Learning to see yourself in an entrepreneur role: Sunrise Innovation Festival

FLEET PhD candidate Maedehsadat Mousavi

FLEET PhD candidate Maedehsadat Mousavi’s has reported in following attending the Sunrise innovation festival, building on her experiences at the EQUS-FLEET Idea Factory:

“Previously, I would have never considered starting my own company or launching a start-up, but now I can see myself considering this future, and how an entrepreneur can have an impact on the world.”

FLEET HDR students were offered the opportunity to attend the Sunrise Start-up Festival in Sydney, November 2022. Australia’s leading innovation festival offers two days of innovation, start-up, and science-themed talks, debates, exhibitions and workshops.

“Sunrise was a meeting of believers (investors), creators (founders), and adventurers such as myself,” says Maedeh.

“During the process of conversing with others at the event, I realized how beneficial the EQUS/FLEET Idea Factory was, and how much I had learned.”

“The whole time I was listening to Sunrise talks and speakers giving us their tales, I envisioned our three-day Idea Factory adventure as a condensed version.”

Images from Sunrise

“The last point I want to make is that I can now see myself somewhere in five or ten years.”

“Previously, I would have never considered starting my own company or launching a start-up, but now I can see myself considering this future, and how an entrepreneur can have an impact on the world.”

“I am aware that this is a very tough route with many obstacles along the way. But I remind myself that I am a scientist who knows how to do research in order to investigate the world’s problems and find a solution to them, regardless of their size.”

“When I chose to travel abroad and begin my journey here in Australia, no one in my family supported me, and I had a very difficult time getting here; it was not simple, but I did it because I wanted to. Before I began, I was aware of the obstacles, but I was still determined to complete my goal.”

“I believe that every participant in the Idea Factory workshop sees something in themselves, and I hope may believe that one day their tale may serve as an example.”

The 2022 EQUS-FLEET Idea Factory took around 30 early-career researchers through the process of translating scientific discoveries to make an impact beyond academia, and understanding the commercialisation ecosystem.