Can AI algorithms treat depression? Will climate migration fuel local innovation? Pull up a bar stool and quench your thirst for big ideas at Raising the Bar 2024, a night of 20 talks across 10 Sydney venues.
It’s not every day you walk into a bar and get to hear from climate tech, neurotech or aerospace experts trying to solve the world’s biggest problems over a beer.
But that’s the beauty of Raising the Bar, an evening that takes innovation-driven conversations out of lecture halls and meeting rooms and into buzzing inner-city bars.
On Tuesday, April 9, Raising the Bar will host 20 talks with Sydney’s top academics, thought leaders and entrepreneurs across 10 inner-Sydney bars in Surry Hills, Chippendale and Camperdown.
Supported by the City of Sydney in partnership with the University of Sydney, Raising the Bar is part of a global initiative that breaks down barriers to education and innovation through unique, accessible events in local venues.
The idea is to ‘raise the bar’ on what we consume in our daily lives. This year’s line-up hits that brief with a thought-provoking range of topics including climate change, emission-free aviation, sleep science, AI, food insecurity and the rising vape health crisis. Tickets are free, just be sure to book your spots here.
Startup Daily gave the program a squizz and found some of the best entrepreneurship, tech and impact talks to barhop between:
- Unleashing purposeful investment for a better world explores the changing world of sustainable investing with Vis Vythilingam, former KPMG consultant and co-founder of sustainability and responsible investment podcast, Greenfluence. Where’s the potential right now for purpose-driven capital – investing in people and planet – to generate long-term value? 6pm, Brix Distillers, Surry Hills
- Migrapreneurs can unlock a better future for all unpacks the concept of climate migration with Usman Iftikhar, CEO of award-winning startup incubator Catalysr, which empowers migrant and refugee entrepreneurs to launch their ventures. How will people, forced to leave their homes by climate change, take part in our knowledge economy of the future? 6pm, Soultrap, Surry Hills
- Can your health be programmed like an app? casts an eye on the emerging technologies of apps, trackers and personal gadgets measuring our health data. Three-time startup founder Pete Field, co-founder of neurophysiology tech company Affectable Labs, asks if tech-driven personalised healthcare can solve some of our toughest health challenges – and get us a better night’s sleep. Field’s lifelong struggle with insomnia, and his background as a software engineer at data61/CSIRO, bring a unique perspective. 8pm, The Abercrombie, Chippendale
Raising the Bar speakers Vis Vythilingam, Jenny Chung and Meru Sheel. Images: Supplied.
- How tickets for good is evolving capitalism is one you’ll want to check out if you’ve ever booked a ticket through Humanitix. Jenny Chung, Chief of Staff at Humanitix, will explain how they’ve built the only ticketing platform that dedicates all profits to charity. Discover how their hybrid business model operates and how to effectively scale competitive enterprises that prioritise purpose. 8pm, Clare Bar, Chippendale
- Biology and engineering meet to build a sustainable world looks into how we can use biology and technology to change manufacturing models in Australia to help developing communities with intractable environmental and socio-economic issues. Hear from bioengineer, microbiologist and agtech entrepreneur Saron Berhane, founder of global biosecurity startup BioScout, about her own experiences working in Ghana and making change through deep tech. 8pm, Hotel Harry, Surry Hills
- How the disease detective stops outbreaks in their tracks delves into how infectious diseases work and what clues are used to investigate their spread. Associate Professor Meru Sheel became a ‘disease detective’ after growing up in India and seeing firsthand the heavy toll diseases such as polio and tuberculosis take. Now, the infectious diseases epidemiologist and vaccinologist analyses patterns of infectious outbreaks like COVID-19, and is an adviser to the World Health Organisation. Sheel will look at global inequity and how we can build systems to ensure everyone has access to health. 8pm, Soultrap, Surry Hills
- Neurons and networks: New ways to treat neurological diseases (and a wobbly cat) explores the latest electrical and viral neurological disease treatments. Neuroscientists Dr Collin Anderson and Dr Daria Anderson will share how they’re addressing movement disorders, epilepsy and Tourette syndrome through pioneering therapies. Hear how their cat Phineas, who was born with a wobbly stance, sparked a global dialogue on rare neurological diseases. 8pm, Fortress Sydney, Chippendale
Other talks cover the latest research on topics as diverse as dark matter, gender and sexuality at school and the benefits of pets on public transport.
Book your free tickets now for Raising the Bar 2024, one night only on Tuesday April 9, from 6pm in venues across inner Sydney.
This article is brought to you by Startup Daily in partnership with City of Sydney.
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