partners with industry, partners with community
Celebrating a silver anniversary is a significant milestone, 25 years of developing your relationship, exploring and accepting your strengths and weaknesses, growing together through the ups and downs and becoming stronger together. In this case however it’s not a marriage, but a partnership between the region’s much loved university and its community. And there’s much to celebrate. SCU’s Pro Vice Chancellor of Engagement, Ben Roche, says 2019 will mark the university’s 25th year.
“We are proud to be a young progressive university that champions a model of regional and community engagement, along with our proud Indigenous and international heritage,” Ben says. “We believe that ideas that matter can be nurtured to have long reaching and lasting impact. Our university is a place where challenges faced locally, are translated into solutions that are nationally and globally relevant.”
The University has been continually meeting the needs of the Northern Rivers community with its proactive campus and course development over the years, by working hand in hand with industry and identifying local needs early.
It was this progressive thinking that led the University to establish the Southern Cross Enterprise Lab in 2017 in partnership with the NSW Government. Based at the Lismore campus, the Southern Cross Enterprise Lab fosters the region’s business creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. Since its launch, the Lab has been nurturing entrepreneurs to develop solutions to problems worth solving, and focusing on the importance of developing entrepreneurial mindsets, capabilities and connections that allow new and existing businesses to thrive.
The Lab’s startups have access to a flagship collaboration and co-working facility complete with optic fibre broadband. They can tap into the knowledge and expertise of the university, and participate in workshops and short courses to boost innovation and entrepreneurship.
“The cornerstone of the Enterprise Lab’s approach to activating future entrepreneurs is our 3Cs Framework – Capability, Connection and Collaboration. The 3Cs methodology informs all that we do in the Lab and provides a conceptual and strategic framework for action and impact,” Ben says.
As a partner in the NSW Government’s Boosting Business Innovation Program, Southern Cross University has been helping small to medium enterprises that are ready to scale up and innovate through research collaborations. This exciting program works by awarding TechVouchers on a competitive basis to eligible companies for amounts up to $15,000, with funding matched by cash from the business. The projects – using the university’s expertise, facilities and instruments – have ranged from chemical profiling of honey, a reduction of no-show rates at GP clinics, to fertiliser management strategies.
Vice Chancellor Professor Adam Shoemaker is confident about the region’s future. “In an interconnected world our future prosperity, health and sustainability is closely bound to our capacity for innovation,” Adam says.
“Southern Cross University aims to visibly drive this cultural change in regional NSW, working together with business leaders – both new and established – we can generate opportunity for all.”
Share this story
Read more stories
planting natural beauty
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/biologi-product-shot-scaled.jpg 2048 2560 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/biologi-product-shot-scaled.jpgBiologi
There was a little bit of the “weird spirit of Byron Bay” in the 2017 creation of the natural skincare range, Biologi, says co-owner Lucy Macdougald of her chance meeting with Ross Macdougald, who is now both her business partner and husband…
A fighting spirit … and great networks
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Five-Sixty.webp 768 1024 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Five-Sixty.webpFive Sixty Farms
Stranded on the roof of his house with his wife and their eight children, Pepe Fassos watched helplessly as his beloved greenhouses smashed and floated away in a tsunami of floodwater.
true blue locals making a difference
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/mountain-blue-001-copy-2.jpg 1920 1280 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/mountain-blue-001-copy-2.jpgMountain Blue
Mountain Blue is the definition of a twenty-first century business. Not only have owners Ridley and Mieke Bell expanded their blueberry production…
lights, camera, action in ballina shire
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Byron-Studios-team-photo-scaled.jpg 2560 1750 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Byron-Studios-team-photo-scaled.jpgByron Studios
Northern Rivers has long been a hub for film makers and a popular backdrop for film and television productions. But there has been one thing missing to tie it all together…
when opportunity knocks…
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/horizon-motorhomes-ballina-002.jpeg 1600 1067 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/horizon-motorhomes-ballina-002.jpegHorizon Motorhomes
When a campervan arrived on Clayton Kearney’s used car yard in 1995, and sold in seconds flat, he realised there was a gap in the market…
our kitchen rules in the heart of beef country
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/all-the-best-fine-foods-casino-001.jpg 1000 664 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/all-the-best-fine-foods-casino-001.jpgAll The Best Fine Foods
From little things big thing grow, goes the saying, and Casino-based business All The Best Fine Foods is certainly proof that humble….
