UQ Business School academics Mark Dodgson and John Steen are among the experts invited to speak at the Australia Davos Future Summit in Sydney today and tomorrow. The Summit aims to uncover the 'big ideas' that will help shape Australia's future and follows the recent 2020 Summit initiated by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
Winner of the Eureka Prize for Business Innovation in 2007, Professor Mark Dodgson's value to the Summit lies in his understanding of innovation - a topic he has been studying for over 25 years. Dodgson said he was committed to improving innovation education in Australia. He said, "Through my work with Terry Cutler in the Innovation Leadership Forum and as Adviser to the current Government Review of Australia's National Innovation System, I have become a passionate advocate for better education about innovation." "We need to substantially improve our innovation management skills if Australia is to have a secure and prosperous future." "I am sure the outcomes of the Future Summit will include some big ideas about how to improve innovation education and training in this country."
Dr John Steen said the traditional approach of the education sector conflicted with the new model of innovation. He said, "Traditionally, universities have been rewarded for creating stocks of knowledge and hanging on to them - hence the emphasis on patents and other ways of protecting intellectual property." "We now know that innovation happens through a complex pattern of interactions between a wide range of stakeholders - that means the focus needs to be on knowledge flows rather than just knowledge creation." "The challenge we face now is how to build richer networks between higher education and the public and private sectors."
Launched by the Prime Minister, the Future Summit is being held at the Hilton Hotel in Sydney from 11-13 May 2008.
