RMIT University · Department of Finance

Finance &FrontierInnovationCluster

How financial systems, capital markets and institutions shape which ideas get funded, which get built, and whether breakthrough innovation can still happen.

Why this work matters Hanoi 2027
The Cluster

The Finance and Frontier Innovation Cluster examines how financial systems, capital markets and institutions shape the direction and nature of innovation, and what it takes to create an environment in which genuinely breakthrough ideas can emerge, attract capital and scale.

We combine world-class research with deep engagement across industry, investment, government and the broader innovation ecosystem to uncover the forces that enable or constrain transformative innovation. By bringing frontier evidence into dialogue with the practical challenges facing decision-makers, we develop new perspectives, frameworks and solutions for building more dynamic innovation systems capable of supporting the paradigm-shifting advances that drive productivity, competitiveness and long-term prosperity.

At a glance
  • Where we sitDepartment of Finance, School of Economics, Finance and Marketing, RMIT University
  • Who leads itProfessor Edward Podolski, with Associate Professor My Nguyen and Industry Chair Philip Naylor
  • What we conveneThe Forum on Frontier & Breakthrough Innovation series — Melbourne 2026, Hanoi 2027
    See the forums
Explore

The Cluster in three parts

Why we exist, what we do, and who does it.

Context behind our work

Evidence is mounting that the innovation system is producing fewer of the breakthroughs that reshape industries and economies. Why that matters.

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What we do

Novel measures that separate frontier from incremental innovation, engagement across the Indo-Pacific ecosystem, and experiments with unconventional ideas.

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Our team

Edward Podolski, My Nguyen, Philip Naylor and Stamatios Tsigos.

Meet the team
Convening

Forums on Frontier & Breakthrough Innovation

Frontier research brought into direct conversation with investors, founders, industry leaders and policymakers.

UpcomingHanoi, Vietnam
May 2027 · Hanoi, Vietnam

Indo-Pacific Forum on Frontier & Breakthrough Innovation

A two-day forum examining how institutions, capital, incentives and networks across the Indo-Pacific can be better configured to enable breakthrough ideas to emerge, attract support and scale.

About the ForumStructure
HeldA speaker addressing participants at the Melbourne Forum on Frontier and Breakthrough Innovation
23 April 2026 · Crown Conference Centre, Melbourne

Forum on Frontier & Breakthrough Innovation

Around 70 curated participants from academia, industry, investment and policy examined why genuinely transformative innovation is becoming harder to produce, finance and scale.

Recap and photosBrochure (PDF)