In summary

  • In a collaboration with City of Boroondara Council, students have been tasked with solving local issues using science 
  • Students created posters to visually communicate their solutions and were given the opportunity to pitch their ideas to Boroondara council members 
  • The annual Social Innovation Challenge - Science in Society event gives students a valuable and unique Work Integrated Learning experience 

Swinburne University of Technology and City of Boroondara Council have collaborated to propose several challenges to Bachelor of Science students – asking how can science solve issues the council faces to make a positive impact on the community?  

In 2024, over 120 students participated in the annual Social Innovation Challenge event, creating solutions for the council through a scientific lens and using their knowledge in biotech, chemistry, environmental science, maths, data analysis, engineering and software engineering.  

Valuable work experience

The collaboration offers students a unique Work Integrated Learning experience, to not only pitch their solutions directly to Council members, but also to potentially see their ideas come to life.  

Swinburne students had a pool of twelve challenges to tackle, including how the council could use generative AI to improve how their organisation works, how to reduce quality items from ending up in hard waste, and how the council might better support social connections between men in the community to improve their mental health.  

Producing posters to visually communicate their proposed solutions, students had the opportunity to pitch directly to Council officers at a two-day presentation event hosted at the Hawthorn Arts Centre.  

Though many students were nervous before the event, they quickly found confidence when Council staff started talking to them and asking questions about their project solution.  

The students expressed how talking to Council members was invaluable for their projects, receiving constructive feedback and discussing how their ideas align with City of Boroondara Council’s roles and objectives for the community.  

Students presenting their solutions at the Social Innovation Challenge event
Social Innovation Challenge event
Students presenting their solutions at the Social Innovation Challenge event
Social Innovation Challenge event
Students presenting their solutions at the Social Innovation Challenge event
Social Innovation Challenge event
Students presenting their solutions at the Social Innovation Challenge event
Social Innovation Challenge event
Students presenting their solutions at the Social Innovation Challenge event
Social Innovation Challenge event
Students presenting their solutions at the Social Innovation Challenge event
Social Innovation Challenge event
Students presenting their solutions at the Social Innovation Challenge event
Social Innovation Challenge event
Students presenting their solutions at the Social Innovation Challenge event
Social Innovation Challenge event
Students presenting their solutions at the Social Innovation Challenge event
Social Innovation Challenge event
  • Students presenting their solutions at the Social Innovation Challenge event
    Social Innovation Challenge event
  • Students presenting their solutions at the Social Innovation Challenge event
    Social Innovation Challenge event
  • Students presenting their solutions at the Social Innovation Challenge event
    Social Innovation Challenge event
  • Students presenting their solutions at the Social Innovation Challenge event
    Social Innovation Challenge event
  • Students presenting their solutions at the Social Innovation Challenge event
    Social Innovation Challenge event
  • Students presenting their solutions at the Social Innovation Challenge event
    Social Innovation Challenge event
  • Students presenting their solutions at the Social Innovation Challenge event
    Social Innovation Challenge event
  • Students presenting their solutions at the Social Innovation Challenge event
    Social Innovation Challenge event
  • Students presenting their solutions at the Social Innovation Challenge event
    Social Innovation Challenge event

Swinburne biotechnology lecturer Dr Vito Butardo,  says the event facilitates connections between science and local industry. 

“It’s a fantastic chance to witness the intersection of scientific knowledge and industry problem-solving in action,” Dr Butardo says. 

City of Boroondara Partnerships and Grant Specialist Adam Cummings said the students’ annual poster presentation underpins a valuable collaboration between Swinburne and City of Boroondara.

“The Social Innovation Challenge event provides a unique opportunity to engage directly with the younger members of our community while fostering collaboration across departments, breaking down silos, and accessing some of the brightest minds in the country,” Adam Cummings says.  

“It’s always exciting to see the creative solutions that students come up with and how they apply their skills to tackle real-world problems.”

Now in its second year, the Social Innovation Challenge is one of several initiatives by Swinburne in partnership with the City of Boroondara Council that combines student innovation, knowledge sharing and local industry collaboration. 

Related articles

A group of eight people, with the middle two holding a rectangular box together.
  • Technology
  • Education
  • Science
  • University

New Australia-India joint research institute to advance energy, communications, materials and manufacturing technologies

Swinburne University of Technology and the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IITH) have launched the Swinburne-IITH Manufacturing, Materials, Energy and Communication Technologies (SIMMECT) Joint Research Institute, to drive impactful research and global collaboration on major technology challenges. 

Read more (New Australia-India joint research institute to advance energy, communications, materials and manufacturing technologies)
Monday 03 March 2025
interior view of a steel factory
  • Science
  • Sustainability

Swinburne joins global Green Steel Alliance to advance carbon-neutral ironmaking and steelmaking

Swinburne has become a founding member of the global Green Steel Alliance. The Green Steel Alliance brings together leading research and industry stakeholders from around the world to advance the transition to a green economy. 

Read more (Swinburne joins global Green Steel Alliance to advance carbon-neutral ironmaking and steelmaking )
Wednesday 12 March 2025
  • Health
  • Science

Swinburne to advance cardiac care and asbestos detection with industry-engaged grants

Swinburne has secured two grants from Australia's Economic Accelerator Ignite program to support innovative commercialisation projects. 

Read more (Swinburne to advance cardiac care and asbestos detection with industry-engaged grants )
Wednesday 12 March 2025

New $5m Digital Manufacturing Hub launches at Swinburne to level up Australian industry

Australian manufacturing productivity and resilience could rise by as much 30 per cent, thanks to a new Digital Manufacturing Hub led by Swinburne.
Read more (New $5m Digital Manufacturing Hub launches at Swinburne to level up Australian industry)
Thursday 13 March 2025
Professor Alan R Duffy, Swinburne astronomer and Director of the Space Technology and Industry Institute standing in front of an abstract galaxy background.
  • Science
  • University
  • Engineering

One step for mankind, a giant leap for the Roo-ver

This op-ed was originally published in the Herald Sun by Professor Alan Duffy, the inagural Director of the Space Technology and Industry Institute at Swinburne.

Read more (One step for mankind, a giant leap for the Roo-ver)
Wednesday 26 February 2025