Local innovators had the opportunity to attend a series of Perth workshops conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program (REAP) last week.
The Government-supported initiative was driven by Rio Tinto, Woodside and other members including SpaceCubed, Tender Relief, Curtin University, Malka Foundation, Minderoo Foundation, City of Perth, Australian Venture Consultants, CERI and COTU.
Last year, WA won the right to host the 3rd of the 4-workshop series as well as associated events. The delegation of 90 delegates from around the world travelled to Perth to partake in workshops designed to deliver a collaborative environment, based on a common understanding of shared goals and to address challenges in a regions ecosystem.
The workshops provided invaluable learning opportunities for both international and local innovators. Delegates attended talks from MIT academics and professional staff, and absorbed learnings from different countries working alongside Team WA.
Representing the innovation team from the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation on Team WA were Charlie Gunningham and Janet Simmons, proud supporters of the WA innovation ecosystem.
MIT REAP’s program is also aligned with the WA Government’s Innovation and Diversify WA strategies as well as its New Industries Fund (NIF), which has recently been boosted with an additional $9.1 million over the next 2 years.
“The Cook Government is pleased to support Team WA’s role in fostering innovation worldwide through the dynamic MIT REAP initiative,” said WA Minister for Innovation and the Digital Economy Stephen Dawson.
“Investing in initiatives that fuel ideas and solutions leads to the development of new sectors which goes towards diversifying the WA economy and creating jobs for Western Australians in the future.”
All three workshops so far have been a major success enabling progression towards the WA Government’s newly released Innovation Strategy, to create better outcomes for the innovation ecosystem for all stakeholders.
Team WA will continue to work towards the next MIT REAP workshop, to be hosted in Boston this December.
