Data Sharing Committee
The Data Sharing Committee within the Australian Computer Society (ACS) stands as a pivotal forum for fostering collaboration, innovation, and responsible data sharing practices across various sectors. Comprising experts, practitioners, and stakeholders from diverse backgrounds, this committee is dedicated to unlocking the value of data while upholding principles of privacy, security, and ethical responsibility
In today's data-driven world, the ability to share and leverage data effectively is paramount for driving innovation, enhancing decision-making, and addressing complex societal challenges. The ACS Data Sharing Committee recognizes the transformative potential of data sharing initiatives and seeks to promote a culture of openness, collaboration, and trust.
The primary mission of the Data Sharing Committee is to facilitate the responsible exchange and utilization of data for the benefit of Australian society. Through collaborative efforts, research initiatives, and policy advocacy, the committee aims to address key issues such as data interoperability, privacy protection, consent management, and data governance.
By convening stakeholders from academia, industry, government, and civil society, the Data Sharing Committee serves as a catalyst for dialogue and knowledge exchange within the ACS and beyond. Whether it's fostering data-driven innovation in healthcare, improving urban planning through data analytics, or enhancing consumer experiences through personalized services, the potential applications of data sharing are vast and diverse.
The ACS Data Sharing Committee is committed to promoting transparency, accountability, and inclusivity. Through informed discussions, best practice guidelines, and collaborative partnerships, the committee endeavours to ensure that data sharing initiatives empower individuals, organizations, and communities while safeguarding the rights and interests of all stakeholders.
MACS Snr - CP
Dr Graeme Port
Chair – Data Sharing Committee
Dr. Graeme Port has been an innovator and leader in enterprise software product development and data architecture for over 30 years. Graeme has been a thought leader and architect in multiple major government information sharing projects, particularly in the area of sharing sensitive information for child protection decision making. In 2015, seeing the challenges and opportunities for sharing data across government, private and public sources, Graeme cofounded Factil with the mission to provide advanced solutions for information modelling and data integration. Factil has been directly involved in multiple major government information sharing projects, and developed innovative technology of data modelling, data integration and data matching. Previously, Graeme was co-founder, head of engineering and CTO at ManageSoft, which built market-leading products in application development, application deployment and business intelligence. Graeme received his PhD from the University of Melbourne in the field of Logic Programming.
MACS
Mr Abhinav Jain
Vice Chair – Data Sharing Committee
Abhinav has got 8+ years of experience in the field of Business Analysis, Data Science and Project planning & controls in fortune 500 companies and state government departments like Queensland Health, CBRE, UnitingCare Queensland, Komatsu Australia, BHP and Motorola Solutions to name a few. His leadership experience includes working as a Board member for Adopt-a-beast, Advisory committee member for Minervai 4.0, Chair of ACS QLD Emerging professionals committee and ACS Technical Advisory Board member in Data Sharing Committee. He in a Masters of Data Science graduate from University of Queensland and was recently featured in Talent Guide 2022-23 where his story was one of the 21 talent profiles selected to be interviewed to share his inspiring talent story and advice. He has recently been invited as a speaker to share his experience in Data Science & Data Sovereignty in events like ACS QLD State Tech Summit 2023, Think Tank Tasmania 2023 and Griffith Technical Association. His role at Queensland health as a Principal Business Analyst includes leading the BA activities for statewide implementation for new rostering payroll solution for nurses & midwiferies.
MACS - Snr
Dr Stephen Hardy
Member
Dr. Stephen Hardy is the group leader for Data Platform Engineering at Data61, where he leads teams focussed on privacy preserving machine learning and government data analytics. He was previously Technology Director for Computational Analytics at NICTA, running data analytics projects across telecoms, finance, health and government. He also led the $18m, 3-year “Big Data Knowledge Discovery” project funded by CSIRO’s Science and Industry Endowment Fund. Stephen's has a PhD in astrophysics from the University of Sydney. He spent 12 years in R&D at the Image and Video R&D Centre at CISRA, Canon’s Sydney lab, where he was Senior General Manager. There he produced a number of innovations that were used in Canon's products worldwide. He is an inventor on 21 US patents and current applications and author of over 20 academic publications.
AACS
Ms Angela Kim
Member
Angela is the founding chair of AI4APAC Consortium connecting APAC and EMEA, US and Canada academic and industry AI professionals to launch collaborative research project to advance AI application for Healthcare and Smart Cities. She is currently working on the research project in collaboration with RIT University in Dubai and PathoAI AI solution for Healthcare Co on AI solution for detecting Cervical Cancer setting up digital pathology lab in the Technology University in Dubai. This project is in collaboration with Digital Health team in UAE government and also MBZU AI University Medical department. The purpose of this project o deliver democratizing AI solution for Cervical Cancer detection to the remote area females where they cannot access medical clinics and pathology lab. This is aligned to the WHO vision of by 2030 every female in the world are accessible to the cervical cancer testing.
MACS - CP
Dr. Asif Gill
Member
Dr. Asif Gill is academic cum practitioner with extensive 20+ years’ experience in IT across various sectors including banking, consulting, education, finance, government, non-profit, software and telecommunication. He is Associate Professor & Director of the DigiSAS Lab at the School of Computer Science, University of Technology Sydney. His earlier professional experience in agile software development, solution architecture, information architecture, information security, and program management provided a strong foundation for later work in strategic data-driven strategy, enterprise architecture and governance.
