Exploring Innovation and Impact with CSIRO

At our next Digital Transformation Perth meetup, we’re thrilled to take a closer look inside one of Australia’s most iconic and innovative organisations: CSIRO.

This session will lift the lid on CSIRO’s mission, reach, and impact. We’ll find out how CSIRO is shaping Australia’s future across industries and communities, playing a critical role in tackling Australia's biggest challenges through science and technology.

Our speaker is Rebecca Ostergaard, CSIRO’s Chief Digital Officer. Rebecca will walk us through her personal journey with CSIRO and how her passion for transformation has guided the organisation through a period of profound change.

We’ll explore how CSIRO has evolved over the past two years, modernising its data, technology, people, and governance capabilities to support the rapid pace of scientific advancement.

We will also unpack the technologies and ideas reshaping how CSIRO operates and collaborates, including insights into how artificial intelligence is being used responsibly, how transformation has been enabled across a diverse research environment, and what it takes to lead change at scale.

This is a session for insightful first-hand lessons and reflections from a real transformation journey: the opportunities discovered, the challenges faced, and what’s next on the horizon for digital leadership in science and research.

Join us for an evening of open conversation, inspiration, and learning as we dive into how digital transformation is driving impact at the very heart of Australian innovation.

As usual, there will be time for Q&A at the end, followed by networking over drinks and pizzas.

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Speaker Bio: Rebecca Ostergaard

Rebecca Ostergaard is a digital and technology executive with more than 25 years’ experience across government, research, education and industry. Trained as a software engineer and now serving as Chief Digital Officer at CSIRO, she combines deep technical expertise with strategic insight, commercial acumen and collaborative leadership. Her work focuses on harnessing data and digital technologies to drive innovation and deliver impact at scale.

She serves on the Board of the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, guiding digital innovation at one of Western Australia’s leading medical research centres. Rebecca is also a Board Member of the Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre, a Tier-1 national facility supporting scientific discovery and national research infrastructure.

Recognised for leading enterprise-wide digital transformation, Rebecca has recently led the development of CSIRO's first data and digital strategy. Her leadership is inclusive and pragmatic, grounded in building trust, fostering high-performing cultures and aligning complex organisations to deliver long-term value.

She holds an MBA from Curtin University, is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and has completed executive education at Wharton and Oxford’s Saïd Business School.