What are the global trends of innovation, and where does Australia currently fit in this technology revolution compared to the rest of the world? What role can Australian universities and research organisations play going forward in harnessing this continuous push for technological development effectively? What challenges do we face in doing so?

Nuclear physicist and seasoned technology entrepreneur, Dr Tom Quirk discusses the value of innovation as a patent and how this rapidly emerging commodity has, and is, shaping global economic structures within commercial and political dimensions.

Dr Tom Quirk trained as a nuclear physicist at the University of Melbourne. He has been a fellow of three Oxford Colleges and has lived and worked in the United States and Europe. In addition, Dr Quirk has been through the Harvard business school and subsequently worked for Rio Tinto, where he was seconded to work for Mr James D Wolfensohn in a venture capital fund in New York. He was an early director of Biota, the developer of an influenza drug, and a director of Peptech. Dr Quirk also helped establish EnGenelC in Sydney, has been chairman of Virax as well as Deputy Chairman of VENCorp and Victrack.