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“Encourage colleagues and students to share their ideas and put them in touch with others. Liberate, energise and activate that innovative impulse.” – Professor Paul Johnson, Vice Chancellor.

It seems that everyone is talking about innovation. But what does it really mean? Is it just a short-lived buzzword or the beginning of a fundamental change in the way universities engage with public audiences, industry and government?

On Wednesday 3 February, the UWA Innovation Quarter brought together a diverse range of community perspectives from within and outside the university to discuss innovation, commercialisation and entrepreneurship in the context of research and the student experience.

The discussion was led by a panel of innovation experts, including state politicians Matt Taylor MLA and Peter Tinley MLA , and Kath Giles - an Investment Manager at Brandon Capital specialising in seed-to-early stage technology investment. The panel also included Kevin Pfleger, UWA researcher and Chief Scientific Advisor of spin-out company, Dimerix Bioscience , and UWA student Mark Shelton, CEO of Bloom Lab and Director of Startup WA .

What were the hot topics at the event?

1.Innovation is not just a political priority, but a social imperative.

With the mining boom over and the national and state economy at a critical juncture, the ambition to capitalise on new ideas and technologies is a political priority . However, this focus on innovation is also an extension of UWA’s mission to drive social and economic development by translating research outcomes to the wider community. Working more collaboratively with industry offers new opportunities to identify and solve pressing social problems, strengthen public engagement, enrich teaching and learning and provide new sources of funding.

2.Innovation is a team sport

The panellists highlighted the need to work together and develop new skillsets in order to release the potential of innovative ideas. Almost no-one innovates on their own. As Kath Giles argued, ‘the pathway to commercialisation is a team sport’.

3.Innovation requires experimentation and risk taking

Kevin Pfleger noted that risk is inherent in enterprise, yet the university often represents a risk-adverse environment. He outlined the importance of cultural change and encouraged attendees to try new things, and even fail - introducing the concept of ‘flearning’ to describe ‘learning through failure’.  Pfleger’s views were reinforced by fellow panellist Mark Shelton, who reminded the audience that ‘one of the riskiest things is to keep doing the same thing’.

4.We must share the innovation journey with students

When it comes to innovation, UWA students are leading the charge. Mark Shelton, who founded Bloom Lab in 2014 as a co-working space for student entrepreneurs to put their ideas into action, argued that students were empowered through innovation and entrepreneurship to create positive social change. Kevin Pfleger reiterated the need to incorporate innovative thinking into teaching and learning, in order to create agile, confident graduates ready to thrive outside the University.

5.The University is full of innovative change-makers. It’s in our DNA.

UWA has a long history of innovation and, in many ways, the new government policy validates the work we are already doing to support enterprising research, teaching and learning. As Vice-Chancellor Paul Johnson noted, ‘Our students and our staff are some of the highest performing people in our society here in WA. And many of those, I would say the majority, would come into the University essentially having signed up to the challenge of changing things’. According to Professor Johnson, ‘The opportunity is huge and we need to do a lot within the University … to support the innovative impulse that exists in large measures within the organisation’.

Ideas and suggestions from the event will be incorporated into a range of UWA IQ prototypes planned to support innovation at UWA in 2016. If you have any questions about the Innovation Basecamp or would like further information about upcoming events, please email [email protected] .