Researchers share pathways forward at VU ResFest 2025

Held at VU City Campus more than 260 people joined the festival, hearing from visiting keynote speakers, panellists and the research community at Victoria University (VU), who are all driving change in their fields of work. 

VU Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Impact Professor Andy Hill kicked off the festival, referencing Carl Sagan’s “Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known” – sharing pride in the “strength, diversity and purpose of VU’s research culture” – setting a tone of possibility that extended across the two-day event. 

History is about the future

Keynote speaker Dr Damion Thomas, Museum Curator of Sports for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC, explained that the idea for this Museum was first presented in 1915 and championed for almost a hundred years. Since opening in 2016, the Smithsonian Museum has welcomed 13 million visitors.  

Reflecting on his career, Dr Thomas said paradigm shift in his thinking happened on his first day at university, prompted by his first professor, the late Professor Gary Nash who said: “Whoever controls the present will use their power to control the past, in hopes of controlling the future.”  

It inspired Dr Thomas to become a historian: “History is about the power to define what matters…It provides models to emulate.”  

Following the keynote, a panel discussion including Melanie Taylor (Museum Specialist at the Smithsonian) and VU’s Dr Roshani Jayawardana and Associate Professor Matthew Klugman, unpacked how sport can provide an entry point to cultural conversations. They discussed parallels with First Nations rights movements and the struggle for Self-Determination and justice in Australia, and how museums can offer accessible tools to think about big topics. 

More day one highlights:

• Vice-Chancellor’s Research Fellows shared research work and their vision for the next 5 years in their respective fields. 
• By Community, For Community: First Nations Knowledge research showcase.
• Sport performance and injury prevention research showcase.
• The Great Debate: The gloves were off at our zinger-filled Great Debate which posed the question: Should Academics be Entertainers? Chatham House rules applied, but great points were made on both sides – and ultimately the ‘negative team’ won the audience vote. 

Collaboration helps everyone 

Western Health Chief Medical Officer Dr Abi Arulanandarajah opened the second day of the Festival, with a keynote that set the scene about the growing population, health inequalities and care needs in Melbourne’s west. 

Dr Arulanandarajah explained that clinicians and researchers don’t always speak the same language. 

“Clinicians talk about clinical risk: symptoms, care pathways; researchers talk about hypotheses, variables, peer reviews. And the patients ask: can you help me get better?"

She then shared what can happen when “brilliant clinicians and researchers collaborate and start doing something different. We start to imagine things that can shift to everyday reality.” 

Panellists Professor Phong Tran (Head of the Orthopaedic Department at Western Health), and VU’s Professor Clarice Tang, Professor Alex Parker and Associate Professor Khandakhar Ahmed joined Dr Arulanandarajah. They shared insights from the Waitlist initiative, which has created a collaborative network of supports and health interventions for patients who are waiting for orthopaedic surgery. 

This program is now part of patient care at Western Health and provides an urgent solution to managing people’s health while they are on the waiting list for surgery. 

More day two highlights:

• Health and science solutions for better health research showcase.
• Sustainable and liveable cities research showcase.
• Anti-racism research showcase.
• Education reform research showcase.
• Poster displays.

Closing the festival, Professor Hill thanked all attendees and contributors. 

A huge thank you to our researchers, students, industry partners, and community collaborators for making this festival a success. Together, we’re shaping knowledge that transforms lives and communities.”