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Partnering for Innovation Summer Students 2009
Over summer 2009-2010 six students completed a summer studentship with Partnering for Innovation. The students were working on the Ideas Stocktake with us. This involved interviewing academics about their research in different areas of science, technology, design and medicine and then investigating the commercial potential of these ideas guided by the Entrepreneur in Residence, Peter Fennessy, and Victoria Jameson and Matt Winter. The students were from a range of academic backgrounds, Commerce, Science, Applied Science and Health Science, and had completed their third or fourth year of study. This is what the students thought.
Oliver Hornbrook
 I am a fourth year law, finance, and accounting student. Participating in the Partnering for Innovation studentship was a phenomenal experience. Gaining the chance to interview internationally recognised researchers and learning of their innovative ideas was truly inspiring. With the assistance of a wonderful support team, I have learned appropriate interview techniques, great phone etiquette, and an advanced way to evaluate novel and inventive ideas. This studentship strengthened my existing teamwork and communication skills greatly.
In particular, I relished the opportunity to broaden my knowledge base into unique realms of science such as, nanotechnology, virology, cardiology, and underwater acoustics. Whilst evaluating ideas, I became cognisant of the encumbrances which novel ideas encountered whilst undergoing commercialisation and also of the support networks available to overcome them. During the studentship, I learned a significant amount about the law of intellectual property, including patents, copyright, trademarks, and passing off. I can now conduct effective patent and trademark searches. Leaving this summer a more rounded individual was particularly satisfying and has renewed my vigour for pursuing my own entrepreneurial ideas.
I recommend this programme only to those students who are open minded, motivated, and who are prepared to chase the information required. Those who can think outside the box and enjoy networking will thrive within this environment. Thank you very much to the PFI team for the amazing opportunity!
Anil Patel
 I’m studying towards a BSc and a BCom so the Partnering for Innovation studentship seemed like the perfect opportunity to mix the skills from both of my degrees in an applied situation.
One of the great things about the Partnering for Innovation studentship is that it allowed me to meet academics and explore ideas from areas of the university that I wouldn’t normally know about or have any contact with. After interviewing these academics we would work in pairs researching their idea, paying special attention to patents and the science behind the idea. So by the time we had finished writing the report we had a great deal of knowledge about the topic. It is also great to talk with academics on a different level compared to the usual student-teacher type of interaction.
The interview skills that I developed when we conducted interviews with the academics are some of the best skills that I have gained from the studentship, along with solid researching, communication and team collaboration skills. It’s great being able to work in groups with people from completely different university backgrounds as each of us could work on the areas that we best understood.
Overall I would highly recommend the Partnering for Innovation studentship as it helped me to develop skills which are highly sought after in the workplace. It was an enjoyable experience and I am glad to have had the opportunity to be involved with it.
Alasdair Johnston
 The Partnering for Innovation summer studentship was, for me, an opportunity to learn more about the development of potential business ideas and what is researched before an idea is invested in and developed. I have an interest in start up businesses as I am studying Entrepreneurship, and this gave me the chance to take other peoples fresh ideas on and start them on their journey. It was great to get out and talk to the academics around the university and help them look into their ideas and how the research they are performing can be applied to the commercial world. Hopefully one day some of these ideas will help satisfy the needs of us day to day consumers. The ideas are guaranteed to be interesting and will expand your knowledge in a number of specialties, from microbiology to design studies. Being a commerce student it was great to learn more about science from the academics and the other students on the course, I now have a greater appreciation of what a scientist goes through when developing an idea to go to market. If you have a science background and would like to learn more about business as well as what your academics really get up to when they're not teaching this is a great chance to learn and see how you could one day research an idea of your own.
The PFI team all come from varying backgrounds and this is a real bonus for learning how to get the most out of the reports. They can be really useful to help you move an idea on or look at how it needs to be adapted. This program gives you the opportunity to learn about science, business, a little bit about intellectual property and will definitely be a help with your research and report writing skills.
