Prof. Sahajwalla said Australia must do more to ensure university research translates into real-world impact. She called for governments to lead by example in adopting Australian-made sustainable technologies, and to reward companies that invest in local R&D.
“By and large, our professional incentives are not geared towards the long-hours it takes to actually build the machine that can make a world-saving idea a reality,” Prof. Sahajwalla said.
“We’re judged within the academy on the prestige of the journals in which our research appears, the citations that research generates, and the amount of grant funding we can draw in.”
“We have to buy what we’re inventing, set ambitious targets for the use of Australian innovations, because unless we create value then our very clever inventions aren’t worth a thing. We need to make sure government departments are using Australian tech, and that we reward companies that invest in Australian R&D with preferential consideration in government tenders.”
Gorgritch_Umie_Killa - 2mon
What Prof. Veena Sahajwalla and her colleagues are doing is so impressive. Its exactly the kind of linking from an identified societal challenge - university/tafe innovations - partnering with industry participants in development projects.
So great to see this happen outside of Health and Mining, where i'd argue we've been fairly good at for a few years now.
Gorgritch_umie_killa in environment
Wasted opportunity: How Australia can turn trash into jobs and innovation : EcoVoice – Environment News Australia
https://www.ecovoice.com.au/wasted-opportunity-how-australia-can-turn-trash-into-jobs-and-innovation/IN FULL: Professor Veena Sahajwalla's Address to the National Press Club of Australia
MICROfactorie technologies
Below is from the ecovoice article,
What Prof. Veena Sahajwalla and her colleagues are doing is so impressive. Its exactly the kind of linking from an identified societal challenge - university/tafe innovations - partnering with industry participants in development projects.
So great to see this happen outside of Health and Mining, where i'd argue we've been fairly good at for a few years now.