The prestigious MIT Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program (MIT REAP) is coming to Western Australia from June 25th – July 1st.
During this visit, on Friday 30th June, Woodside Energy and Rio Tinto are co-hosting a 2023 ILP (Industrustrial Liaison Program) Perth Symposium, as a “meeting of the ecosystems.”
Tickets are now on sale and will be sure to sell out, with a special startup price of just $35 for the entire day. Regional innovators can also apply for travel sponsorships, so they can attend for free.
This is a once-only event, so don’t miss out.
** APPLY for Tickets here – special startup price $35 **
What is MIT REAP?
MIT REAP is a global initiative that engages with communities around the world to strengthen their innovation ecosystem.
The program admits a cohort of up to eight regions ever year to participate in a two-year learning engagement with MIT. A representative group from Western Australia has been working on the program during the current cohort.
Three weeks of workshops are held in Boston (Team WA has already been there twice in 2021), and Perth won the right to host the third week of workshops, at the end of next month.
What will be covered at the 2023 MIT Perth Symposium?
This is a rare opportunity for the entire innovation and entrepreneurship community to learn from and interact with representatives of the MIT faculty, while also engaging in lively promotion of WA’s active innovation ecosystem and showcasing WA’s strengths in creating sustainable growth in a suite of industries, including new industry development, climate and renewables.
The symposium will be opened by Innovation Minister Stephen Dawson and provide three connected sessions:
- Innovation Ecosystem Development – discussing the building of a supportive sustainable innovation-driven entrepreneur ecosystem through presentations by Professors Scott Stern and Phil Budden from MIT and concludes with a panel discussion hosted by the Perth Lord Mayor but including senior executives from Rio Tinto and Woodside together with the Curtin Vice Chancellor and the WA Chief Scientist.
- Startups / Procurement – The Director of the MIT Startup Exchange, Catarina Madeira will introduce how to bridge the corporate and startup gap. This will be followed by lightning talks from five MIT startups: PolyJoule (grid-firming storage); Nth Cycle (battery recycling, rare earths extraction); Amogy (ammonia-fueled mobility); Swift Solar (super-efficient multilayer perovskite solar cells); Sublime Systems (carbon-negative concrete) and five home-grown WA startups. This session will conclude with corporate reverse pitches from Woodside, Rio Tinto and Western Power.
- New Energy – A keynote from the MIT Energy Initiative director Professor Robert Armstrong will explore the challenges faced in the journey towards decarbonisation, matched with a Woodside case study and concluded with a panel discussion.
** APPLY for Tickets here – special startup price $35 **
Full Agenda:
- 8:30am: Welcome and Introductions, Welcome to Country
- 8:40am: Opening with Hon Stephen Dawson MLC, Minister for Innovation and the Digital Economy, Government of Western Australia
- 8:50am: MIT and the Industrial Liaison Program, Ron Spangler, Program Director, MIT Corporate Relations
- 9:00am: The Role of Corporate Accelerators and Ventures in a Thriving Innovation Ecosystem, Scott Stern, Professor, Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management and David Sarnoff Professor of Management of Technology, MIT Sloan School of Management
- 9:30am: Building a Stong Entrepreneurial Community, Phil Budden, Senior Lecturer, Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management, MIT Sloan School of Management
- 10:00am: Team WA Report: The MIT Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program Process, and How to Engage, Neil Freeman, Manager of Innovation, Rio Tinto
- 10:10am: Panel Discussion: Possible Entrepreneurial Futures for Western Australia
- 11:00am: The David H. Koch School of Chemical Engineering Practice, and MIT Australia and New Zealand Internships, Brian Stutts, Station Director & Lecturer, School of Chemical Engineering Practice and Sean Gilbert, Managing Director
- Morning Tea
- 11:30am: The MIT Startup Exchange: Bridging The Corporate-Startup Gap, Catarina Madeira, Director, MIT Startup Exchange
- 12:00pm: Startup Lightning Talks
- Lunch, with Startup Exhibition
- 2:20pm: Corporate Reverse Pitch with Rio Tinto, Woodside and Western Power
- 3:00pm: The MIT Energy Initiative and Industrial Decarbonisation, Robert Armstrong, Chevron Professor of Chemical Engineering, Director, MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI)
- 3:30pm: The New Energy Journey at Woodside, Jason Crusan, Vice President, New Energy Solutions, Woodside Energy
- 4:00pm: Panel Discussion: The Zero-Carbon Energy Future
- 4:40pm: Closing Remarks
- 4:50pm: Networking Reception
General Admission: There will be a cost of $95 for in-person attendance, and funds will be used to sponsor regional entrepreneur attendance.
Startups: $35
Regional startups are invited to apply for travel sponsorship to attend.
This is an excellent opportunity to network with like-minded innovators, learn from the best in the business, and gain valuable insights that can help you grow your business.
Location: Woodside – Cara Auditorium, 11 Mount St, Perth WA 6000, Australia
Date: Fri 30th June 2023, 8:30 am – 4:40 pm AWST
** APPLY for Tickets here – special startup price $35 **
