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Today’s
scientists discover the businesses of tomorrow
Wallace
Bridge
Are
you a high achieving student? Interested
in a career in the cutting edge world of
science and technology? Want to solve the
problems of today and tomorrow? If so, I might get to meet
you one day.
I am the Director of the UNSW Faculty of Science's
Entrepreneurs in Science Unit. We administer and
deliver an undergraduate Diploma in Innovation Management
designed for science students.
The Diploma is an add-on program to a BSc
that teaches students the professional skills required to
recognise and commercialise scientific discoveries. The Diploma
integrates business and entrepreneurial training
into the university education of Australia’s future scientists.
Today’s scientists discover the businesses of tomorrow. So,
the truly effective scientist must understand business.
In addition to teaching, I also run research programs to discover
ways of overcoming age related disorders and cancer.
At high school, I wasn’t sure what to study at university;
all I knew was that I needed to go there. When the crunch
came, I enrolled in electrical engineering simply because
my mates had chosen to do so. After a year of boredom, I dropped
out. My dad organised some clerical work for me at his company,
which was even more boring.
Out of desperation, back to uni I went, which
I am sure was my dad’s devious plan anyway. This time, I chose
to study science simply because it interested me. I wasn’t
really career focused. The most I thought was that when I
graduated I would get a job in a lab somewhere, where I would
need to grow a beard (which I did) and wear a lab coat all
day. As it turned out, studying science was a very fine thing
to do.
I have travelled the world, worked in many different countries
on all sorts of interesting projects, and seen my ideas
turned into new technologies and products.
The best thing about a science career is that it offers you
the chance to be paid to do what you love. At the same time,
you contribute to society, and because of
that, you don’t have to panic about mid-life crisis.
Today, I am in the middle of a 3 week working visit to the
Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore. We want to start a flow of
Ngee Ann graduates to UNSW to study the combined B.Sc/Diploma
in Innovation Management program.
In Singapore, Year 10 high school students have the option
of either going to Junior College (JC) or to a Polytechnic.
Those who choose the JC path normally continue on to university.
Students that opt to go to a polytechnic tend to have already
made up their minds on careers. They receive suitable training
in their polytechnic diplomas to join the workforce once they
graduate.
These days, however, many students consider a polytechnic
diploma as an intermediary qualification. They are intending
to continue with degree studies at universities either in
Singapore or overseas.
Diplomas run for 3 years, and most Australian universities
give advanced standing for at least half
of the credit points for a Bachelor degree. This means that
polytechnic students can gain up to a one
year advantage over their JC counterparts in completing
a normal 4 year university degree. Who wouldn’t want to knock
a year off their uni studies?
A current hot topic in Australia and Singapore is graduate
attributes. “Graduate attributes are the qualities,
skills and understandings a university community agrees its
students should develop during their time with the institution.
These attributes include, but go beyond, the disciplinary
expertise or technical knowledge that has traditionally formed
the core of most university courses." Examples
include communication, courage, teamwork, leadership, respect,
entrepreneurship, initiative, independence, ethics, and social
responsibility.
My major activity for today was to present and discuss UNSW’s
Graduate Attribute strategies to staff members of the Singapore
Government’s Ministry of Education. UNSW is redesigning how
they teach to maximise the student’s attributes.
On the other hand, Ngee Ann has been focusing on measuring
the development of attributes in its students during their
studies. They are then developing new courses to fill any
noticeable gaps. The discussions were quite fruitful, and
I feel there is merit in both approaches. In fact, I will
be modifying some of our Diploma courses based on what I learnt.
More Information at:
http://www.ltu.unsw.edu.au/ref4-4-1_perspectives_grad_atts.cfm
UNSW Diploma in Innovation Management students at the 2005
Young Achievement Australia NSW Award night
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