Business leaders and students make waves for the future

The event, hosted by RMIT in conjunction with ANZ Bank and Victorian Shadow Minister David Southwick, was coordinated by the College of Business. 

Southwick, Member for Caulfield and Shadow Minister for Innovation, Energy and Resources, and Renewables, set the scene and welcomed guests at Parliament House.

“In the coming years disruptive technology, creativity and innovation will be the key to unlocking opportunity in business and education,” Southwick said.

“Government, educators and industry must collaborate to make Victoria the start-up capital, providing jobs of the future.”

The discussion quickly raised the issue of adopting a new business mentality to accommodate the vast changes shaped by the digital revolution.

ANZ Chief Technology Officer Dr Patrick Maes spoke about the bank’s recent Hackathon initiative.

“The ANZ Hackathon brought together 60 students from RMIT, seven teams, start-up mentors, a global technology vendor, and one real business problem,” Maes said.

“I was inspired by what I saw. Having little or no exposure to the financial services sector, these students came together to develop and then present their ideas. 

“We'll be working closely with RMIT to further develop some of the thinking.”

ABC News presenter Michael Rowland invited guests to participate in roundtable discussions designed as a non-prescriptive session with the aim of forming tangible collaborations that would contribute to shaping industry solutions, student jobs, and economic value for Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and beyond.

Rowland moderated a short series of nominated un-conference pitches on potential future projects.

“It was a really constructive session, and the enthusiasm was infectious!” he said.

The nominated concept projects included:

• City of Melbourne makers market group
• “Students are ready” – include industry experience earlier in students course of study
• Innovation investment – a portal for industry projects
• Shared value – Corporate innovation Responsibility (CIR) commercialisation of innovation to benefit state, government and organisations and the development of a Victorian Innovation and Start-up Environment (VISE)
• More university student and organisation collaboration on projects to help students get experience

Professor Ian Palmer, Pro Vice Chancellor Business and Vice-President, closed the session, thanking the organisations in attendance for their contributions to thought leadership and ANZ Bank in creating an opportunity for RMIT students to apply leadership and entrepreneurial skills and gain experience in real business settings to build confidence. “This has been an opportunity to include our students in an experience of government, industry and education working together,” Palmer said.

“These multi-sector ‘design thinking’ conversations are important ingredients for the future and we have enjoyed spending a little time in the student space too.”

The RMIT Global Futures Thought Leaders Luncheon pilot project is part of three stepped events in 2015, incorporating design thinking and innovation for industry and student outcomes.

The series will culminate with the RMIT Global Futures Forum, hosted at ANZ Bank, Docklands, on 20 October as part of the City of Melbourne’s Melbourne Knowledge Week.

Story: Rita Truong