Growing technological sciences and engineering leaders through mentorship and policy skills

Today ATSE announced six new members of the Emerging Leaders Network for 2025 – joining 12 continuing members who commenced in 2024.

The 18 Leaders will be working alongside esteemed scholars and industry leaders through the ATSE Policy Forums to develop their leadership, policy and advocacy skills. The Network is designed to enhance the contributions of rising professionals in STEM by providing opportunities to meet and work with ATSE Fellows, develop leadership skills and contribute to practical thinking to address pressing challenges. The members will actively contribute to the Policy Forums, and will be assigned a Fellow as mentor who will support and guide them in their journey. 

In addition to participating in the Policy Forums, the Network will meet as a group to exchange ideas and provide peer support as they learn and develop their skills. Growing connections with each other and ATSE Fellows is a central aim of the program.

Members will develop the skills necessary for influencing policy, engaging with senior leaders and expanding their professional networks across the breadth of Australian STEM leadership. 

The Emerging Leaders Network has been established to support young people in STEM to bring their unique perspectives to many of the challenges that society faces, and in turn, to ATSE’s policy and advocacy work. 

The six new Emerging Leaders: 

• Dr Vivien Rolland, Senior Research Scientist & Team Leader at CSIRO
  • Agriculture and Food Forum
• Dr Emiliana Weiss, Post-doctoral Research Fellow in Immuno-engineering at CSIRO
  • Agriculture and Food Forum
• Dr Elahe Abdi, Robotics Engineer and Senior Lecturer at Monash University
  • Health and Medical Technology Forum
• Sabarikirishwaram Ponnambalam, PhD Fellow at Griffith University
  • Energy Forum
• Mehreen Ashraf, Senior Project Officer, Net Zero and Sustainability at NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water
  • Infrastructure Forum
• Olivia Jessop, Research Scientist at the University of Queensland
  • Education Forum

Members of the Emerging Leaders Network

The Forum mentors

• Professor Mark Hoffman FTSE
• Distinguished Professor Mark Stewart FTSE
• Dr Sarah Ryan FTSE
• Trevor Danos FTSE
• Dr Nick Austin FTSE
• Dr Elaine Saunders FTSE 
• Janine Herzig FTSE
• Professor Xioajing Hao FTSE
• Professor Ron Quinn AM FTSE
• Professor Gernot Heiser FTSE FIEEE FACM
• Professor Robyn Owens AM FTSE FAA
• Professor Rocky De Nys FTSE
• Emeritus Professor Kaye Basford AM FTSE