At Innovation Central Melbourne, Cisco and La Trobe University are combining industry expertise, research capability and student talent in one place. The result is practical digital innovation – and a stronger pipeline of people ready to work with emerging technologies.
Universities generate ideas. Industry tests them in the real world. At Innovation Central Melbourne (ICM), those two worlds come together in the same space.
Established by Cisco and La Trobe University in 2022, ICM is part of the wider National Industry Innovation Network (NIIN). It is one of seven Innovation Central sites across Australia and Singapore, and the largest in the network. The model is built on a simple idea: progress happens faster when industry, researchers and students work together on real challenges.
That is where Cisco Networking Academy fits in. For James Stewart, Cisco’s National Industry Innovation Network Program Manager, the Academy is not separate from the wider work of ICM. It is one of the ways the partnership builds capability while also supporting innovation.
“An important element of the Innovation Central model and the NIIN is skills and talent development,” he says. “This focuses on our future workforce and, importantly, today’s workforce, to help accelerate Australia’s digital transformation and ensure the economy can take advantage of emerging technologies.”
Through Cisco Networking Academy, ICM can draw on established curriculum to create short courses for business and help prepare students and professionals to contribute to innovation projects.
“The program complements this broader partnership by providing foundational digital skills and training, preparing students and professionals to engage effectively in innovation projects and industry collaborations,” Stewart says.
That work sits within a broader, long-running relationship between Cisco and La Trobe.
“The Cisco–La Trobe partnership combines Cisco’s technology expertise as a global leader with La Trobe’s academic and research capabilities,” Stewart says. “It’s a long-standing collaboration built around industry engagement, applied research, skills development and innovation.”
Why the setting matters
For both organisations, the university setting is central to why the model works.
Stewart says the success of Innovation Central Network is closely tied to the co-location of hubs on university campuses, where they can draw on researchers, student talent and a collaborative environment that brings academia, industry and government together.
That shared environment also changes how ideas move.
“When industry, researchers and students collaborate within the same space, it transforms the way ideas are generated and solutions are developed,” says Professor Prakash Veeraraghavan, Head of the Department of Computer Science and IT at La Trobe University.
“The barriers between academia and industry dissolve, knowledge flows more freely, and projects can be rapidly prototyped and refined.”
Students are a key part of that process.
“Student involvement brings fresh energy, curiosity and new ways of thinking,” Professor Veeraraghavan says. “They’re learning to apply theory to real-world challenges while contributing ideas that can lead to unexpected breakthroughs.”
That combination of training, experimentation and collaboration is already producing tangible work. One example is an augmented reality platform for health professionals, developed by La Trobe students at ICM with input from Cisco’s industry and technology expertise.
For Stewart, outcomes like that show the value of bringing education, innovation and industry collaboration into the same ecosystem.
“This partnership shows what’s possible when academic research and student talent combine with industry expertise,” he says. “It helps accelerate digital transformation and develop solutions that address real challenges.”
Looking ahead, both see this kind of collaboration as part of a bigger national task: building Australia’s long-term digital and AI capability.
“By combining academic research with industry expertise, we create an environment where ideas can be developed and tested much more quickly,” Professor Veeraraghavan says. “That helps prepare students and researchers with the skills and experience needed to contribute to Australia’s digital economy.”
