Data for
public good.

Have you ever wanted to hear about the ups and downs of a career in data? Wondered about the good, the bad and perhaps a bit of the ugly side of working in data? See the bright and shiny instead of just the dull facts? What can go wrong, what can go right, and how can you avoid the pitfalls that others have fallen into?

This is the event for you. Come along and learn from someone else's lessons, so you can avoid the scars and come out smelling like roses instead.

A volunteer guide will lead a relaxed walk around the lake, stopping every 15 minutes to share a new story about data, AI and how they can be used for good.

Jim McLeod from Microsoft will join as a co-contributor, bringing practical perspectives from the week-long online Open Data Hackathon and its build-along sessions.

Inspired by the She Shapes History style of walking and talking, the walk is designed to help people learn and connect through side-by-side conversation.

No slides. No meeting rooms. Just fresh air, good company and conversations worth having. Lace up, come curious and join the conversation.

Join a series of online, build-with-me sessions across Canberra Data Week, designed for beginners through to experienced builders. You will be able to follow along through YouTube or other video links as each session becomes available.

The sessions will demonstrate a minimum viable product to help beginners get started, then showcase advanced features that can be added to data and web applications with a little help from AI.

Take part at your own pace, use the sessions to develop your own ideas, and see how open data, web technologies and AI can work together in practical applications.

Join Salesforce for breakfast, tabletop discussion, an innovation showcase and industry insights focused on creating a trusted data foundation.

Tourism Research Australia and Austrade will share how public-sector data and visitor insights support better decisions and outcomes.

Henry Rooney will lead a hands-on session about preparing trusted, useful data for AI and using AI to improve data preparation.

Most children meet graphs as a page in a maths book. Here they meet them as a dig, a hunt, a card game and a packet of lollies — and they are halfway through making one before anyone has said the word “chart”.

AGES 5–8: There is digging. There is treasure. And there is something sweet they are not allowed to eat until they have turned it into a chart.

AGES 9–14: Their own name. A card game. Their own Saturday. Three things nobody would call data until you have drawn them — and one of them turns the same ten minutes of play into three completely different charts, then works out which picture answers which question. That is the trick behind every chart they will ever see in the news.

There is also a table for older kids, teenagers and parents, where you can walk a real job through a real data office and hunt for the mistakes hidden in a messy pile of numbers. Most of a data job, it turns out, is finding those.

No maths required, no experience needed, and nothing on a screen.

Ages 5–14 with a parent or carer. Free — book through the Canberra Data Week website.

Lift access is available to Level 3. Prams are welcome. Children stay with their adult throughout.

Activities include Skittles and dry rice. The event is nut-free, and a non-food alternative is always available.

Contact: Zohal Zahir · d_zohal@datasanj.com · 0435 916 536

Join Databricks for an engaging session at Canberra Data Week exploring how the Australian Public Sector is turning data into trusted insights, better services and measurable outcomes.

The session will provide an overview of the Databricks Data and AI Platform, showcase demonstrations across analytics and AI, and share examples of the innovation shaping public-sector organisations today.

Richard Jones, Calvin Hung and Fanpeng Kong from Databricks will discuss the journey from foundational data capabilities to advanced, governed AI and highlight how agencies can move promising ideas from experimentation into production.

This session is designed for technology, data, digital and business leaders across government.

Meet the team from Emanate Technology and hear practical insights about career pathways and opportunities in Canberra's data sector.

Connect through peer stories, discussion and networking with women working across Canberra's data community.

Jenny Telford
General Manager, Census and Population Division, Australian Bureau of Statistics

Helen Robson
Program Manager, Strategic Projects Branch, Technology & Security Division, Australian Bureau of Statistics

Shannon Kenna
Program Manager, Communications Branch, Corporate Services Division, Australian Bureau of Statistics

Have you ever wanted to know how the Census reaches people in the remotest parts of Australia? Or how billions of data points are translated into meaningful insights for the community?

It takes seven years to deliver a single Census, from planning and delivery through to processing and releasing the data. Throughout that time, thousands of decisions need to be made, and many of them were made by the people on this panel.

This is your opportunity to ask the Census team absolutely anything.