Professor Anita Kocsis

Biography

Professor Anita Kocsis is Director of Design Factory Melbourne, Swinburne University, Melbourne, an interdisciplinary experimental co creation lab, is one of the three core founders of the 30+ international Design Factory Global Network. Anita is a champion of the lab as a model that integrates diverse teams at the interstices between disciplines to work on the big challenges beyond the scope of a single discipline or area of research practice. Kocsis’ collaborations include Aalto Design Factory, IdeaSquare CERN, Nandin, Innovation Precinct, ANSTO and Arena2036, University of Stuttgart.
Anita’s human-first, commercial and academic design and research is implemented in new products, prototypes, and experiences across diverse sectors; astrophysics, arts, academia, and health, including a start up in the museum sector at EPFL Lausanne, as Innovation Fellow at Australian Nuclear Scientific Organisation and member of the Experience Research Society.
Kocsis works at the intersection of academia and industry, spanning the creative industries, design, technology, science, and health for transdisciplinary innovation. Her national and international collaborations are academic and entrepreneurial, where she co-founded a Swiss start-up: muse-visitor experience framework and tool for cultural institutions.
Anita is the driving force behind the DFM brand, dfm.org.au as an exemplar at the nexus of learning and research for future global changemakers. She advises on Innovation practices and standards, and is a core member for ISO Innovation Management, Innovation Standards, Standards Australia and recently appointed to the Global Working group 2, Innovation Terminology, terms, and definitions.

 Kocsis recently has fostered a new design factory node in partnership with Nandin, Innovation precinct, Australian Nuclear Scientific Technology Organisation (ANSTO), linking IdeaSquare CERN, focusing on applied innovation for deep technology transfer at the nexus of learning and research. As Innovation Fellow at ANSTO this international collaboration drives the impetus for creativity and design innovation for meaningful deep science and tech translation.

This includes a cohort of PhD’s in ANSTO graduate Institute grounding design research and co creation culture in STEM and entrepreneurship at the nexus. The inclusion of undergraduates, as a research and innovation generator, made possible by DFM challenge-based innovation program is a forerunner of experiential real-world learning. Income overall $2.5mil partnership.

Since 2013 Kocsis has overseen, initiated, or led 100+ interdisciplinary industry partnered projects, with 80+ partners, contributing to the Interdisciplinary research and translation (ARC 2017) and The National Innovation and Science Agenda (NISA) sets a focus on science, research and innovation as long-term drivers of economic prosperity, jobs and growth. (ARC 2019)