Innovative Australian Engineering Magicians to Take on the World

Until a month or two ago, he was Managing Director of the Australian operations of a company called Agere, designing (right here in Australia) the really smart Integrated Circuits that are such a vital part of top end mobile phones around the world.

Dr Chris Nicol has now moved to NICTA (formerly National ICT Australia) in the newly created role of Chief Technology Officer (Embedded Systems) to drive activities in embedded technology.

Our Innovation Lecturer for this year, Nicol has a few challenges for us all- including taking a global approach to using our engineering innovation AND entrepreneurial skills to create wealth for Australia.

A passionate engineer (they do exist and we need more of them), he emphasises that real world engineering success necessitates a robust engagement with the real world.

One of his favourite quotes is from Arthur C. Clarke who in 1961, wrote “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”.

“I love this quote” he says, “because in some sense it is saying that engineers are magicians. We create the structures, the products, the inventions that stop people mid-stride. They see us as magicians for they know not what we do.”

Nicol’s vigorous approach is very infectious, and his Innovation Lecture this year won’t be a speech by someone who has done it all, telling the rest of us what it was like. While much can be learned from such a retrospective, Nicol’s presentation is “from the trenches” as he puts it. What it’s like to be on the road, mid journey, looking at the ever unfolding options of a life lived in engineering…

He insists that tour perspective must be global – the enormous economies and skills bases of China and India (among others) are changing how we should compete and how we should organise our alliances. But he is in no doubt that not only must we compete, but that we can.

“We have to be so far ahead of the next guy” he says, “that international executives should be asking not ‘Why the hell do we have an R&D centre in Australia?’ but rather ‘How come we don’t have more centres like that one in Australia?’”

He is an impassioned advocate of engineering engaging with the real world to change things for the better. But he also emphasises the need for shrewd entrepreneurial and commercially realistic thinking as well.

“There is” he notes, “a rule of positioning that says ‘It is better to be different than it is to be better!’ We need to apply this rule. We are so hell-bent on trying to be better – that sometimes we forget that all we need to do is be different. Within reason it won’t matter what you cost, because if done well, your definition of VALUE is in a whole different ball-park. In Australia, we might consider combining engineering training with marketing, business development, strategic planning, presentation and public speaking, program management, project management, Intellectual Property management and general entrepreneurial skills. We can change ourselves to take advantage of global trends and help make outsourcing more effective.”

According to Nicol, there is no need for engineers to remain as back room boffins. They should be taking the lead, taking the role of the magician and making all around them wonder!

Nicol’s ambition at NICTA is to make the world sit up and wonder!

Nicol’s own journey has been an eventful one. After a PhD at UNSW, he joined AT&T Bell Labs in the USA in 1995. In 1998 he returned to Australia to create the first Lucent Technologies’ Bell Labs Research facility in Asia Pacific.

In 2000 he launched Bell Labs Australia’s Wireless Product IC Design team and held the position of Head of Bell Labs Australia for the next three years. In 2003 he transferred the Bell Labs Australia organisation to Agere Systems. He then became the founder and managing director of Agere Systems in Australia.

It has been an interesting road, with lots of twists and turns, surprises and adventures, challenges and rewards. A vital journey with a long way to go.

Nicol has a lot to say about the journey so far… and about the way ahead.

So if you want “frank and fearless” with a few challenges and surprises, then the next Innovation Lecture is for you.

Dr Chris Nicol presents the 2007 Innovation Lecture in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney, 5–7 June.
Click here for information and here to register.

Disclaimer: The Warren Centre publishes articles relating to new technology and innovation that are often based on information supplied by third parties. While an editorial process is applied, we make no exhaustive investigation into the accuracy of the information, thus no liability will be accepted for its accuracy. Please note that in providing this information, The Warren Centre is not supporting or promoting any technology or company, merely seeking to inform. Interested readers should take their own steps to verify the information prior to relying on it in any way.

Contents

Innovative Australian Engineering Magicians to Take on the World

Energy Efficient Australian CV Joint Eyes Huge International Markets
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"Born Globals" – Business Going Global from Day 1
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(c) The Warren Centre for Advanced Engineering, 2007