Australia: An Impressive Landscape and Innovation Ecosystem

Our recent trip to Sydney, Australia was filled with day-to-night cultural, business, and leisurely activities.  Some of the highlights include: the Wildlife Sanctuary, the historic Sydney Opera House, as well as our interactions with leading innovators from the private sector.  My appreciation of Australia's ascendency to a top-ranked global economy over the past two decades was certainly deepened. 

During the trip, all the students delivered excellent presentations on their business start-ups.  They received valuable feedback from our Program's resident Australian scholar and from East Carolina University business students who were traveling with us throughout the week.  The presentations were the culmination of semester-long research conducted by our PVAMU students on the Australian economy and entrepreneurial environment.

Here are all the locations visited, company presentations, and activities from our Spring Break 2019 week in Sydney, Australia:

1. Darling Harbour
2. Port Kembla Steelworks (large steel manufacturing and multi-national expansion)
3. Southern Highlands Wine Region (wine industry innovation)
4. Wildlife Park (eco-tourism, business development, and Australian animals)
5. Tank Stream Labs tour (business Incubator)
6. Academic lectures from Dr. Wallace Bridge from the University of New South Wales (topics included: Australian economy, innovation, and entrepreneurship; Australian fiscal/monetary positions; Australian International relations)
7. Australia Museum (overview of Aboriginal history and culture)
8. Healthy Numbers company presentation by Ingrid Thompson (small business development)
9. inQ Innovation Global company presentation by Malik Irfan (global innovation ecosystems and startups)
10. Blueegg company presentation by Adam Faulkner (creating user experiences with graphic design)
11. Salesforce company visit (software-driven product development)
12. Veredictum company presentation by Tim Lea (bitcoin and cryptocurrency)
13. Oracle company presentation by Daniel Damiano (healthcare management)
14. AT&T company presentation by Jason Yu (strategy and innovation at AT&T)
15. Hossary Consulting company presentation by Robert Hossary (global business consulting)
16. Bondi Beach and Manly Beach visits
17. Tour of the Sydney Opera House