Since taking on the position of Executive Director after 9 years in various senior consulting and development roles, Rob has rebuilt the newly independent Australian Institute for Commercialisation. The AIC plans to strengthen its position as a premier innovation commercialisation agency in Australia, providing national and international assistance to innovative businesses and leveraging industry support organisations, world-class research and government assistance.

In his nine years in this role at the AIC, Robert assisted many researchers, innovators and businesses with his strong background in small business, consulting and new product and service innovation. A Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia in the discipline of Industrial Design, Robert was inducted into the Design Institute Hall of Fame in early 2020. He is a dedicated advocate for design and has achieved almost every award possible in Australia in his field of innovation, design… Show more In his nine years in this role at the AIC, Robert assisted many researchers, innovators and businesses with his strong background in small business, consulting and new product and service innovation. A Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia in the discipline of Industrial Design, Robert was inducted into the Design Institute Hall of Fame in early 2020. He is a dedicated advocate for design and has achieved almost every award possible in Australia in his field of innovation, design, production and brand management of new products and services. Robert presented business innovation workshops and facilitated supplychain innovation clinics in many industries and cities as part of the AIC team. His engaging and well-presented workshops were highly regarded. Educated in design at Queensland Institute of Technology in the 1970’s, Robert was a founding Director of PROdesign Australia, an award-winning multidisciplinary consulting practice providing industrial design, graphic design, branding and web design services operating for 30 years. An invited judge on Design Award and Design Mark panels since the early 1980’s, Robert was a regular judge in the Australian International Design Award program, and the Premiers Awards for design. Robert was also a judge in the Luminaire Design Awards program for the Illuminating Engineers Society of Australia from 2008, and an invited judge with the Queensland Design Awards. Robert has contributed significantly to his industry over the years, and is a tireless advocate for his industry group and promoting the use of professional designers to boost economic performance. He was a Director of the Design Institute of Australia, Australia’s peak body for design, for 4 years, national Vice President for 3 years and Queensland President for 5 years. He has been the state coordinator of the institute’s Industrial Design Practice Group, and founded several on-line design networking groups. Show less

The Australian Connection and collaborative partner for a global accelerator working-group. https://ui-global.com Connecting partners, upskilling development teams, and forging collaborations with innovation hubs, accelerators, national development agencies, and businesses alike to commercialise research results - overcoming barriers to successful innovation on a global stage.UI Global is a registered Benefit Corporation and is proudly committed to the UN’s Sustainable… Show more The Australian Connection and collaborative partner for a global accelerator working-group. https://ui-global.com Connecting partners, upskilling development teams, and forging collaborations with innovation hubs, accelerators, national development agencies, and businesses alike to commercialise research results - overcoming barriers to successful innovation on a global stage.UI Global is a registered Benefit Corporation and is proudly committed to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.NOTABLE INVOLVEMENT:Participated in the UI-LIFT Virtual Accelerator Program with incubator teams across the world - 2021.Developed an annual online Design Thinking program under the UI-LEARN banner. Beginning in 2021 with the “Technology Entrepreneurship” Inventor’s Forum Paper: “Design thinking - what is it and how can it help a researcher/inventor” providing crucial guidance towards meaningful returns and impact. The online coursework is supported by in-country mentoring, and international Judges engaged to select the winning Business Pitch using Design Thinking principles and processes. The program is designed to share AIC knowledge, UI-Global expertise and my personal experiences, to provide hands-on education to early-stage researcher/inventors with best practices and success stories to drive positive outcomes from their PostGrad research work. Show less

Prior to 2018 Robert had been a Sessional Lecturer and Tutor for 24 years while being fully employed in the design industry.

Over 40 years in strategic design for clients developing new businesses, new products and services, new brands, developing sustainable competitive advantage in each client market.A multi-award winning company, PROdesign Australia developed expertise in 1D, 2D and 3D design services for clients from a wide range of fields.

DESIGN ACTION was a long running not-for-profit group of designers that worked pro-bono on Socially Responsible Design Projects for other not-for-profit philanthropic organisations across Australia. It has run its race, and served us well. Thank you DESIGN ACTION and all the designers who contributed to it over the years.

Twenty years on State Council of the DIA working for the interests of community, professional designers and intending designers in various roles.

Robert was appointed as the Manager of the QMI Solutions-led consortium of Queensland manufacturing and engineering businesses to provide new skills pathways for existing workers under threat by digital disruption in their workplace.QMI Solutions initiated this Manufacturing & Engineering Emerging Innovative Industries Project under the Queensland Government Training in Emerging and Innovative Industries Fund. The project was founded to support existing manufacturing and… Show more Robert was appointed as the Manager of the QMI Solutions-led consortium of Queensland manufacturing and engineering businesses to provide new skills pathways for existing workers under threat by digital disruption in their workplace.QMI Solutions initiated this Manufacturing & Engineering Emerging Innovative Industries Project under the Queensland Government Training in Emerging and Innovative Industries Fund. The project was founded to support existing manufacturing and engineering businesses' workforce development and training needs for their workers, including digital processes and technologies, competitive process thinking, change management, agile and creative thinking, emotional intelligence and cultural change. Participating enterprises viewed their workers as their greatest asset to drive the business forward. The companies sought to retain existing faithful workers, and their core skill sets through investing in new skills to create business growth. The project aligned with the Queensland Government’s priorities in the Advanced Manufacturing 10 year Road Map and Action Plan, Advance Queensland initiative and Made in Queensland programs, to tackle today’s challenges and grasp tomorrow’s opportunities by giving skills and education to existing workers for enterprises to succeed. Show less

The role of Innovation Manager within the AIC at QMI Solutions involved harnessing a Queensland-Wide collaboration of innovation managers and coaches to assist Queensland industry and commerce to embrace and benefit from the power of Innovation. One key offering to the state's businesses was the Q-WIN (Queensland-Wide Innovation Network) which AIC managed. Industry events were held across the state and videos of the events were recorded and uploaded to the Q-WIN Website. Clips of Rob at 2 of… Show more The role of Innovation Manager within the AIC at QMI Solutions involved harnessing a Queensland-Wide collaboration of innovation managers and coaches to assist Queensland industry and commerce to embrace and benefit from the power of Innovation. One key offering to the state's businesses was the Q-WIN (Queensland-Wide Innovation Network) which AIC managed. Industry events were held across the state and videos of the events were recorded and uploaded to the Q-WIN Website. Clips of Rob at 2 of those are included here. Show less