not just a business, a community partner
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/stone-and-wood-001.jpg 960 761 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/stone-and-wood-001.jpgStone & Wood
“That’s like asking parents to name which of their children they prefer,” says Jamie Cook, Stone & Wood co-founder. He has been asked which of the…
community keeps on carrying on
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/OConnors-carriers-tweed-001-1.jpg 1920 1288 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/OConnors-carriers-tweed-001-1.jpgO’Connors Carrying Service
Friday 30 March 2017 is a day Paul and Sue O’Connor won’t forget. The owners of O’Connors Carrying Service left their depot in Murwillumbah…
following her art’s desires
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Bingara_Angela-Parr-scaled.jpg 2560 2198 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Bingara_Angela-Parr-scaled.jpgBingara Gallery
If she wasn’t painting wild animals and birds, artist Angela Parr, 62, would most likely be rescuing them, healing them, or advocating for them…
sewing love for a lifetime
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/patches-kyogle-001.jpg 1232 816 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/patches-kyogle-001.jpgPatches of Kyogle
Jeannine Smith grew up under her mother’s sewing machine in Western Samoa. “My mother was a professional dressmaker,” says Jeannine…
cooperative success, sweet for 150 years
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/sunshine-sugar-richmond-valley-nsw-002.jpg 1000 627 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/sunshine-sugar-richmond-valley-nsw-002.jpgSunshine Sugar
The Northern Rivers is home to generations of cane farming families who have not only built the sugar industry, but also saved the local…
In Ventura we trust
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Ventura-Brewing_product-shot.jpg 2500 1667 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Ventura-Brewing_product-shot.jpgVentura Brewing
Ventura is a symbol of luck, chance and good fortune – and while Ventura Brewing’s two founders have had a good dose of all three – it’s mostly been a lot of hard work and focus to launch this craft kombucha brewery amid a global pandemic.
carefully crafted business success
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Evans-Head-Cabinetry-001.jpg 2000 1041 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Evans-Head-Cabinetry-001.jpgEvans Head Cabinet Making
“People often say, ‘They don’t build things like they used to’,” says fine furniture and cabinet maker Justin Crisp. “But I can confidently say…”
Cool to be kind and cans it
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/The-Kind-Coffee-Co.-Product.jpg 957 1277 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/The-Kind-Coffee-Co.-Product.jpgThe Kind Coffee Co.
The KIND Coffee Co, reflects its name in everything it does.
reinventing a special highway town
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/rod-n-reel-woodburn-northern-rivers-002.jpg 1920 1080 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/rod-n-reel-woodburn-northern-rivers-002.jpgRod n Reel Hotel
Woodburn NSW is a charming riverside town with which is about to embark on a transformation. When the Pacific Highway bypass is completed…
biggy pop sings support for matilda
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Byron-Bay-Wildlife-Hospital-2-scaled.jpg 2048 2560 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Byron-Bay-Wildlife-Hospital-2-scaled.jpgByron Bay Wildlife Hospital
In 2020, Iggy Pop received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys; in the same year his pet cockatoo, named Biggy Pop, became the founding patron of Byron Wildlife Hospital…
love, peace and artisan cheese
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/nimbin-valley-dairy-003.jpg 666 500 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/nimbin-valley-dairy-003.jpgNimbin Valley Dairy
Not every goat in Australia has its own nutritionist and its own vet. But the goats at Nimbin Valley Dairy definitely do. Bill, the nutritionist…
Keeping it real in the Tweed
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Tweed-Real-Food_Julia-scaled.jpg 1706 2560 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Tweed-Real-Food_Julia-scaled.jpgTweed Real Food
Tweed Real Food is a business launched in 2018 from a desire to be resilient. Little did founder Julia Foyster know how prescient her plan would turn out to be.
world class creatives
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/meme-productions-featured-image.jpg 1000 750 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/meme-productions-featured-image.jpgMememe Productions
The piece of advice that dirtgirlworld creator, Cate McQuillen, likes to share with other creative entrepreneurs in the region tells much about her story…
‘can do’ marine
https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/harwood-marine-clarence.jpg 1920 1182 In Good Company | Northern Rivers In Good Company | Northern Rivers https://ingoodcompanynorthernrivers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/harwood-marine-clarence.jpgHarwood Marine
About half way between Yamba and Maclean is the tiny village of Harwood, which sits on the peaceful banks of the Clarence River with its population…