Denise Dube
 I graduated at the University of Otago student with honors in Software Engineering and somehow found myself doing the Partnering for Innovation summer studentship once again. One would think that doing the same
job twice would make it menial and uninteresting but that is far from
the truth when it comes to the PFI studentships.
The Partnering for Innovation program was a wonderful way to find out about what current research is happening in the university. This year
was yet again another batch of brilliant researchers in the fields of
the sciences but spiced up with a number of Design researchers whose
ideas made us rethink our strategies and delve into fast consumer
goods market research; not an easy task I assure you.
The last time I did the studentship, I found myself struggling with
the science behind the projects, this year was different. Although I
had not learned an ounce of science since my last year, I knew that
although the concepts seemed a bit far fetched, in no time I would be
rattling of information about them as if I'd been researching them all
my life. What I had not counted on was getting emotionally attached to
some of my projects as much as I did.
Having done this twice, I am proof of what a wonderful program this
is. I would recommend students to put their hands up for this program
as it is a wonderful way to spend your summer; each day brings fresh
challenges and there is never a dull moment.
Tasneem Al Raisi
 I am an Omani student and I graduated with a bachelor of Biomedical Sciences (BBiomedSc) majoring in "infection and immunity" from The University of Otago in December 2009. As a biomedical science graduate and from being involved with the Partnering for Innovation Summer Studentship program, I now have an understanding of the relationship between science and business. This studentship made me realise that many professional scientists may have great innovative ideas; however, they may lack the knowledge to perfectly deliver their ideas to the right people. Therefore having a basic understanding of the process that a commercial idea has to undergo in order to become real can definitely allow me to do better if I had the opportunity to work with great scientists .
As a group of students who have different backgrounds including microbiology, law, applied sciences, energy management and accounting, we learned how to work together to produce a report that summarise a scientific idea while examining different commercial aspects related to it. I believe that after doing this studentship, I become more aware of the commercial side of scientific projects. Also, I am privileged because i had the honour to meet outstanding professors and inventors. This has definitely enhanced my self-confidence and improved my communication skills. Dealing with brilliant scientists and finding ways to interact with them and understand their ideas is challenging. This studentship experience was an exciting challenge for me to maintain and improve my level of achievement on the long term at a professional level.
Todd Croad
 Doing a Partnering for Innovation summer studentship was a great experience. Talking to researchers and trying to help them analyse the commercial potential of their ideas often involved a steep learning curve but was very rewarding. The studentship has been great for my general knowledge of subject areas other than my own, and for developing a broad range of skills and techniques for finding information. The PFI team were a great support and fun to work with; being able to chat about and bounce ideas off people from many different disciplines was a great way to get a fuller view of any problem we were working on. In conclusion, the PFI summer studentship was a very interesting, fun and rewarding way to spend my summer, and I feel like I have learnt a huge amount from it
Bright Ideas Students 2009
Bright Ideas Studentships give students the opportunity to develop their own ideas. Students work closely with Peter Fennessy, the Entrepreneur in Residence, Victoria Jameson and Matt Winter.
Keith Payne
 I'm a PhD student in the Electronics and Zoology departments. The Partnering for Innovation summer studentship helped me take an idea from my Masters project, develop it further and put me in a position to discuss it with potential industry partners. My research now works in closely with several industry partners and is heading in a really exciting direction!
As well as the PFI studentship, the PFI seminar series was great as it brought in representatives from successful businesses who had been through the process of commercializing an idea. They highlighted the challenges involved in moving from the lab into the commercial world and making a scientific idea a successful commercial enterprise.
The PFI studentship and the seminar series helped me gain a better understanding of what is involved in commercialization and put me in a much better position for the future.
Partnering for Innovation Summer Students 2008
Over summer 2008-2009 we had five Applied Science students, who are between their third and fourth years of study, working with us on the Ideas Stocktake. This is what the students thought.
