Since its inception in a cramped office in inner Melbourne eleven years ago, The Conversation team has quickly grown into an international media organisation with more than 100 editors, millions of readers and editions across the globe.
“We started discussions with The University of Melbourne about being part of Melbourne Connect in the very early stages of the project. The idea of joining an active innovation precinct, with a blend of research, creativity and engagement with the public was very compelling and exactly right for The Conversation.”
“Every day our editors collaborate with leading researchers, in fact we worked directly with over 4000 last year, so being right here makes it possible to understand and learn about what the university and research sector is working on and be part of shaping public discourse and discussion about crucial topics and ideas. Come and see us on the super floor – our favourite place to run into people!” said Lisa Watts, CEO, The Conversation.
“The Conversation is an innovative digital media project that grew out of The University of Melbourne and now operates globally with teams in Africa, Indonesia, the UK, US, Canada, New Zealand, France and Spain. Our mission is to share academic knowledge with the wider public and it would be hard to imagine a place to be more in tune with what we want to do than Melbourne Connect. The whole team is very excited about being part of a community of innovators who want to share knowledge and do brave new things. We’ve only just moved in and already it feels like home,” said Misha Ketchell, Editor & Executive Director, The Conversation.
Professor Eduard Hovy, Executive Director of Melbourne Connect, The University of Melbourne, said that the University was delighted that The Conversation’s global headquarters is now at Melbourne Connect.
The Conversation was created to address the problem of misinformation and disinformation, long before the issue was on most people’s radar. It does this by pairing professional editors with academics to write informed articles that are easy to understand.
The Conversation articles are free to read, and republish, with hundreds of other news organisations publishing Conversation content every day, making it an influential source of expert-led journalism and the world’s leading publisher of research-based, accessible news and analysis.
By calling Melbourne Connect home, The Conversation is able to access the Superfloor for events and activations, form meaningful partnerships with the University’s experts and foster connections in the precinct through collaborative storytelling.
The Conversation joins a host of thought leaders and innovators including the University’s Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, interdisciplinary groups and industry partners to build a powerful network of innovation to solve the next generation of societal challenges.
