Williamtown Innovation Hub Officially Open

BY JESSICA ROUSE

The latest hub of innovation and technology has officially opened in Williamtown this morning.

The Williamtown Innovation Hub, also called "DSA-18", will support the research and development of new technologies for the defence industry.

It's a collaboration of the University of Newcastle with the support of the state government who contributed $1.5 million to the hub to drive innovation.

The hub has desks for both defence workers and university researchers, meeting rooms and will host networking events and seminars to provide opportunities for engagement with local and national companies in the defence, security, IT and transport sectors.

Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Scot MacDonald says the innovation hub will make the latest technologies available to researchers to develop bigger and better things.

"It's really important that people have a place to incubate those ideas if you like and bounce them off colleagues who work in the industry and see if they're adaptable and see if the commercialisation is possible and that can only happen if you're working closely together," said Scot MacDonald.

The Hunter region's defence sector employs more than 4,600 people and contributes $1.3 billion to the region's economy.

"This will get the academics and professors working out the hub making themselves available to people who have got ideas that might be picked up by the defence industry. A lot of the innovation really does come from if you like, grassroots level," said Scot MacDonald.

Artists impression.

UON's Dr. Sarah Pearson named Australia's Innovation Leader

BY SARAH BARONOWSKI

University of Newcastle Pro-Vice Chancellor Industry Engagement and Innovation, Dr. Sarah Pearson has been appointed as Australia's Innovation Leader in the newly formed MIKTA Group.

Dr. Sarah Pearson [Image: UON]

The program brings leaders from Mexico, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Turkey and Australia (MIKTA) together to help drive global innovation and strengthen international relations.

MIKTA was first established in 2013 and is led by the Foreign Ministers of member countries who come from diverse backgrounds but share core values.

Dr. Sarah Pearson says she's thrilled to be representing the nation as she joins forces with other leaders to solve complex global problems.

"I think it's really exciting to be linking in with other countries around the world on innovation," she said.

"We've all got a lot to learn. It's sort of a space where we're all trying to grow and do different things so it's wonderful to be a part of Mexico, Indonesia, Korea, Turkey and Australia all trying to do this together."

She says the MIKTA Group has a range of short term and long term goals which support cooperation and growth between member nations.

"Short term is about connectivity so we've got innovation leaders from each of those countries all connecting and then longer term, we're thinking about how to make the most of our similarities and our differences. So, are there big challenges that we can solve together either social or economic or corporate that we can actually solve by putting the brains of all of our countries together?"

"[For instance] if we have some ideas in Australia which we think might work well in one of the other countries, we've now got those strong connections with those countries so [we can] connect those people to the right resources and routes to market."

The MIKTA Innovation Group visited UON's NeW Space City Campus just this week to explore Newcastle's role as a regional innovation ecosystem.

University of Newcastle welcomes Pro Vice Chancellor for Industry Engagement and Innovation

BY SARAH JAMES

Heralding Newcastle's entrance into the innovation age, the University of Newcastle has established the inaugural Pro Vice Chancellor for Industry Engagement and Innovation.

Stepping up to the role is Dr Sarah Pearson; an established leader in the global innovation community.

Part of Dr Pearson's role is nurturing Newcastle's potential to become a global hotspot for innovation. She will be responsible for establishing industry partnerships, encouraging entrepreneurship in the area and leading innovation hubs.
 Dr Pearson believes Newcastle's location, affordability and lifestyle will make the area attractive for future investment.

With 75% of high growth jobs being in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) industries, it is imperative that Newcastle adapt to this employment trend.

Dr Sarah Pearson

Newcastle CBD set for big changes

BY TYLER FARDELL

NEWCASTLE's city centre is set for some big changes following the governments support of an innovation project, aiming to turn NEWCASTLE into a 'digital precinct'.

A total of 9.8 million dollars has been committed by the state government with a further 8 million dollars coming from Newcastle city council, the University of Newcastle, Newcastle Now and Hunter DiGiT.

A new innovation hub is set to be developed, along with free public Wi-Fi, cutting edge smart parking and smart street lighting technology.

Premier Mike Baird visited Newcastle to announce the funding and praised the innovative project.

"The Hunter Innovation Project will provide a significant boost for Newcastle and capitalise on it's strong education and research sectors, the region's highly skilled workforce and diverse range of industries".

Artists impression of the 'Innovation hub' at the corner of King and Auckland streets
Photo source: The Newcastle Herald