Flinders University has moved to give a distinctive focus to its investment in the Tonsley Park redevelopment with the creation of the Flinders’ New Venture Institute.

Drawing on the innovation and business acumen present in its teaching, research and commercialisation activities, the New Venture Institute will further strengthen the University’s enterprise culture and support the business and community collaborations that will be an integral part of Flinders’ presence at Tonsley Park.

Flinders’ Vice-Chancellor, Professor Michael Barber, said the New Venture Institute, to be based at Tonsley, “is an exciting initiative that directly supports the Tonsley vision of a precinct that makes a tangible contribution to the smart, sustainable industries that will underpin the State’s economic future and create jobs in the southern part of Adelaide”.

“The New Venture Institute will focus and intensify Flinders’ entrepreneurial activities and education to the mutual benefit of business and community partners and the University’s core constituency, our students,” Professor Barber said.

“The scope of the New Venture Institute will extend from ‘hands-on’ learning experiences for students to the translation of successful research into leading edge products and services. This will include the potential attraction of capital to support commercial developments,” he said.

“A key element of the success of the New Venture Institute will be the establishment of strong networks with business clients, researchers, investors, government, and community groups.”

The New Venture Institute will tap the skills and entrepreneurial experience of:

•  Flinders academic and research staff, particularly the Flinders Business School,

•  The University’s commercialisation arm, Flinders Partners,

•  The Medical Device Research Institute,

•  Flinders Partners’ programs and company spin-outs including Venture Dorm, Strategiize and Clevertar (video)

•  The Southern Knowledge Transfer Partnership.

Flinders will shortly announce the appointment of a Director of the New Venture Institute who will build the Institute team and finalise its strategies. The development of the New Venture Institute reflects a significant contribution from Jim Hutchin, Associate Professor of Enterprise Management in the Fox School of Business at Temple University, Philadelphia, who undertook a consultancy for the University in 2013 with a focus on boosting its entrepreneurship activity and outcomes.