Senior Coordinator Engagement, SensiLab
A creative tech research lab whose work ‘explores the untapped potential of technology, its impacts on society and the possibilities it presents’.
In 2017–2020, I served as the inaugural Senior Coordinator (Engagement), a role created to develop and lead the lab’s first dedicated strategy for external engagement, public programmes and industry partnerships, and to open up conversations about technology, art‑science practice and societal impact with a diverse range of audiences.
In this role I conceived, designed and delivered a unique programme of activities that built on SensiLab’s transdisciplinary research, bringing together artists, technologists, designers, researchers and publics in events, workshops, talks and collaborative experiences. Rather than presenting research as fixed outputs, I framed engagement around process, exploration and co‑creation, enabling participants to encounter technology in ways that were sensory, playful and reflective — and that revealed the lab’s ethos that “new thinking emerges from diversity, genuine collaboration, and an openness to the unexpected.” This opened up new research and collaboration opportunities for work in creative technologies, interactive media and media art.
Developing networks and relationships
A core focus of my work was building relational infrastructure across the lab and beyond. Academics and researchers came from varied disciplinary backgrounds and had limited experience with formal public engagement; I invested time in understanding their perspectives, working to align their research priorities with engagement concepts and methods that could translate across contexts.
I used this approach to bring the academics on board and to build successful and sustainable relationships with the creative sector, including collaborations with Experimenta, Grumpy Sailor, ACMI, Ars Electronica, and many others. One collaboration that opened up further relationships was Big Earth Listening for MPavilion. Part science experiment, part art project, it turned the sounds of the earth around the 2018 pavilion into an immersive listening and virtual reality experience. It also provided a well respected, central Melbourne location for the lab to connect with people and organisations - many of whom subsequently became collaborators.
Developing community-led research and engagement
The Inclusive Technologies research group had previously been a part of the SensiLab team, but were in the process of growing into their own research group. Highly connected to the communities they aimed to serve, the group continues to carry out high impact research that can change the lives of those who identify as disabled. I worked with the group to embed community engagement activities into their regular work.
This enabled more in-depth two way engagement that influenced perceptions of disability, and ensured the disability community informed the way research is carried out. This ensures it continues to have meaningful impact. Activities such carrying out research as public engagement for National Science Week, and delivering fully inclusive maker workshops, promoted vitally important conversations and helped to change perceptions of disability.
Delivering SensiLab’s inaugural engagement programme required strategic vision, relational leadership, and creative programme design that went beyond conventional public engagement. By embedding collaboration, co‑creation and reflective practice into every aspect of the season, I enabled the lab to operate as an engaged research environment, where research questions, artistic practice, and public participation were mutually informing. My approach combined cross‑disciplinary facilitation, stakeholder negotiation, and participatory programme development to create spaces where researchers, artists, and publics could explore emerging technologies together, generating insights that enriched both the research and the engagement outcomes. This model demonstrated the value of transdisciplinary collaboration: it fostered richer, more socially grounded research, supported new partnerships across cultural and academic sectors, and positioned SensiLab as a hub where experimentation, reflection, and societal relevance are integral to the production of knowledge.