Innovate with UOW
The University of Wollongong (UOW) is at the forefront of driving innovation by partnering with industry, business and government to solve the challenges we face as a community. Through deep collaboration and cutting-edge research, we are dedicated to developing new solutions that address challenges, driving growth for communities, industries and businesses.
Ty Christopher: Here at the University of Wollongong, we're open for business. We're establishing lots of different mechanisms through which local businesses, be it the big end of town or smaller to medium businesses can engage directly with the university to help them solve the challenges they face.
Dr Paul Di Pietro: SMEs are doing it extremely tough at the moment. It could be competitors, it could be productivity issues, it could be getting a skilled workforce. When it's really, really tough a lot of business will sort of bunker down and say, well, we're just going to carry on and not change, but that's the time to actually reach out to the university.
Dr Tamantha Stutchbury: We can help you guide through and connect you to what it is to help you solve that business problem. And that might be access to expertise and equipment, or it might be just connecting you to some various people and networks.
Dr Paul Di Pietro: So they don't have a lot of money, but they want to innovate, and they want to try different things and have a competitive advantage.
Dr Tamantha Stutchbury: But It's really hard to innovate in a traditional business setting, and it's also hard to be an entrepreneur alone in your garage or in your home office. If you can come into a community that's connected where there's always someone who's a step ahead of you that can help you with that problem, and then you can turn back and help the next person, and you're surrounded by not only experts and mentors, but your peers that have the same problems and know the same challenges.
Being an entrepreneur is a really lonely business, and so when you are doing that with other people, it ends up being a team sport.
Ty Christopher: Well, the first thing I say to businesses, look, just pick up the phone. Send us an email. Get in touch.
Once you land here in the university ecosystem, we'll find the right pathway with you.
