Our 2026 Centre Forum in Melbourne was held on Monday, 11 May 2026. We have 70 people here, including our amazing PhD students and postdocs, representatives from our partner organisations, and university researchers. It’s wonderful to reconnect. Here are some photos from the day.
The Training Centre is also pleased to partner with the PBRI Symposium for a student networking event at 5:30pm, which will flow into a partner networking event at 7:30pm giving students a chance to network with partners in a relaxed social setting.
Our venue was Zinc Fed Square, a beautiful room with big windows looking out to the Yarra river. The day began with an Acknowledgement of Country to Wurundjeri Peoples of the Kulin Nation. I pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging. In preparing this speech I learned Wurundjeri comes from the words Wurun (Manna Gum tree, a eucalyptus common along the river) and djeri (grub found in the tree), which made me reflect on the fact that interactions between plants and animals and have been important for people and Caring for Country for thousands of years.
Our opening remarks from Centre Director Peter Solomon reflected on the journey through the years to this point in time, when we have most of our PhD students and all our postdocs on board and ready to present their projects to partners.
The morning activities included elevator pitches from our 24 PhD students and postdocs, followed by interactive table discussions with small groups of people. This was a wonderful opportunity for the cohort to practice public speaking skills, facilitation skills, and receive useful feedback on their projects.
View all 24 posters in our Centre Forum Poster Pack [PDF 33 MB]
After lunch, our Shaping the Centre’s Future held roundtable discussions on themes such as careers, training, and First Nations engagement.
The Dynamic Innovation Challenge invites attendees to ideate, develop and pitch a big idea. If money was no object, what research would you do to benefit plant biosecurity in Australia? What could you achieve as a proof-of-concept of that idea within a 12-month timeframe and $20,000 budget?
Tables can either come up with a new idea, or workshop one of the four shortlisted applicants for our inaugural round of Innovation Ignition Grants. This grant round offers seed funding of up to $20,000 per project.
The Centre Forum also features a panel discussion facilitated by Dr Matt Nurse. Panellists Sonia Fiorito, Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Angus Carnegie, NSW Government Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, and Mila Bristow, HortInnovation, discussed the benefits of research to plant biosecurity and their advice to students.
In the evening, PhD students will attend the PBRI Symposium student networking event. The Training Centre is proud to partner on this event to give students from across Australia the opportunity to build new connections and future collaborations.
Thank you to everyone who was involved in organising and delivering the Centre Forum and PBRI student networking event.