Datacentres: Storm in a Digital Teacup?

Join the UWA Public Policy Institute and UWA Data Institute for an informed panel discussion bringing together experts from academia and industry to explore the opportunities and challenges presented by the rapid growth of data centres.

The discussion will consider the infrastructure needed to support an AI-powered economy, the energy demands of data centres, their potential to contribute to smarter cities and services, and the broader policy, social and regulatory questions surrounding their development.

The panel will feature short presentations from each panellist, followed by a moderated discussion, Q&A and a short post-event social mixer.

Anna Zenz
Lecturer and PhD Candidate, UWA Law School
Talk: Contextualising the Data Centre Debate: Purpose, Policy, People

Associate Professor Ronnie Das
UWA
Talk: Beyond the Compute: Turning AI Infrastructure into Real-World Impact

Associate Professor Xinan Zhang
Associate Professor, UWA School of Engineering
Talk: The Energy Behind the Data Centre Boom

Mark Stickells AM
CEO, Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre
Talk: Data Centres: Building the Infrastructure for an AI-Powered Economy

Adam Gardner
Head of Edge and Products, NEXTDC
Talk: A Glimpse into a World Without Data Centres