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TCI Oceania Conference 2020

Thu 30 April, Thu 14 May & Thu 28 May 2020, 3pm-5pm AEST

This year taking place online as a trio of two-hour webinars, the annual Oceania-area conference of international clusters organisation TCI will focus on how clusters respond to crisis situations – such as the current COVID-19 pandemic.

TCI conferences bring together international experts in the field; the aim of the TCI Network is for these to be a forum to create progress in the practice of cluster development, regional competitiveness and innovation support.

Each of the three sessions that make up this year’s Oceania conference –  tagged ‘shock’, ‘survive’ and ‘transform’– represents an opportunity for cluster practitioners and stakeholders in the region to connect, and share information and experiences about how clusters are navigating through turbulent times.

Session 1 – SHOCK: Clusters – Understanding and responding to crisis

Thursday 30 April 2020, 3pm AEST (Australian Eastern Standard Time); duration approximately 2 hours

After a welcome address from Merete Daniel Nielsen, TCI Network President and Director of Cluster Excellence Denmark, Nielsen and fellow experts in cluster management, disaster recovery and transformational change will present the latest information on, and discuss issues around responding to major crises including economic and natural disasters, and pandemics. Discover how other clusters in the region and worldwide are helping to navigate through unprecedented economic conditions.

Experts include:

  • Dr Christian Ketels, Chairman of the TCI Network Board of Advisors and Harvard Business School Visiting Executive;
  • Oceania Economist Shamubeel Eaqub, of Sense Partners NZ; and
  • Tracy Scott-Rimington, Oceania Chair, TCI Network.

The session moderator is Ifor Ffowcs-Williams, CEO of Cluster Navigators.

Session 2 – SURVIVE: Leadership in times of crisis and what it means for cluster and network leaders

Thursday 14 May 2020 from 9am, AEST; duration: approximately 2 hours

Eric McNulty, Associate Director and Program Faculty at the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative (NPLI), will welcome attendees to this session, the focus of which is cluster and network leadership during crises. An international line-up of experts includes:

  • Madeline Smith, Head of Strategy at the Innovation School, The Glasgow School of Art;
  • Ifor Ffowcs-Williams, CEO of Cluster Navigators; and
  • a ‘cluster managers panel’ that so far comprises Emma Greenhatch, GM of the Food & Agribusiness Network, and Dr Colin McIvor, Cluster Manager at the Subsea Innovation Cluster in Perth, Western Australia; with more panellists to come.

The session moderator is Dr Nicola Watts of C 4 Impact.

Session 3 – TRANSFORM: Clusters and transformational change

Thursday 28 May 2020, from 2pm AEST; duration: approximately 2 hours

Bill Greuel, CEO of Protein Industries Canada, will give the Welcome address to the final session of the conference, with its focus on ‘connecting global clusters to build a better tomorrow’. Apart from Greuel, speakers for this session are still to be decided – a strategy of TCI organisers keen to ‘keep the program agile to meet audience needs in today’s rapidly changing environment’.

Explore the conference agenda further.

Conference speaker line-up

This year’s conference is an opportunity to learn from global experts in clustering and disaster recovery, including Harvard University professors and highly experienced cluster practitioners – and to get a local perspective on all of it from leading Australian academics and economists.

View this year’s speaker panel.

Networking opportunities

It may not be face-to-face networking but attendees can use this webinar series to connect with like-minded individuals looking to build positive futures for their industries and regions via clustering.

And as these webinars are interactive, any attendee can join the conversation by asking questions of presenters in real time.

About TCI Network

TCI Network is a global network of more than 9,000 organisations and practitioners with deep expertise in clusters and competitiveness. TCI members ‘collaborate in a unique open, flexible and practical context to advance in the practice of competitiveness, innovation and cluster development’. For further information, visit the official TCI website.

Registration and further information

To register for the TCI Oceania 2020 conference, click here.

For more information about the conference, contact FIAL via Vicki Wright: Vicki.Wright@fial.com.au or 0447 217 096.