Arun Sharma
Eastern Session
Head of Sustainability and Climate Change, Adani Group
Fireside Chat
Distinguished Professor Emeritus Arun Sharma AM is Advisor to the Chairman of Adani Group, as well as the Group Head for Sustainability and Climate Change. He has played a leadership role in the development of the Australian ICT research capability, and co-founded National ICT Australia Limited (NICTA) – now part of CSIRO’s Data61. From 1999-2002, he served as the Head of School of Computer Science and Engineering at UNSW, where he co-founded the Cooperative Research Centre for Smart Internet Technology.
From 2004 to 2019, he served as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice President for Research, Commercialisation and Innovation at QUT, where he oversaw a nearly four-fold increase in annual research revenue that led to the university’s rapid rise in key international rankings. At QUT, he helped establish internationally-leading programs in robotics and data science, and also facilitated the development of research programs in renewables and hydrogen
He is a strong advocate for research collaboration between the industry and the university, and during 2018-2019 served as a member of the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Innovation Ecosystems. He was appointed to the inaugural Advisory Council of the Australian Research Council, and was a member of the Advance Queensland Expert Panel, the Premier’s Smart State Council and the Premier’s Business Roundtable.
Professor Sharma has played a critical role in the governance of health and medical research institutions: in addition to his current position as Chair of the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, he played an enabling role in the founding of the Translational Research Institute Pty Ltd, and served on its board from 2009 to 2017.
Alongside these roles, Professor Sharma continues to foster strong business and research links between Australia and India: he led a governance reform of the Australia India Business Council (AIBC) during his time as National Chair from 2010-2011; served as the President of the AIBC Queensland Chapter (2015-2011); and was appointed as the Chair of the Queensland India Council (2011-2014), an advisory committee of the Queensland Government.
Professor Sharma received his undergraduate degree in Computer Science from BITS Pilani (1985), a PhD in Computer Science from SUNY at Buffalo (1990), and post-doctoral training in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT (1990). He is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (2008).
