Rich academic, poor academic? Side hustles and start ups

The prospects of an academic job look bleak for early career researchers. While working in industry is an option for many, some people value the autonomy that academia can provide. Starting up your own freelance business might be the way to get the autonomy and interesting work you crave.

This session will be a crash course in setting up your own business, hosted by Narelle Lemon and Inger Mewburn. We will discuss how to start a side hustle next to your existing work that might grow into something bigger. We will also interview two people who can shed light on different ways to start your own thing:

Dr Tim Cahill of Research Strategies Australia and

Dr Craig Davis, General manager of growth programs at Canberra Innovation Network (home of Canberra's start up incubator).

They say a recession is the best time to start a business: join us to find out how!

Zoom Details: https://anu.zoom.us/j/92959273674?pwd=N2dwYTdCSVZ2elBqaXE1Slo3QmtnUT09

Meeting ID: 929 5927 3674 / Password: 2602

• Check the session time in your location!

Dr Tim Cahill has 15 years experience working with stakeholders in Australia's R&D sectors to maximise the benefits of publicly funded research.

He has held executive roles in the public, private, non-profit and higher education sectors, including as: Director of R&D Advisory practice for KPMG Australia; Director of Australia’s national university research evaluation, Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA); Chief Data Scientist at The Conversation Media Group; and Director and founder of Research Strategies Australia.

His thought leadership has appeared in the AFR, The Australian and The Conversation, and his work has significantly contributed to the shape of Australia’s higher education research policy, including research evaluation and industry-university engagement.

He is an international expert in research evaluation, higher education policy, scientometrics, research commercialisation and research collaboration across sectors.

Host of the Research Strategies Australia Podcast: https://anchor.fm/researchstrategies/

Dr Craig Davis has a deep interest in the commercialisation of Australian research and innovations. He is passionate about enabling entrepreneurs to succeed and make a difference by empowering them with the right skills, mindset and connections.

He is GM Growth Programs at the CBR Innovation Network, runs the GRIFFIN accelerator which he cofounded, leads workshops, innovation programs and more. He has been involved in startups as co-founder, CEO, director, investor or mentor for over 20 years.

Craig co-founded TakeABreak, an online accommodation business that was sold to Fairfax in 2011. He led the integration with Fairfax’s competing business Stayz and the group was later on-sold for $210M. Craig is a former Chair of Capital Angels.

Craig is also a scientist. He has a PhD in physics and held research positions at the University of Cambridge (UK) and the Australian National University. He also held executive positions in the Australian Department of Defence for 7 years.