InnovationAus Podcast

Adrian Turner, Minderoo Foundation’s Wildfire and Disaster Resilience Program CEO

The average cost to Australia of natural disasters is currently estimated at $38 billion each year. It is time to shift our focus from spending on response and recovery, and to invest more into resilience and recovery. Adrian Turner is the CEO of the Fire and Flood Resilience program at the Minderoo Foundation. In this podcast, Adrian lays the argument for change.

The Hon Ed Husic MP, Federal Shadow Minister for Industry & Innovation

With just days remaining before Australians cast their ballots at the federal election, shadow industry and innovation minister Ed Husic joins the Commercial Disco podcast to talk policy. From the operation of the National Reconstruction Fund, the plans for an Office of Made in Australia, and the future of the Industry Growth Centres, Mr Husic details Labor plans for industry development if it wins next Saturday.

Sampath, global Chief Revenue Officer for Verizon Business

There is plenty of uncertainty in the global economy right now, from supply-chain concerns to the war in Ukraine to geo-political tensions and the complications of the ongoing pandemic. But Verizon Business chief revenue officer Sowmyanarayan Sampath – known universally as simply Sampath – the global business outlook has never looked stronger. In this episode of the Commercial Disco, Sampath talks about the megatrends of the telecommunications sector.

Counterpoint Conversations, Ep5: Diversity for success on the Battlefield

The final episode of the Counterpoint Conversations podcast series will focus on the challenges ahead in reshaping the cultural settings of the defence force, particularly in relation to the augmented reality and virtual reality technologies being adopted for learning and development.

As the demands of the AUKUS program evolve, engaging the widest range of people with the right mix of problem-solving skills is going to be essential. Diversity of thinking – including addressing gender balance and managing awareness of bias – will be a central plank for success.  

With the defence sector’s increasing move to gamification and augmented reality to innovate and adapt to the changing nature of warfare, this podcast will explore the importance of inclusivity at the design stage of technology to ensure diversity in thought, assessment, life experience and world view, to help address complexity in decision making.  

Alister Henskens, NSW Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology, & NSW Minister for Skills and Training

New South Wales will continue to focus on research commercialisation through its on-going co-investment in critical research infrastructure and encouraging greater collaboration of the “triple helix” of universities, government and industry, according to the state’s Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology Alister Henskens. In this podcast, Mr Henskens – who is also NSW Minister for Skills and Training, talks to InnovationAus editor James Riley.

Counterpoint Conversations, Ep4: Transformative projects at scale and speed

This discussion will explore transformative projects within the public sector. Public sector projects progress at a different speed to those in the private sector, and scrutiny of government project management extends far beyond a government agency’s internal stakeholders - there are multiple goals and milestones to report on, many teams of people to manage and access to an incredible wealth of resources.

In this episode, Public Sector Medal recipient Patricia Kelly (formerly with the SKA and IP Australia), and Principal of Buildcorp, Josephine Sukkar, explore the projects that have been created in the public sector environment and become transformative by way of multiple applications across the economy. What are the projects that have been created within certain confines of government, that have gone on to be the foundation for significant national policies and outputs – and who are the people working behind the scenes to deliver them?

Part 2: Capability - Submarines, industrial development and frontier technologies

The Capability - Submarines, industrial development and frontier technologies webinar was a discussion at the highest levels of business about how companies can mobilise to build strategically important and commercially valuable intellectual property.

Large-scale defence contracts direct huge investment into high-tech industries. At a time when a raft of powerful new technologies are coming of age, considered and well-directed industry programs and partnerships can be truly transformative. The industrial development opportunities for Australia are extraordinary.

Where is Australia placing its big bets to leverage existing research leadership? Where does Australia already have comparative advantage, and where will it partner to augment home-grown capability ? Quantum, artificial intelligence, 5G, advanced manufacturing, robotics and automation, and critical mineral processing are all part of this mix.

Expert guests included:

• Adrian Beer, CEO, METS Ignited
• Rob Le Busque, Regional Vice President, Asia Pacific at Verizon Business Group
• Jens Goennemann, Managing Director, Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre.

For more information on what was discussed, see AUKUS brings ‘huge multiplier effect’ to local industry (innovationaus.com).

Part 1: Capability - Submarines, industrial development and frontier technologies

The Capability - Submarines, industrial development and frontier technologies webinar was a discussion at the highest levels of business about how companies can mobilise to build strategically important and commercially valuable intellectual property.

Large-scale defence contracts direct huge investment into high-tech industries. At a time when a raft of powerful new technologies are coming of age, considered and well-directed industry programs and partnerships can be truly transformative. The industrial development opportunities for Australia are extraordinary.

Where is Australia placing its big bets to leverage existing research leadership? Where does Australia already have comparative advantage, and where will it partner to augment home-grown capability ? Quantum, artificial intelligence, 5G, advanced manufacturing, robotics and automation, and critical mineral processing are all part of this mix.

Expert guests included:

• The Hon. Steven Marshall, Premier of South Australia
• Professor Michelle Simmons AO, CEO & Founder at Silicon Quantum Computing, Director at ARC Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology
• Rear Admiral Lee Goddard , RAN, Head of Partnerships & Operations at Minderoo Foundation.

For more information on what was discussed, see AUKUS brings ‘huge multiplier effect’ to local industry (innovationaus.com).

Counterpoint Conversations, Ep3: The social aspects of cyber: beyond the 1s and 0s

Those who make up the senior cohort of cyber in gov are mainly women, and we’re interested to discuss the reasons for this and how it benefits cyber as a portfolio. How much of an executive-level role in the cyber industry is about the technology, and how much is about people skills and an ability to convey the message? This episode will discuss ‘counterpoints’ of how gender and diversity more generally equips business and government to be more cyber resilient.

The age of trust, Series 2, Ep6: 5G to enable supercharged problem-solving solutions

We understand at a high level that 5G is a powerful new technology, but how this next-gen tech is harnessed ultimately comes down to its creative application by industries to solve their most pressing challenges. In this episode of Age of Trust, InnovationAus publisher Corrie McLeod talks to Stuart Hendry, head of global enterprise & public sector for the Asia Pacific at Nokia and Rob Le Busque, regional VP for the Asia Pacific at Verizon about how 5G can supercharge problem-solving solutions.

The views and opinions expressed by guest speakers do not necessarily reflect the view or position of Verizon.