Visionary leadership can drive transformational change across an entire sector. Visionary leaders inspire, empower, enthuse and respect. They work with you to make change happen. This is what the Industry Mentoring Network in STEM (IMNIS) is all about!

With a shared sense of purpose and desire for change, leaders across Australia’s industry and academic STEM sectors joined forces to foster a culture of innovation and collaboration through mentoring. The goal is to develop a new generation of industry-savvy PhD graduates who can engage with industry, kick-start collaborations, understand their career options, network and transition with confidence across professional sectors.

This event celebrates their vision, their leadership, their drive and importantly, their bold commitment to the professional development of tomorrow’s STEM leaders and to creating a better future for all of us.

A light breakfast will be served as registrations open at 7:30 am Friday, 31 August at KPMG. The event will conclude at 9:30 am. We will have a professional photographer on-site, so be sure to get a pic with our speakers and your colleagues. For catering purposes, please RSVP by registering as soon as possible. Please indicate if you have any dietary requirements.

ATSE gratefully acknowledges funding and tremendous support for IMNIS from the industry growth centres MTPConnect, METS Ignited and NERA, consortium partners AusBiotech and Mentorloop, as well as sponsors CSL, KPMG and Bellberry. IMNIS thanks all of our member organisations, partners, sponsors and supporters for their collaboration and support. These organisations demonstrate visionary leadership in developing Australia's next generation of STEM leaders.

Keynote Speaker:

Dr Tony Radford AO FTSE is a senior biotech executive with over 30 years experience in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. He obtained a PhD from La Trobe University, and then joined CSIRO for 8 years. As a member of the CSIRO research team that invented the QuantiFERON method for Cellular Immune based diagnostics, he received the CSIRO medal of Research Achievement. In 1993 he joined the pharma development company AMRAD, later acquired by CSL, initially managing external research projects, then as head of development managing both pre-clinical and clinical research teams. In 2000, he co-founded Cellestis Limited. Cellestis listed on the ASX, and developed more accurate and user-friendly tests that made QuantiFERON the gold standard worldwide for diagnosis of tuberculosis infection. Cellestis trialed these products extensively, and registered and sold products in every major world market. The company had offices in the USA, Germany, and Japan, with staff in many more countries. Dr Radford was Cellestis CEO from founding until its acquisition by QIAGEN NV in 2011 for $400m. For his contributions to tuberculosis diagnosis and enterprise he has received the Clunies-Ross Award for application of technology, and is a Distinguished Alumni of La Trobe University. He was awarded the Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2016. He is a founding director of the IMNIS initiative, and director of the Radford Foundation, a philanthropic trust. Dr Radford is a non-executive director of Nucleus Networks (2013- ) and Genetic Signatures (2015-) and an active adviser and investor in many other biotech/medtech companies. Dr Radford is a co-founder of IMNIS and was appointed to the IMNIS Expert Advisory Panel in 2017.