I am the host of the Vaegan seminar series within the School of Optometry and Vision Science, which invites 9-10 speakers from around the world annually to share their research innovations with staff and students within our school. This is a great opportunity for coursework and research students to think about how they can stretch their current thinking to identify the potential applications of their knowledge to problems of national or global benefit. The series has undergone much enhancement that was made especially possible during COVID-19. The Vaegan semninars will hopefully continue to make the academic world seem a lot smaller and more accessible to staff and students at UNSW Sydney.