Now more than ever, people are looking to the global business community to lead the way in tackling the grand challenges that face humanity. We caught up with some of our UNSW Business School community – staff, students, researchers and alumni - to find out how they’re using their areas of study and expertise to shape the future.
Yenni Tim | Senior Lecturer, School of Information Systems and Technology Management
Yenni believes the true power of information systems and technology lies in their capacity to help people solve immediate and pressing problems in the real-world.
“My research addresses a specific question: how can we design and use digital technologies effectively to cope with major external shocks?”
“I think most of us can relate to this area of research now more than ever – our shared experience through the COVID-19 pandemic has vividly highlighted our reliance on digital technologies in navigating through crisis situations.
Through my research, I am exposed to pressing issues and grand challenges, and I get to work with, and learn from, academic and industry practitioners from various fields to address these problems together (by designing and implementing digital technologies). It is a challenging yet stimulating and rewarding experience.”
Thomas Houlden | Economics (Honours) alum | Graduate Analyst at the Commonwealth Treasury
Tom, who now works as a Graduate Analyst at the Commonwealth Treasury, influencing policy decisions in Australia, saw studying economics was a way to improve the wellbeing and lives of as many people as possible.
“Knowledge and education are really important, because I think you need to understand the world to know how to change it.”
“I’m interested in how we (as individuals, organisations, and governments) can make decisions that can lead to a better future. Economics is about how can best use the capacity that we have as an organised group of people. Thinking carefully about this capacity can help us to make better informed decisions about how we can build a society that supports happier lives.
UNSW gave me the technical skills to succeed as a professional economist, but it also gave me the broad perspectives in economic issues, which I take into my role at the Treasury. The thing I’m excited for most about this role, is the ability to weigh in on some of the biggest questions that face Australia – particularly how we can use our country’s resources to improve the welfare of all current and future Australians.”
