Prof. Richard Sinnott

Professor of Applied Computing Systems at the University of Melbourne.

Keynote:  From Little Acorns: How to Make a Difference in the Development and Delivery of Production-Level Cloud Platforms

Abstract: The Melbourne eResearch Group (MeG - www.eresearch.unimelb.edu.au) was established in 2010 with the arrival of Prof Sinnott at The University of Melbourne. Over this time, the MeG has grown to 40 FTEs working on a multitude of projects covering defense, intelligence, biomedical, and a variety of other areas, as diverse as arts and humanities to zoology. This talk will explore some of the lessons learnt in developing major cloud platforms that have galvanized global communities and are currently used in many mission-critical application domains. 

Biography:  Professor Richard O. Sinnott (BSc, MSc, PhD) is Professor of Applied Computing Systems at the University of Melbourne. He has been a technical lead on a multitude of large-scale international projects, with an emphasis on big data and security, worth over $500m. This includes numerous projects in the defence, intelligence, and biomedical domains. He has over 500 peer-reviewed publications across a range of computing and application-specific domains.

Rakesh Singh

Enterprise Architect at Oracle Corporation

Keynote:  Architecting Cloud for AI workloads

Biography:  Rakesh Singh is an Enterprise Architect at Oracle Corporation, where he helps organisations bridge business strategy and technology execution. With extensive experience across government, finance, and non-profit sectors, he designs and delivers enterprise architectures that drive digital transformation and measurable business outcomes. As Lead of the Sustainability Community of Practice for Oracle JAPAC, Rakesh champions collaboration and innovation to advance sustainability through technology. His work brings together people, data, and purpose—empowering organisations to build smarter, more resilient, and more sustainable futures. Blending technical depth, strategic vision, and environmental commitment, Rakesh is passionate about using technology as a force for positive change.

Mukaddim Pathan

GM – Enterprise Technology & Architecture at AGL

Keynote:  Scaling the Energy Grid: Distributed Orchestration and Next-Generation Asset Management

Biography:  Mukaddim Pathan is an executive leader with over 17 years of experience in digital transformation, cloud architecture, and edge computing. He currently serves as General Manager of Enterprise Technology and Architecture at AGL Energy Ltd. in Australia, where he leads enterprise-scale strategy, architecture, and platform engineering. He has held significant roles in major telecommunications and technology companies in the USA and Australia. He has authored and edited several influential textbooks on distributed computing and cloud services, including Advanced Content Delivery, Streaming, and Cloud Services and Content Delivery Networks. He holds a PhD in Computer Science and Software Engineering from the University of Melbourne and an MBA from the Melbourne Business School.