MACS
Dr Khimji Vaghjiani
Member
Author of “Spiritual Journey of an Entrepreneur”. Currently a mentor on A.I Australia, on the Australian Computer Society A.I Ethics Technical Working Committee. Worked at NSW Govt. running the Innovate NSW in DoI, as well as the NSW DAC. Data and A.I , start-up and Innovation & commercialisation specialist. Consultant to Government, corporate, research, academia and start-up experience. Khimji was the CEO and co-founder of Solar-Gem. Khimji was awarded the Australian Innovator of the Year and Australian International Design award in 2010, the Powerhouse Museum Award 2010, and the Tech23 Innovative company award 2010. Solar-Gem achieved initial sales in 18 countries for its innovative solar lighting technology. Director of Innovation Partnerships at Westpac – created major alliances with corporate partners for joint projects. Director from 2003-2008 of Smart Internet Technology centre. Founder of TiE-Sydney chapter (The Indus Entrepreneurs) Award winning lecturer. Teaching includes Executive MBA, & MBA.
AACS
Mr Tim Scott
Member
I lead the Privacy Enhancing Technology practice within Deloitte Risk Advisory, Cyber. Helping clients navigate the intersect between, data collaboration, data science and privacy.
Specialising in fully homomorphic encryption, secure multi-party computation, synthetic data, trusted execution enclaves and zero-knowledge proof, I am passionate about Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PET) and their applicability in solving some of the toughest real world challenges.
AACS
Dr Wenjie Zhang
Member
Wenjie Zhang is a Professor, ARC Future Fellow, Head of the Data and Knowledge Research Group (https://unswdb.github.io/) and Deputy Head of School (Research) in the School of Computer Science and Engineering, the University of New South Wales, Australia. Her research interests lie in large-scale data processing including spatial-temporal data analysis, uncertain data analysis and graph data processing. Since 2008, she has published more than 160 papers in top venues such as TKDE, TODS, VLDBJ, SIGMOD, VLDB, and ICDE. She received the Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (FT3) in 2021 and Discovery Early Career Researcher Award in 2011. In 2019, she received the Chris Wallace Award for her significant contributions to large-scale graph data processing. Her research works were recognised as a Best Paper by over 15 international conferences including the top conferences SIGMOD and ICDE. Her research has been well supported by 12 Australian Research Council grants and several industry funded projects, with over $9 million funding directly to her research team. Wenjie is an Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering and The VLDB Journal.
FACS CP
Sandeep Mathur
Member
Sandeep is an accomplished leader with over 20 years of experience in technology management across Asia, Europe, and Australia. As the Head of Data & Engineering at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, he drives data strategy and innovation. Sandeep holds fellowships from the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the Australian Computer Society. He is also an Industry Fellow at the University of Technology Sydney and a certified Program Management Professional (PgMP) from the Project Management Institute. His involvement extends to industry standards as a member of the Standards Australia IT-030 Governance & Management Committee. Previously, Sandeep served as a Trustee Director at Commonwealth Bank Group Super (OSF) and chaired the ACS National Diversity & Inclusion Council. His passion lies in ethical leadership, social impact, and advancing data governance.
AACS
Tom Giordmaina
Member
Tom is an established and commercially-astute technology executive possessing proficiency in navigating dynamic and fast-paced agile cloud environments. With a comprehensive IT background, he has made significant contributions across diverse industries including Telecommunications, Healthcare (encompassing NDIS and aged care), Digital Media, and Financial Services. Tom's expertise extends to spearheading the growth of start-up ventures and facilitating established enterprises through intricate workflows. Tom is passionate about the application of engineering principles to manage data sharing and various data implementation strategies and processes.
MACS Snr
Benjamin Smith
Member
Benjamin Smith is a seasoned ICT professional with over 25 years of experience delivering innovative technology solutions across various sectors, including government, law enforcement, and SMBs. His expertise spans reviewing and implementing ICT infrastructure, developing digital strategies, and managing complex projects from conception to completion. Outside of ICT, through his consultancy firm, Benjamin has integrated in to the Executive Leadership Teams of businesses to implement and manage significant organisational change through the management of business units such as Human Resources, Operations, Communications and FInance. As a leader, Benjamin has excelled in aligning business strategies with digital transformation goals, ensuring organisations maximise their technological investments. He has a proven track record in roles ranging from Managing Director of his consultancy firm, CXO Advisory, to National Solution Manager for a multinational technology company, where he developed cutting-edge solutions such as biometric identity management systems for law enforcement. Benjamin Smith is deeply passionate about the ethical use of biometric identification and data collection. He is committed to ensuring that these technologies are deployed with the highest standards of privacy, transparency, and security. Throughout his career, Benjamin has advocated for and implemented responsible practices that prioritise individual rights and societal well-being, always striving to balance technological innovation with ethical considerations. His dedication to ethical principles guides his work in developing and implementing biometric systems that serve the public good while safeguarding personal data. Benjamin is passionate about driving societal improvements through technology, as evidenced by his work with not-for-profits and his commitment to enhancing digital maturity within organisations. His leadership, problem-solving skills, and ability to communicate complex digital strategies effectively make him a valuable asset to any team. He has received numerous awards for his contributions to the ICT field, including the prestigious ACS Digital Disruptor Award, AIPM Project of the Year and multiple iAwards for innovation.