Menu Close
Emertius Professor, University of Tasmania

Professor Jonathan West is founding Director of the Australian Innovation Research Centre. Prior to assuming his current appointment, Professor West spent 18 years at Harvard University, where he was Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Business Administration.

Professor West's teaching and research are in the fields of innovation and business strategy. His work focuses on understanding the roots of superior performance in national innovation systems, particularly in the fields of agribusiness, the life sciences, and biotechnology. West was faculty director for the Harvard Life Sciences Project, a cross-university initiative to understand the economic implications of the ongoing revolution in biotechnology. He is also the author of a detailed study of advanced technology development in US and Japanese semiconductor companies, and has studied the technology development strategies of leading electronics firms in the US, Japan, Europe, Korea, and Taiwan.

Professor West has served as a consultant to and board member of major corporations around the world and as an advisory to several governments-including those of Singapore, Hong Kong, France, Japan, New Zealand, and several Australian states-particularly in fields of agribusiness, innovation policy, and economic development. His doctoral and masters degrees are from Harvard University, and he holds a Bachelor of Arts majoring in the history and philosophy of science from the University of Sydney. His research has appeared in many scholarly journals and several books.

Experience

  • –present
    Director, Australian Innovation Research Centre