This April, I had the pleasure of being involved in the ARC BITA 2026 Nudgeathon — a competition bringing together teams to tackle real-world challenges through the lens of behavioural economics and behavioural insights.
The challenge this year was set by the Department of Primary Industries (Queensland), focused on invasive species — a complex, high-stakes problem that requires not just good science but genuine behaviour change to address. It was a fantastic opportunity to see how behavioural insights can be applied to pressing environmental problems.
Alongside Stephen Whyte and Katie Jane McDonnell, I had the opportunity to deliver the icebreaker session on Day 1. We asked participants to introduce themselves through their researcher "superhero identity" — strengths, quirks, and all. It was a deliberately low-stakes, high-energy way to get people talking across disciplines and setting a collaborative tone for the days ahead.
For what it's worth, here was mine:
Kitchen Sink Sophie: well prepared, highly organised, connects ideas across disciplines, and highly enthusiastic (well caffeinated). Known weaknesses: will try to include everything including the kitchen sink, and likely to overstress about the presentation. Working on it.
Being part of that opening experience felt very much in the spirit of my own research into how methods shape group dynamics — the icebreaker is never just a warm-up. It is the first structured moment in which a group begins to form.
What I genuinely love about the Nudgeathon — and ARC BITA more broadly — is how naturally it sits at the intersection of design, behavioural economics, and social psychology. These are not separate worlds, and events like this are a reminder that some of the most interesting questions live right in the space between them. I find that intersection deeply exciting, and I think there is real opportunity for designers, economists, and social psychologists to learn from and with each other here.
My connection to ARC BITA comes through their support of my PhD at the University of Queensland — and I’m grateful for every opportunity to engage with such a genuinely brilliant group of people. .