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Home News at Curtin Podcasts Sustainable Futures: climate, curriculum and collaboration

Sustainable Futures: climate, curriculum and collaboration

What do an urban designer, an electrician and Curtin University have in common? They all want to help humanity prosper. To achieve that, sustainability is key.

In this episode, our host David is joined by Professor Josh Byrne and Saf Flatters. Josh is Dean of Sustainable Futures at Curtin (he’s also well-known as a presenter on ABC TV’s Gardening Australia), and Saf is an electrical and energy specialist and third-year Curtin data science student.

Together, they explore what a ‘sustainable future’ really means, and how a novel Curtin University subject called Sustainability Challenge is bringing together academia, industry, government and community to create real solutions to some of the most pressing environmental and social problems.

What does a ‘sustainable future’ mean? [03:24]
Sustainability problems more complex than ever [04:40]
Big problems mean big solutions [07:30]
Data science brings structure to complexity [08:28]
Cultivating hope and optimism [10:11]
Sustainability Challenge insights [12:29]
There’s no ‘doctor evil’ industry [30:59]
Learnings to last a lifetime [35:17]

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Connect with our guests

Professor Josh Byrne, Dean of Sustainable Futures, Faculty of Humanities
Professor Josh Byrne is an environmental scientist, urban design professional and Dean of Sustainable Futures at Curtin. His career bridges academia, professional practice, media and policy, with a focus on advancing urban sustainability through demonstration and collaboration. In 2025, Josh was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to conservation, the environment and public communication.

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Saf Flatters, Bachelor of Science (Data Science) student, Faculty of Science and Engineering
Saf describes her career path as “very twisty.” With more than 15 years of experience as an electrician in the electrical and energy sectors, she’s now studying a Bachelor of Science (Data Science) at Curtin. Saf is passionate about using data to solve real-world problems, and outside her studies, she runs an electrical business, serves on industry boards and spends time bike packing through hidden corners of the world.

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Join Curtin University

This podcast is brought to you by Curtin University. Curtin is a global university known for its commitment to making positive change happen through high-impact research, strong industry partnerships and practical teaching.

Got any questions, or suggestions for future topics?

Email thefutureof@curtin.edu.au

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Transcript

Read the transcript.

Behind the scenes

Host: David Karsten
Researcher: Caitlin Crowley
Producer: Emilia Jolakoska

First Nations Acknowledgement

Curtin University acknowledges all First Nations of this place we call Australia and the First Nations peoples connected with our global campuses. We are committed to working in partnership with all Custodians and Owners to strengthen and embed First Nations’ voices and perspectives in our decision-making, now and into the future.