Annual Report - Swinburne University of Technology

Swinburne University of Technology
■ The Entrepreneurial University
Statement of Direction 2010 Objective
Swinburne will become a renowned centre for
entrepreneurship and innovation. Entrepreneurship and
innovation will be a hallmark of everything that we do.
We will prepare students to participate in the new economy
and society of the 21st century and heighten their
awareness of, and capacity to make the choice between,
employment and self-employment.
We will do this by emphasising the following strategies:
■ creating an inspiring culture of creativity and innovation
throughout the University
■ pursuing innovation in the forms of
– new technologies
– new products (which can be based on existing
technologies)
– new forms of business organisation and services
– new forms of social organisation
– new and improved administrative processes
– new education approaches
– new course materials
for the benefit of society as a whole
■ creating an environment favourable to the creation and
development of Intellectual Property (IP) throughout the
University
■ building a general learning environment conducive to
innovation and entrepreneurship
■ commercialising IP generated by staff and students;
■ providing appropriate infrastructure support for
commercialisation and development of IP
■ sourcing seed and venture capital for commercialisation
and development of IP
■ providing incentives to staff and students for the
commercialisation of IP they generate
■ making available to all students subjects in, and content
relating to, innovation and entrepreneurship.
Swinburne defines an entrepreneurial university as one
that pursues the traditional academic goals of developing
and transmitting knowledge, with an innovative and
entrepreneurial approach. While accumulating resources is
not an end in itself for a university, achieving academic
goals requires resources to be accumulated. The primary
goal is to improve the educational environment for the
benefit of our students.
Strengthening Leadership and Direction
Leadership and direction applies to both internal activities
and externally in the University’s relationships with the
community. The goal is to ensure the University is able to
grasp opportunities as they arise, and that University
processes, systems and corporate services support such
initiatives. Decision-making models need to be developed
at all levels that will enable the appropriate mix of
executive, collegial and strategic decision-making
processes.
Swinburne Lilydale has developed significant projects with
regional partners. They are:
■ Yarra Valley, Dandenongs and the Ranges – Food, Wine
and Tourism Online
■ Yarra Ranges Enterprise Centres, Regional Business
Incubator
■ Yarra Valley Regional Branding Project
■ Sustainability Case Studies
■ Small Business Triple Bottom Line Indicators
■ Dreaming Stories of the Yorta Yorta People
■ Wine Export Feasibility Study for Eight Local
Winegrowers.
The Division also contributed to the development of the
Shire of Yarra Ranges 2020 vision statement, which
included, among other things, Reconciliation Week and
Shire Graduate Certificate.
Promoting Innovation
The Swinburne Venture Cup was held for the third year in
2002 attracting 176 students in 51 groups. It is a 10
week business planning competition for teams of students
at each level of the university – TAFE, Undergraduate and
Postgraduate. The task sounds straightforward but
students involved have spent hundreds of hours devising,
expanding and refining their business concept.
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Annual Report 2002