The Australian Innovation Festival will run until 27 May with the theme of “Innovation Clusters” and a focus on the 4Cs of Creativity, Connections, Collaboration and Commercialisation.  Festival events are a great way of encouraging networking and business opportunities for participants in the areas of R&D and technology commercialisation. See the Opportunity Corner for more detail.

Getting in through a doorway over the wing of the Airbus A380 might seem strange to some, but it provided a profitable business opportunity for Byron Aviation.  The Company’s response was the A380 Capable Hi-Lift, a truck that can deliver to the awkwardly placed doorway, without damage to aircraft, while maintaining stability on a much smaller footprint than competitors’ vehicles.  Development costs have been over $2mil, but it is the innovative thinking embodied in the Hi-Lift that epitomises the strength of Byron Aviation.

“More people are using the Internet as the FIRST way to find anything or anyone. Are they finding YOU?” This is the question Tony Heitmeyer, General Manager of CIBIS, posed to cluster members.

The Western Sydney IT Cluster’s February business development forum on “What’s Hot in ICT” featured expert speakers covering topics such as new media and online communities, cybercrime and cyberterrorism, open-source, embedded systems and the latest from the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show.  The forum previewed technologies and trends for 2007 and beyond. It revealed that new developments are allowing people to interact, create value, organise and contribute in many new ways.

Are your customers NEOs and how do you know?  On 29 March 2007, social scientist and author, Verity Byth, entertained and informed us with her insights into a new way of looking at our customers and ourselves!

• Australian Innovation Showcase
• TPM3 Learning Group Network Meeting
• National Manufacturing Week
• AUSTECH 2007-Manufacturing & Machine Tool Exhibition
• Western Sydney Manufacturing Week
• The Warren Centre 2007 Innovation Lecture
• Get Tech Savvy
• The Smart Supply Chain Technology Show
• Women in Manufacturing Network-Ready to Grow?  Understanding the Fundamentals of Costs & Prices
• Upcoming Trade Missions for July, August & September 2007

Cluster meeting schedules.