FBC and Monash Business School partner to boost university-business collaboration.

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1 FBC and Monash Business School partner to boost university-business collaboration. Australia is lagging internationally when it comes to university-business collaboration. In 2014 the country was ranked 29 th out of 30 in the OECD. This dire state of affairs is holding back our economy, makes innovation harder and is hampering the shift to a 21 st century economy. Monash Business School and the Future Business Council have formed a strategic partnership to reduce barriers and usher in a new era of university-business collaboration, aimed at making Australia a global centre for future business. Last week, a roundtable was held with 5 CEOs of leading next generation businesses and the Monash Business School Leadership and Executive Education team to interrogate why university-business collaboration in Australia has historically been so poor, and to design mechanisms to foster collaboration in areas of mutual benefit. The roundtable resulted in agreements to create more than a dozen internships and three joint research projects. In addition, it cemented direct personal relationships between CEOs and University executives. The roundtable was the first event as part of a three-year partnership that will boost university business collaboration and enable Australia to capitalise on the ideas boom, and drive a national innovation agenda. More work is needed to improve Australia s performance though. Roundtable participants warned that a more systemic approach to the issues of IP, trust and incentives is required to more rapidly overcome the barriers and boost collaboration. Boosting collaboration is central to supporting innovative, agile business and is the key to future prosperity. The Future Business Council and Monash Business School encourage other organisations and universities to join the effort to make Australia the global hub for future business. Business university collaboration is key to our future prosperity. Without lifting our collaboration rates, we will miss the growth and investment potential of Australian innovation. Partnerships like this are the way forward. Tom Quinn, Executive Director, Future Business Council. Jump to ROUNDTABLE OUTCOMES FINDINGS BARRIERS CALL TO ACTION About the Future Business Council

2 ROUNDTABLE OUTCOMES Creation of more than a dozen new Monash Business School student internship placements at participating companies. Five joint research opportunities to unlock future growth: 1) Electric vehicle infrastructure challenge; 2) Global capital shifts into sustainable business; 3) Measuring impact of travel programs on international development; 4) Scaling the Fairtrade economy to whole of trade system, and; 5) Best practice IP approaches for university business collaboration. Case studies on latest business practices and business models integrated into Monash Business School learning outcomes. Using 21 st century business models to train the business leaders of tomorrow. Joint understanding on the skill gaps and employment opportunities for graduates so they can add real value to corporations. An events program to showcase future business leaders and inspire students. A stream of future industry projects will be rolled out by Monash MBA students over the coming three years of the partnership. These will give students opportunities to develop solutions to practical problems. FINDINGS Strong personal connections are the missing link holding back deeper collaboration between the business community and academia, explains Tom Quinn, Future Business Council. Our partnership with Monash Business School is combining the unique strengths of our world leading universities and smart business leaders to build a prosperous future economy for Australia. Personal connections Personal, long-term relationships of trust are essential to collaboration, along with a commitment to staying connected and systems that actively support these relationships. Creating a space for the initial personal connections between the business community and academia to develop is key to enabling greater collaboration.

3 Monash Business School is leading the way in creating a space for academics, along with the next generation of business leaders in MBA and other business programs, to meet with the CEOs and MDs of Australia s future business leaders. Clarity & Trust Clear objectives and expectations for all parties are needed from the outset for collaboration to succeed. There needs to be shared responsibility and mutual benefits in the agreed outcome of collaboration for all stakeholders. Intellectual property A clear and fair approach to Intellectual Property is the lynch pin of university business collaboration projects. Agreements must be founded on strong personal connections and tailored to each partnership. Creating split-level outcomes of benefit to parties is one option which enables specific commercialisation and application of Intellectual Property for business, while facilitating research and theory-based outcomes for universities. Business Schools as knowledge brokers Business schools are well-placed to play the role of honest broker between the broader university community and businesses. They speak the language of academia and business, and are not as dependant on IP-related revenue streams. This allows them to assist in overcoming initial barriers to collaboration relating to IP. There is a role for business schools to increasingly act as brokers between businesses and diverse areas of the university to enable collaboration to flourish. The solution isn t simply pushing business to be more innovative or universities to become more commercially oriented. What are needed are spaces where collaboration becomes possible so they can work to their strengths for mutual benefit. Tom Quinn, Future Business Council BARRIERS - IP is a common issue that stops business from collaborating. There are concerns that universities too often try to claim corporate innovation during collaboration. Further work is required to build a modern IP system that provides business with trust in IP-sharing arrangements with universities. - Loss of key personnel driving relationships is a barrier, especially when systems of collaboration are not built into institutional relationships. - The legal and institutional structures for partnership are poorly understood and developed

4 - The incentives for academics to publish in academic journals can be a barrier. Business Schools and businesses need to do more to encourage research that is both rigorous and relevant, so that academic research and business practice can more readily inform and enrich each other. - University and research funding cuts have exacerbated a culture of value capture rather than broader value creation, potentially impeding deep collaboration. CALL TO ACTION - More Universities to follow the lead of Monash Business School and proactively facilitate connections between next generation business leaders and academic staff. - Establish more industry research parks to foster deeper connections between Australia s university and research sector with the business and entrepreneurial community. - Undertake reforms to simplify processes leading to IP arrangements so that universities and business can more readily collaborate. - Align incentives for academics to engage more often with industry. - Increased funding for the university sector is required to enable a focus on value creation rather than value capture from joint projects. The Future Business Council supports the Australian Research Council s introduction of the Continuous Linkage Projects Scheme, but calls for decreased application complexity and a focus on awareness building to allow Industry to initiate collaboration. The following quotes can be attributed to Tom Quinn, Executive Director of the Future Business Council: Collaboration is built upon a foundation of personal connections, mutual benefit and trust. Too often Australia is failing to provide the space for personal connections to develop and government funding uncertainty creates a poor environment for trust to thrive. The next generation of business recognises that better collaboration is needed to unlock 21 st century prosperity. Collaboration is needed to unlock the ideas boom and transition Australia from a nation of tech takers to tech makers. The future of collaboration will be based on value creation rather than value capture. Incentives must be gear research towards greater collaboration.

5 About the Future Business Council The Future Business Council is the peak body for the next generation of business in Australia. We represent the companies creating the jobs of the future by driving the transition to a more innovative, sustainable and fair Australian economy. For further information contact: Tom Quinn Executive Director, Future Business Council Mobile media@futurebusinesscouncil.com