NSW Monthly Wrap Up - April 2025
Welcome to the April 2025 wrap-up from your NSW branch, highlighting the key activities and events that brought our community together and showcasing our shared achievements and memorable moments.
Western Sydney University Student Awards
On Monday 31 March, a contingent from the NSW Branch including Cindy Chung and Arun Kannan from BEC and Elana Huthnance and Tom Grogan from NSW team attended the WSU Student Awards celebrating the 2023 academic year.
The ACS Professional Practice & Ethics Awards was presented by Cindy to Janhavi Shinde, who coincidentally is an active ACS Student Member, WSU ambassador and member of the NSW Emerging Professionals sub-committee.
It was an opportunity to also meet the new Dean of the School of Computer, Data and Mathematical Sciences, Prof Kurt Langfeld who recently joined WSU from the University of Leeds.
Career Toolkit Series: How to network your way to success!
ACS held the March edition of the monthly online Career Toolkit Series tailored to our Supported Student Membership, graduate and emerging professional members which featured Beau Tydd, Immediate Past Chair of the QLD BEC and Noah Picini, Committee Member of the ACS NSW EPC, hosted by Alannah Grech, Partner Success Manager – Communities.
Despite technical issues, the webinar had over 130 live attendees on the night who were able to gain some great insights into networking from two different perspectives, walk away with networking tips they can use at their next ACS event, and ask a great range of questions on the night. Thank you to Noah and Beau for their time in supporting our student members and helping make the most of upcoming ACS networking events.
This event was recorded and will be available to members to watch back in the coming weeks. If you are interested in knowing more about the series and possibly presenting in the future, please reach out to alannah.grech@acs.org.au for more details!
ACS hosts industry leaders for Sydney Election Forum
ACS convened tech industry leaders for an Election Forum to discuss key ICT issues that any incoming government in 2025 must prioritise to boost productivity. Over 30 peak bodies in the tech policy ecosystem came together in the Sydney Hub for an evening to discuss building a unified skills framework and overcoming barriers to commercialisation.
The purpose of this event was to gather evidence from across the ICT landscape and build consensus for shared policy advocacy on the workforce and wider tech sector. Stay tuned for a more in-depth breakdown of the discussion in the coming weeks.
ACS CEO Josh Griggs and President Helen McHugh thanked the esteemed guests for their involvement in the event and their insights, stressing the importance of a united approach to policy creation, regulation and moderation on the future of Australia’s workforce.
Speaking on developing a new skills landscape for tech professionals in Australia was Patrick Kidd OBE OAM (CEO of the Future Skills Organisation), Melinda Cilento (CEO of the CEDA - Committee for Economic Development of Australia), Steven Worrall (Managing Director of Microsoft ANZ), Cherie Diaz (Executive Director of Education Innovation at Western Sydney University), Jenny Raad (Business Director with Hays Technology Solutions), and Scarlett McDermott (Board Dember of the Australian Information Security Association (AISA).
Additionally, Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte, (NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer), Jane O'Dwyer (CEO of Cooperative Research Australia), Professor Roy Green (Special Innovation Advisor at the University of Technology Sydney), Phil Morle (Partner at Main Sequence), Mic Black (Co-Founder of Rainstick), Charlie Ill (CEO of Investible) also spoke about breaking down barriers to commercialising Aussie IP.
Deputy Prime Minister meets with ACS executives
ACS was again honoured to host the Hon Richard Marles MP - Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence at a networking roundtable discussion held in Melbourne last Friday.
Hosted by our CEO Josh Griggs and CGO Genevieve Reid the discussion centred on AI, data centres, secure sovereign storage of AUS IP and skill migration.
We would also like to thank our partners Brookline Partners for their support in organising this event and acknowledge Ms Alice Jordon-Baird - Candidate for Gorton for her attendance.
ACS looks forward to continuing to work closely with the Deputy Prime Minister and we thank him for his leadership in Defence and his active interest in the work ACS is doing in this crucial space.
NSW Branch Forum explores data centre opportunities
The NSW Branch hosted a thought-provoking panel discussion focused on Australia’s digital transformation and the vital role that data centres play in enabling it. The event brought together expert voices Belinda Barron NEXTDC, Leon Jong Microsoft, Rajarshi Roy Mandala and Stefan Sadokierski Arup, who shared their insights into the evolving landscape of data centre infrastructure and the exciting career opportunities emerging in this high-growth sector.
One of the key themes explored was the diversity of roles being created as the industry expands—from engineering and cybersecurity to sustainability management and operations. The conversation underscored how this growth isn’t just about technology—it’s about people, skills, and the future of work.
The session left ACS members with a deeper appreciation of how data centres underpin the digital economy and highlighted the vast potential for innovation, investment, and meaningful careers in the field.
Home Affairs Minister visits Sydney Hub
ACS was thrilled to welcome to our Sydney Tech Hub the Hon Tony Burke MP - Minister for Home Affairs and Leader of the House.
Hosted by our government relations team lead by Director Troy Steer and assisted by Head of Government Relations Hugh Eriksson, the discussion centred around foreign affairs, the upcoming election, cyber and AI and general conversation from one of the most senior Ministers in government.
ACS is truly grateful for the engagement from Minister Burke and sharing his vast experience with ACS.
We look forward to continuing the very busy program of government relations up to and beyond the next election.
NSW branch runs regional events
On 9 and 10 April, Helen Warner, Head of Partnerships, and Elana Huthnance, NSW State Manager, headed to Armidale for member outreach activities.
They were invited to visit Professional Partnership Program (PPP) partner, ICT International, which is a local owner-driven small business over 40 years old, ICT International looks at utilising plant, soil and environmental science to provide monitoring solutions for commercial agriculture and scientific research.
ACS partnered with UNE SMART Region Incubator to provide a networking and discovery evening (pictured). There were a number of ACS members (and potential members) who gathered to discuss skills strengths and gaps in the region as well as future needs to drive growth and competitiveness.
The visit was rounded out by engagement with several academics at UNE across the Faculty of Science, Agriculture, Business and Law. The Uni was extremely interested in further engagement and partnership with ACS.
ACS NSW Branch Event – Explore ACS products & services to launch your tech career
On Tuesday 29 April, ACS NSW Branch was pleased to welcome UTS Tech Society members to Sydney Hub – to learn more about how ACS products and services can support students professional learning and development, after successful promotion of the supported student membership offer at Orientation Day and across student comms channels earlier this year.
Supporting the event, to demonstrate the capabilities of ACS products and services, with live Demos of mySFIA and ACS Learning Accelerator, was ACS NSW Emerging Professional Committee (EPC) Advisors – Darin Morris and Teresa Wong.
This was followed by Robert Estherby (NSW BEC & EPC Advisor) sharing some key moments in his 17-year ACS membership journey from joining as a student and landing an internship role after networking at his first event; to setting up the NSW Young IT Committee; to landing a pay rise using ACS report publications; to leadership growth as an elected board member on NSW Branch Executive Committee (BEC) – demonstrating the opportunities ACS can provide as you progress from student to emerging professional to professional.
As we conclude this month’s review, we extend a formal invitation for you to engage more deeply with our upcoming events and community initiatives. As a valued member, your presence enriches our gatherings, fostering a sense of unity and purpose. We also recognise the expertise you bring, and we encourage you to share your knowledge and insights to contribute to the growth and success of our community. Your involvement is crucial in shaping the future of our branch, and we look forward to your continued participation in the months ahead.
Explore our upcoming events here.
ACS New South Wales Team
Elana Huthnance, NSW State Manager
Cindy Chung, NSW BEC Chair