Published 05-11-2015

ENTREPRENEURSHIP THE KEY TO FUTURE GROWTH

04-11-2015

Entrepreneurship should be encouraged at every level of education in Australia – starting in schools, says Australia’s chief scientist, Professor Ian Chubb.

A report released recently by the Office of the Chief Scientist says entrepreneurship is the key to a high-growth, innovation-led economy, able to capitalise on Australia’s investment in research and skills.

“Australians aren’t short of talent but we need to get better at turning our creativity into successful products and services,” said Professor Chubb.

“To be a more innovative country we need to encourage an entrepreneurial mindset at every level of education – starting in schools, continuing in higher study and enduring throughout working lives.

“In other countries, forward-looking universities are the epicentre of vibrant start-up economies. Universities should be at the core of building a culture of entrepreneurship in Australia.”

The report, Boosting High-Impact Entrepreneurship in Australia, finds that Australia has one of the highest rates of business creation in the world, but few startups have the capacity to grow beyond the local level.

Producing more high-impact entrepreneurs with global ambitions and the ability to disrupt large markets using science and technology will be crucial to Australia’s future, the report finds.

Highlighting the priority given to entrepreneurship in the most successful start-up nations, the report calls for new thinking in government and universities.

It identifies a mix of programs in universities, from harnessing entrepreneurs as role models to hands-on learning through incubators, accelerators and overseas placements, as the best approach.

Entrepreneurship courses at Australian universities need to grow beyond business schools and into mainstream study, particularly in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.

The report can be downloaded at www.chiefscientist.gov.au

RELATED NEWS

  1. Australia’s industries and productivity could be transformed by  ‘foundation models’, the technology underpinning the rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) — and we can build sovereign capability in this technology — says a new report by Australia's national science agency, the CSIRO.  
    "...
  2. Now at full speed, Fortescue’s new electric excavator has dug a million tonnes at Fortescue’s Chichester operations in the Pilbara, WA, and the mining company says it’s a massive milestone in its decarbonisation plan.
    For the past three months, it had been running at partial capacity while the site...
  3. For the past month, the Australian Army has been part of Project Convergence, a US-led campaign of learning through persistent experimentation testing. Its mission is to develop networks, robotic and autonomous systems, air defence and strike-related systems.
    Project Convergence was designed to...