Denise Dube
 I am a 5th year University of Otago student majoring in Software Engineering and currently starting my honours year. Doing the Partnering for Innovation studentship was a spur of the moment decision on my part, but it has been a brilliant decision and worked out better than I could have imagined.
The Partnering for Innovation program is a wonderful way to find out about what current research is happening in the university. I have been able to work with Computer Science researchers and help them put together a plan for commercialising their ideas, and have also found myself working with researchers in fields that I barely understand such as Applied Microbiology. The best part about this was that while every topic starts off being completely above your head, after a week of IP research you end up with knowledge about something you would probably never have encountered in your degree.
The program helped me put into practice what I learnt in my Management and Innovation papers that I took as part of my Applied Science degree.
This is definitely a program I would recommend for students in Dunedin over part of the summer holidays as each week brings fresh challenges and there is never a dull moment.
Logan Elliot
 The Partnering for Innovation summer studentship for me was an eye opener into the crossover world that exists between science and business. When we began, the prospect of interviewing top class researchers was extremely daunting. But through the experience such interviews are now exciting rather than nerve wrecking!
It has been fantastic after three years of study to apply what I have learned in a 'real world' sense and get a clue of what I could do when I leave University. The main skills we have learned have been about interviewing effectively and getting a grip on ideas frequently in new areas we have not studied before. We have seen many different ideas in diverse fields, which have opened our eyes into all the amazing research being worked on here at the University. I look forward to still being a part of this new program in future years and hope future students enjoy the experience as I have.
Dilpreet Singh
 Out of all the summer studentships available at the University, I chose to do the Partnering for Innovation studentship as it appealed to me the most. I saw it as a chance to gain experience and it fit perfectly with my desire to learn more about commercialisation of R&D and innovation.
This studentship has taught me a number of things which I will carry with me into the working world, such as how to have a critical and constructive attitude when it comes to completing a given commercialisation report. My teamwork and communication skills were also enhanced throughout the studentship, through interactions with innovators as well as peers.
The training day and meetings with the EIR and the staff involved with the programme were particularly useful, as it made important concepts such as intellectual property, which seemed unclear at first, more understandable.
The best parts of the studentship however, are the interviews that we carried out with the researchers who are diverse in their fields all throughout the University. It was challenging at times, especially when it came to understanding their ideas that were in fields different to the sciences, but it was always a pleasure to meet and converse with them, and gain an insight into their research.
I am grateful for the opportunity of being part of this programme and recommend it to students who are interested in the area of commercialising innovation and would want to learn more about it from the experts in the field.
Stuart van Heerden
 I’m a fourth year Micro Biotechnology (MOBI) student. A MOBI degree is an Applied Science degree, which means that it contains a large component of business and entrepreneurially focused papers. This is why the Partnering for Innovation Summer Studentship has been such an interesting learning experience for me. I have been able to get to see the exact point at which business and science interact, and the inherent differences in both worlds, which has highlighted the challenges in making a scientific idea a successful commercial enterprise. In doing so, I have had to learn very helpful new skills along the way such as how to search for patents and interpret them, as well as apply my scientific knowledge in the judgement of potential ideas.
For me, the business aspect of the course was very interesting and by interacting with influential business people from all over Otago I have gained a greater understanding of the way in which things work. This has been an extremely valuable learning process for me, and I am grateful for the opportunity, as it has opened my eyes to a world of opportunities I didn’t know existed in the scientific community.
I would recommend this programme to any science student who has a mind for business and is thinking about a career involving science outside the lab!
David Willan
 I am a fourth year Applied Science student majoring in Molecular Biotechnology. During the summer I worked as part of a small team of students for the newly established Partnering for Innovation program. For this we interviewed a range of people throughout the university with potentially new or novel ideas in an effort to identify new commercially viable ventures. It has been a valuable experience as we learned first hand the link between science and business as well as being exposed to a small sample of the exciting research happening at the university.
More information on the Partnering for Innovation Summer Studentships is available on Scholarships and Studentships.
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