New Australian Minister meets Business School experts

Two of Tanaka Business School’s professors are currently in Australia, explaining the importance of effective innovation policy to the new Labour Government.

This is an area of legislation that is set to enjoy renewed commitment aiming to accelerate the improvement and refinement of commercial practices, moving Australian business into higher value-added activities.

Professor David Gann speaking at the Melbourne summit

As recognised experts in the field, Professor David Gann, Head of the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Group at Tanaka Business School, with Professor John Bessant have been speaking at a summit in Melborne on the subject.

An influential group from Australia’s senior civil service, industry and political parties discussed how Australia can continue to build and implement its national ‘innovation agenda’.  

This will be a set of policies shaping the country’s future competitiveness as an increasing percentage of GDP comes from the service sector. This is being developed against a backdrop of other considerations like tackling environmental issues such as water shortages.  The growing importance of services is a trend in many developed economies as manufacturing typically relocates to lower cost countries.

Both professors presented to an audience of CEOs and senior management from Australian businesses and research institutes.  Most notably in attendance were Gerhard Vorster, Head of Deloitte Consulting, Geoff Garrett, CEO CSIRO, Tricia Berman, Head of Innovation Policy Australian Government.

Minister, Evan Thornley joined the two Professors for extensive discussions away from the conference floor. Professor Gann said:

“It’s great to know that our role and conversations will feed into Australia’s new innovation strategy. The incoming government is committed to a review of policy in this area and the Summit provided it with useful guidance.  Most of which is built on UK’s experience following the recent Sainsbury Review.”

Professor Bessant talks about disruptive innovation

At the conference Professor Bessant, who holds the chair in Innovation and Technology Management, presented on the concept of disruptive innovation in services drawing on examples from research and development of new healthcare delivery systems at Imperial College.  He is Director of the UK’s Innovation and Productivity Grand Challenge, a programme to develop processes, tools and practices aimed at improving connectivity between science and industry.

Professor Gann explained how new technologies are changing the way we innovate.  He has studied how convergence in eScience, modelling, simulation, visualisation, rapid- and virtual prototyping offers new ways of improving performance in innovation in the service sector.  Long accepted as being important to manufacturing and engineering, Innovation Technology (IvT) could provide a means for better service prototyping helping to improve the innovation process.