Available are:
- Executive Summary
- The full statement: "A Plan for Australian Jobs: The Australian Government's Industry and Innovation Statement
- Media release: "Industry Innovation Precincts to create jobs of the future", Media Release, Minister for Industry and Innovation, the Hon Greg Combet AM MP, and the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the Hon Joe Ludwig, 17 Feb 2013
In Canberra the "Innovation ANU" program was et up to teach university students how to turn a scientific discovery into a business. This was later was was broadened to "Innovation ACT" for students at all Canberra's universities. I suggest that program could be broadened again and delivered on-line to students at all the ten new Innovation Precincts, and elsewhere across Australia. Such a program could combine nationally delivered on-line materials with local "un-conference" events, which bring people from different fields together. A good example of an unconferecne is BarCamp Canberra, this year at the Inspire Centre, University of Canberra, 16 March (purpose built for this type of learning event). A national innovation program could offer participants a formal university qualification, counting towards a degree.
The new policy mentions CSIRO, but curiously does not mention NICTA. The investment of $50M per precinct proposed in the new government policy is minimal compared to the cost of initiatives such as NICTA and CSIRO. However, this would be useful in making linkages between research and industry, if used to accelerate already emerging precincts. An example is "City West, with the ANU Exchange development, to the west of the Canberra CBD, where the ANU campus is blending with government and private enterprises, related to education and research.
It was also tried at Mawson Lakes (formerly 'The Levels') in SA, with UniSA and the adjacent technology Park.
ReplyDeleteMathew said "It was also tried at Mawson Lakes (formerly 'The Levels') in SA, with UniSA and the adjacent technology Park."
ReplyDeleteYes, I visited SA in 1997 to look at the "Multi Function Polis" (MFP) project.
I was not very impressed and was inadvertently responsible for helping kill of the project. I bumped into a colleague in the street and expressed my views on the project. I later learned they were in Adelaide to advise the government on the future of the project.