Keynote speakers

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  Prof Larry Leifer

  Professor of Mechanical Engineering Design, Stanford University

  Speaking Topic: Dancing with Ambiguity: Embracing the Tension between Divergent and Convergent thinking in Systems Engineering

  Biography & Abstract

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  Larry Leifer is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering Design and the founding Director of the Center for Design Research and Hasso Plattner Design Thinking Research Program at Stanford, (d.research) at Stanford University. He is also the Director of Stanford Industry Affiliate Program in Design and member of Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford, (d.school). As a Stanford faculty member since 1976, he develops and instructs the ME310 course –Project-Based Engineering Design, Innovation, and Development. His design thinking research covers design-team research methodology, global team dynamics, innovation leadership, interaction design, design-for-wellbeing, and adaptive mechatronic systems.

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  Craig Lucas

  Acting Director of Science and Innovation
  Department of Energy and Climate Change

  Speaking Topic: Energy: The System’s The Thing

  Biography & Abstract

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  Craig Lucas is Acting Director of Science and Innovation for the Department of Energy and Climate Change. The role includes leadership of the department’s energy innovation programme, management of the central team of engineers and scientists providing support to all DECC programmes, development of the policy framework for energy sector innovation, and oversight of the department’s science and innovation budgets and contracts. He also represents DECC on the board of the Energy Technologies Institute.
  Craig is a chartered electrical engineer by profession, and prior to joining DECC he has over 20 years’ experience, mostly in the energy industry, but also in rail and telecoms sectors. He has worked for large organisations (including London Underground, EDF Energy and Mott MacDonald) and SMEs, and has been involved management of several startup businesses. He also has a range of experience in energy consultancy for funding agencies, regulators and governments, in Europe, the Americas and Africa. He holds a first degree from the University of Sheffield, a Masters from the University of Strathclyde, and a post graduate qualification in telecommunications network engineering from a Brazilian University.
  He is a Fellow of the IET, and a member of their Energy Policy Panel. He is also a Non-Executive Director of Shaftesbury Partnership, an innovative social ventures business.

  John is a Chartered Engineer, graduating in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College, London, where he also spent five years in computational fluid dynamics research. He is Past-President of the UK’s Institution of Engineering and Technology, Fellow of both the UK and Australian national Academies of Engineering, Professor of Engineering at Cardiff University and Fellow of Queen Mary University of London.

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  Julie Alexander

  Director for Urban Development, Siemens

  Speaking Topic: The Future Belongs to Innovators

  Biography & Abstract

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  Based in the Crystal in London (http://www.thecrystal.org/), the world’s largest exhibition on urban sustainability and Siemens Centre of Competence for Global cities, Julie is a Director for Urban Development for the Infrastructure and Cities sector. With her global remit working with cities around the world, she is responsible for engaging with cities to showcase the role of infrastructure and integrated technological solutions in urban development. Particular areas of specialism include the financing and funding of urban infrastructure through the use of innovate mechanisms and value capture. On this topic, Julie recently co-authored a report entitled ‘Investor Ready Cities’ in conjunction with PwC and BLP Law.

  Julie now has the role of shaping Siemens approach to Smart Cities in the UK in conjunction with the global Siemens businesses. To enable and promote knowledge transfer, Julie works with the Siemens business on the benefit of digitalization in the city, in areas such as smart grid and energy management, intelligent transport systems and Industry 4.0. Julie represents Siemens on the UK Smart Cities Forum and the UK All Party Parliamentary Group for Smart Cities.
  Other recent projects include working with some of the world’s most innovative cities including Tel Aviv, New York and Ho Chi Minh City – both developing and developed cities seeking to enhance their global presence through the use of technology and innovation, and developing proposals for bringing manufacturing back into the city for the purposes of urban development and job creation.

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  Kevin Robinson

  Group Leader, DSTO

  Speaking Topic: Improving conceptual design - Opportunities for model-based methodologies

  Biography & Abstract

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  Kevin Robinson graduated from Cranfield University (UK) in 1992 with an MSc in Control Systems Design and completed an MSc in Advanced Systems Engineering (Guided Weapons) with Loughborough University (UK) in 2004. He held a variety of UK defence positions before 2005 when he joined the Australian Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO), where he became the Science and Technology advisor for the JASSM acquisition programme and undertook research on model-based systems engineering (MBSE). Kevin has also been an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at The University of South Australia since 2012.
  Kevin has influenced and contributed to the model-based systems engineering domain through his research interests and the establishment and leadership of INCOSE’s model-based conceptual design working group (MBCD WG).

  Kevin Robinson began working in Defence Science and Technology after graduating from Cranfield University (UK) in 1992 with an MSc in Control Systems Design. He joined the UK’s Defence Research Agency (DRA) where he became the technical lead and manager on a number of guided weapon acquisition programmes. In 2004, he completed an MSc in Advanced Systems Engineering (Guided Weapons) with Loughborough University (UK). In 2005, he left the UK and joined the Australian Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO), where he became the Science and Technology advisor for the JASSM acquisition programme and undertook research on model-based systems engineering (MBSE). In early 2011, he became the Head of Weapons Capability Analysis before becoming the Group Leader of Systems Integration and Tactical Networking in 2014. Kevin Robinson has also been an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at The University of South Australia since 2012.
  Kevin has influenced and contributed to the model-based systems engineering domain through his research interests and the establishment and leadership of INCOSE’s model-based conceptual design working group (MBCDWG). Highlights include the establishment and chairing of Australia’s MBSE symposium (now in its 5th year), lead technical editor (and contributing author) of INCOSE’s INSIGHT special edition on model-based conceptual design, contribution to SE Handbook and receiving INCOSE’s 2013 “sustained performance” award for his leadership of the MBCDWG.

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  Dr Emma Langman

  Speaking Topic: Who Are Yous? Systems Thinking for Growth and Transformation

  Biography & Abstract

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  Dr. Langman is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) and was, until recently, a visiting fellow at the University of Bristol in both the Faculty of Engineering and the Graduate School of Education. Emma began her career as a Civil Engineer. Since gaining her PhD in Systems Approaches to Asset Management in 2003, Emma has specialised in business improvement, culture change and change management as the Change Magician at her own company, Progression Partnership. Her experience covers the public, private and public sector. Emma is an established trainer and facilitator who has given keynotes for the IIBA in London, the SoftEd conference in Sydney, as well as a number of workshops and other training at numerous high-profile events.

  Emma is an engaging and experienced specialist in performance management, change management and other aspects of business improvement and people management. She is a professional facilitator with a skill for overcoming the "middle manager resistance" common to change programmes, and is able to work at all levels in an organisation to align process improvement work with strategic aims. She is particularly adept at melding the individual and organisational perspectives to support organisations in growing and developing - e.g. pragmatic systems thinking.