Industry and government partners are being encouraged to work with higher degree research (HDR) students to come up with the bold new ideas to tackle some of the world’s biggest issues.
The HDR Design Sprints, which began in 2023, aim to bridge the academia-industry gap through design thinking, and see QUT HDR students work in transdisciplinary teams to address some of the most critical sustainability challenges.
At the 2023 event, 38 graduate researchers formed eight teams, applying their academic skills and design thinking to develop research questions and advanced concepts in response to industry challenges.
Sprint experts Marek Kowalkiewicz and Peter Townson from QUT Centre for Future Enterprise formed the current program in collaboration with the QUT Graduate Research Education and Development, with a topic designed to tackle questions of sustainability through the lens of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Marek Kowalkiewicz, Professor and Chair in Digital Economy at QUT, noted that our graduate researchers stepped up to the challenge, refining their pitches and reports to address the challenge of decarbonisation in the mining and resources sector.
“Using a design-led, qualitative research approach, the sprint teams uncovered and explored the trends, technologies, challenges, and opportunities of the United Nations' Sustainability Development Goals related to industry.”
“By utilizing these goals as a guiding framework and engaging in transdisciplinary collaboration, the researchers generated truly innovative ideas that have the potential to transform the industry and drive significant impact.”
“This is the kind of thinking that will shift the narrative from Corporate Social Responsibility to Corporate Social Opportunity”
Melissa Witheriff, the Senior Director, Australian Innovation Lead of Avanade Australia recognised this shift, and brought her expertise in digital innovation and sustainable solutions to help PhD students develop and refine their ideas.
“Our team had the opportunity to work closely with the students to provide guidance and feedback on how technology can be leveraged to address sustainability challenges.”
“This program showcased the power of cross-industry collaboration and how together we can drive progress towards a more sustainable future.”
“We are proud to be part of this collaboration and look forward to continuing to support the Design Sprint as it progresses.”
The program also showcased the importance of collaboration and community when addressing ‘wicked problems’.
Stephanie Dale, PhD candidate and 2023 Design Sprint participant, reflected on the program, and the sense of community it generated in a short time span.
“I really valued the opportunity to collaborate with other students in a trans-disciplinary way - we’re all from different faculties, different research areas but once we had our idea, we didn’t look back.
“Due to COVID, it was the first university experience I’ve had where personalities engaged in productive purpose could collide and then find equilibrium.”
“The program asked a lot of us, but I loved it; I loved being just slightly out of my depth with the direction to summon my capacity to meet the challenge.”
Government and industry partners were encouraged to embrace the program, and explore the potential of the relationships and approaches that were highlighted during the sprint.
Lauren Stephenson, Director in the Office of the Queensland Chief Scientist recognised that the sprint format allowed partners to engage with students in a novel way.
“There are a number of goals in our department where this sprint could contribute.”
“The value of this program is that it concentrates both the partner and the student to the task at hand. This concentrated effort can yield great results.”
The 2023 partners were Avanade Australia, Mott MacDonald, Department of Resources (Queensland), Department of Energy and Public Works (Queensland) and the Office of the Queensland Chief Scientist.
The next event is due to be held in 2024 and sprint experts encourage industry and government teams to express their interest early for the chance to work with some of the brightest minds at QUT.
For more information, visit the QUT website.