Environment Institute Celebrates 25 Years of Science Meets Parliament

The Environment Institute attend and celebrate 25 years of @Science & Technology Australia Science Meets Parliament Event 2025, in Canberra. This annual event builds collaboration and connections between the science, technology, engineering, and the mathematics sector and the nation's policy makers. SMP allows for policy makers to effectively engage with the STEM experts to lead to stronger information backing the policy work created.

Our EI members had a great time attending the event this year. Some even saying:

“I was able to meet with a member of parliament – I now realise how accessible they are”

“Now I finally understand how parliament actually works”

“SMP has given me better insight into how science and research link in with parliament and policy” 

It was a fantastic event to be able to attend with our peers. Attendees enjoyed their time listening to sessions from other high-level advisors, including Ed Husic Minister for Industry and Science, who discussed and focused on the current science priorities.

Our Director Professor Andy Lowe had the opportunity to present as a Partner Speaker. In partnership with Dr Brianna Le Busque from University of South Australia, they presented "Pitch perfect: How to talk about your science with confidence" focusing on how to effectively communicate the world of complex science jargon to grab the attention of policymakers, the public, and the media.

This session provided viewers the understanding to create pitches and breakdown significant and complex ideas, into digestible and bite-sized material with simple but powerful messages. Further, they explored how to maintain relationships with journalists and producers, understand the media cycle, and create an exceptional news story.

We would like to thank all those who attended, a large contingent from UoA, including colleagues from IPAS and AIML. EI supported the following members below to attend:

• Doug Bardsley, ABLE
• Phill Cassey, SET
• Marina Delpin, EI
• Erinn Fagan-Jeffries, SET
• Ania Kotarba, ABLE & EI Future Making Fellow
• Andrew Lowe, EI
• Dominic McAfee, SET & EI Future Making Fellow
• Nina Wootton, SET