The VIIN Emerging Leaders Committee is delighted to invite you to our third workshop for 2026!

“From Insight to Impact: The Power of Consumer Engagement in Research” will be held on Thursday 8 October from 10am – 12pm.

This online workshop is designed to provide researchers with practical insights into the importance and impact of meaningful consumer engagement. Speakers will explore consumer engagement from three perspectives — lived experience, academia, and industry — sharing examples, experiences and lessons from their own work.

Join us to hear three key perspectives on effective consumer engagement, including why consumer engagement matters and what meaningful involvement looks like from lived experience; how to embed consumer engagement throughout the research lifecycle and avoid common mistakes and tokenistic approaches in academia; and how consumer engagement can contribute to commercialisation, product development and adoption in industry. Presentations will be followed by a Q&A session with the audience.

Whether you are already working with consumers or are wondering how consumer engagement could apply to your current or future research, this workshop will provide insights on building meaningful connections and developing co-design skills. As consumer involvement becomes an increasingly important part of research design, the ability to engage with consumers meaningfully is a valuable skill for researchers at every career stage.

Register here by 5pm AEDT, Monday 5 October 2026 to receive webinar details.

Download the event flyer here.

Program and Speakers:

• Julie Norris, Lupus Voice Australia
  • Lived Experience: Why consumer engagement matters; how consumers want to be involved; examples of effective and ineffective engagement; and lessons from lived experience.
• A/Prof Karen Alt, Laboratory Head, Australian Centre for Blood Diseases & Chair, Community and Researcher Engagement (CaRE) Committee, School of Translational Medicine, Monash University
  • Academic perspective: How to embed consumer engagement throughout the research lifecycle; identifying appropriate consumers; avoiding common mistakes and tokenistic engagement; meaningful engagement approaches; and describing and evaluating engagement in grant applications and publications.
• A/Prof Kate Anderson, Vice Chancellor’s Principal Research Fellow, School of Computing Technologies, RMIT University
  • Industry perspective: The impact of consumer engagement on commercialisation; building long-term relationships with consumers; translating consumer feedback into product improvements; barriers to adoption; and demonstrating evidence valued by investors, industry partners and regulators.
• Q&A with panellists

Sponsors

Thank you to our 2026 Gold Sponsors, AGRF and Millennium Science/10X Genomics, for supporting this event!

If you would like the opportunity to promote your company to VIIN members, please contact the VIIN Project Officer at [email protected] to receive our 2026 Sponsorship Prospectus.

Sub-committee

Dr Sarah Ashley, Infection, Immunity and Global Health, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute

Dr Stella Liong, Centre for Respiratory Science and Health, School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University

Dr Myo Naung, Centre for Innovation in Infectious Disease and Immunology Research (CIIDIR), Deakin University

Dr Sampa Sarkar, School of Science, RMIT University