeds at the intersection of value, impact, and efficiency
- Resilience, an entrepreneurial mindset, and cross-industry learning drive outcomes
- Innovation must be designed for broad adoption and equity. Implementation is critical, especially in areas such as pregnancy care where costs rise without improved outcomes
- The true measure of innovation is impact — clinical, economic, and system-wide, with adoption, implementation, and mindset as critical as the breakthrough
- Learning from failure is as important as celebrating success
02 April Convo – The “When” of innovation
- Healthcare innovation depends on stronger collaboration across clinicians, researchers, industry, and health services
- Innovation must start with a clearly defined patient need and system problem
- Successful translation requires readiness, governance, culture, and clear implementation pathways
- Knowing when not to innovate is as important as knowing when to move forward
- Real impact comes from designing innovation for scale, sustainability, and equity — not just novelty
04 May Convo – Who/People
- Patient and family voices improve care, helping detect deterioration earlier, build trust, and support better clinical decisions.
- Clinician engagement drives adoption, ensuring innovation improves workflows, care, safety, and efficiency.
- Cross-sector partnerships accelerate innovation, bringing together healthcare, academia, industry, startups, and regulators.
- Meaningful engagement is essential, involving consumers and healthcare professionals in designing and implementing change.
- Strong culture and leadership enable success, fostering listening, trust, collaboration, and psychological safety.
04 June Convo – Innovation Partnership
- Partnerships achieve more together. Strong collaborations are built on trust, shared goals, long-term commitment, and a clear vision.
- Healthcare is increasingly collaborative. Connected partnerships across health services, industry, academia, government, consumers, and investors are essential.
- Research should solve real-world problems. Co-develop solutions with clinicians, patients, and industry to address unmet needs.
- Learn from global best practice. International collaboration and broader research networks can strengthen Australia’s research ecosystem.
- Strong site networks and CRO partnerships drive sustainability. They improve trial delivery, research capacity, and long-term value.
- Foster a strong innovation ecosystem. Collaboration across stakeholders supports continuous innovation and better patient outcomes.
02 July Convo – Special Edition: International Engagement
- Strengthen global partnerships to improve patient care.
- Invest in education, training, and workforce development.
- Position Victoria as a leader in healthcare innovation and research.
- Expand international collaborations through research, AI, and exchange programs.
- Accelerate research translation through global partnerships.
- Deepen engagement with Asia, particularly Southeast Asia.
- Build trusted, long-term partnerships based on shared goals.
- Use digital technologies to enable global collaboration.
- Work together to achieve greater impact for patients and healthcare systems.