AFHI was recently highlighted at a Franklin Women Members Connect event hosted by Google Australia, bringing together leaders from research, industry, and healthcare to discuss innovative models of collaboration in health and medical research.

The event formed part of Franklin Women’s Members Connect series, designed to connect members across the health and medical research ecosystem and showcase collaborative programs tackling complex health challenges.

The panel featured four speakers representing key partners across the Australian Hearing Hub and AFHI ecosystem:

• Bamini Gopinath, Cochlear Chair in Hearing & Health, Macquarie University
• Grace Chung, Head of Research and Engineering Director, Google Australia
• Aleisha Davis, CEO, The Shepherd Centre
• Kelly Miles, Senior Research Fellow, Macquarie University

Together, the speakers shared insights into how large-scale collaborations like AFHI come to life, how partners navigate the needs of different organisations, and how these partnerships enable innovative approaches to complex hearing-health challenges.

The discussion resonated strongly with attendees, many of whom noted that while the focus was hearing health, the lessons around collaboration, communication, and partnership were widely applicable across many areas of health and medical research.

Participants particularly valued the diversity of perspectives across academia, industry, and clinical services, as well as the opportunity for informal discussion and networking. Hosting the event at Google also provided a unique opportunity for attendees to step outside traditional academic environments and learn more about how industry partners contribute to research innovation.