Sometimes the best ideas don't come from a boardroom or a business plan but from a simple chat over a cup of tea. That's the thinking behind NOVA's Demo-Teas, our monthly morning tea bringing together SRI Founders, NOVA Members and Residents for a relaxed catch-up that we’ve started to help foster a sense of connection and community.

On Wednesday, 12 February, NOVA opened its doors for its first Open Evening of the year setting the tone beautifully for what's ahead. The evening was an opportunity to introduce NOVA as a space for innovation and events, welcome the local community through the doors and share what's new. With a warm, intimate atmosphere and plenty of great conversation, it was exactly the kind of night NOVA was built for.

For many founders, the end of the year looks much the same as the rest of it. Client work, loose ends to wrap up, planning the next move. There’s rarely a natural moment to pause and acknowledge the year that’s been.

We've all been there. Someone asks "So, what do you do?" and suddenly your brain goes blank, your words come out jumbled, and you walk away with that sinking feeling that the message didn't land. Whether you're pitching your business to a potential customer, introducing yourself at a networking event, or walking into an interview, being able to talk about yourself with clarity and confidence is one of the most valuable skills you can develop.

When Chloe Spillane from Chloe Careers walks into a room to teach social media strategy, she shows up much the same way she does online…confident and direct but also, so warm and genuine – like your friend who just happens to know a lot about showing up online. She cares about the work she’s doing and about the people she’s teaching. And that combination makes her a natural in front of a room of business owners trying to figure out how to show up online in a way that feels both effective and authentic.

On Friday, 25th November 2025, at UNE’s Wright Centre, guests rolled in, chatting over coffee from the Herdies Van, greeting familiar faces and introducing themselves to new ones. Producers, researchers, students and industry leaders, all under the same roof, drawn by a question that is becoming harder to ignore across the sector: what does it actually look like to farm with the land, not just on it? Hosted by the UNE SMART Region Incubator as part of its Futures Series, the National Ag Day event brought together voices from across agriculture to explore the role of natural capital in the future of farming. Soil health and biodiversity. Supply chains, markets and measurement - the full picture.

The conversation about rural youth typically starts with what's missing—services, opportunities, pathways. But on Tuesday evening at NOVA, a panel assembled by the Royal Society of NSW New England North West Branch in partnership with UNE SMART Region Incubator flipped that narrative entirely, asking instead: what if rural communities already possess the keys to supporting their young people? The panel brought together Dr Kyle Mulrooney (Co-Director, Centre for Rural Criminology, UNE), Mayor Sam Coupland, Sam Davis (Hunter New England and Central Coast Primary Health Network), and Samantha Guilbert (Youth on Track) to explore how "place matters in meaningful and often overlooked ways" when it comes to understanding rural youth experiences.

On October 23rd, thirty Year 10 students from high schools across the New England North West gathered at UNE SMART Farm for the Youth Innovation Summit 2025, transforming from students into innovators, problem solvers, and entrepreneurs for a day. Working in teams, they tackled real-world challenges in agriculture, health, housing, and net zero/energy with remarkable energy, creativity, and purpose.

The UNE SMART Region Incubator wrapped up its 2025 HATCH program series on October 18th with focus on creative industries, partnering with Armidale Regional Council to align with the Creative Streets Festival. The workshop at NOVA brought together aspiring founders with diverse creative concepts - from bespoke marketing and production design to event management, broadcasting ventures, creative education hubs, and hand-crafted jewellery businesses. Some participants arrived with early-stage ideas seeking direction, while others brought concepts that had been developing for years and needed fresh perspective to break through.

In a room full of founders at Tamworth on Thursday, October 16, Mandy Walker posed a simple challenge: identify the single problem that most threatens your business. Not the problem all the business gurus tell you that you should fix, but the one that, if ignored, could bring everything undone. This wasn't another workshop about vision boards or five-year plans. This was about making strategy useful turning it into something that helps you choose what to do tomorrow morning.

When UNE Rural Science student Ella Crowley joined GeX Lab’s Armidale office in July, she wasn’t just starting an internship at one business; she was gaining insight into the broader UNE SRI start-up ecosystem.

On Tuesday, 10 September, more than 100 people gathered at The Welder’s Dog Brewery in Armidale to celebrate the launch of IMPACT 2025, the UNE SMART Region Incubator’s annual publication of founder stories.  We’re sure anyone who was able to join us on the evening will agree that the event was much more than a launch. It was a tribute to the ingenuity, persistence and imagination of the almost 50 business founders who make up the SRI community, and to the spirit of regional entrepreneurship that is thriving in the New England North West.

On Saturday, 14th August, fourteen founders and soon-to-be founders spent the day pressure-testing ideas, mapping the first steps, and finding the confidence to speak about their work with clarity. Edwina Sharrock, our Entrepreneur in Residence, led the event. Edwina has a way of making the hard questions feel safe.

HATCH is a one-day deep dive developed specifically for early-stage founders (and those still exploring an idea in their notes app on their phone). This time, we welcomed a group of five women with ideas as varied as their backgrounds, spanning mental health, biomedicine, childcare, and circular manufacturing. Together, we worked through the Lean Canvas, asking the hard but helpful questions that help shape an idea into something viable.

In classrooms across the New England North West, a quiet revolution is taking place. Students as young as Year 9 are developing sophisticated solutions to some of agriculture's most pressing challenges, proving that fresh perspectives and creative thinking can unlock innovations that the industry desperately needs.

How can research extend beyond a thesis and create a meaningful impact in the world? This was the challenge addressed at EMERGE: Forward Planning for Impact, a workshop hosted by UNE SRI at NOVA Armidale on Thursday, June 5

We were absolutely thrilled to have Edwina Sharrock visit Moree to deliver an inspiring, hands-on, and game-changing workshop to 14 attendees on Saturday, 29^th March 2025.

The UNE SMART Region Incubator (UNE SRI) was delighted to be part of the Narrabri New Energy Expo, designed and delivered by Geni Energy Founder Sally Hunter. This community-focused event brought together local industry leaders, innovators, and high school students to explore cutting-edge opportunities in the energy sector.

Attendees learnt how to develop a strong visual brand identity (how to choose colours, fonts, and images that reflect their business’s unique personality), create captivating logos and branding elements, design eye-catching social media graphics to engage their audience, produce attractive marketing materials to promote their business.

Sam Cathcart (SJN Rural) delivered a free 2-hour workshop to help equip small rural businesses with the knowledge and tools to successfully identify, apply for, and manage government grants specifically designed for rural businesses.

On Wednesday, 12th February, we held our first Masterclass for the year in Tamworth - Copywriting for Entrepreneurs.

At a time of endless hype about AI-generated content, UNE SRI’s latest Masterclass took a different route. Set to a 1960s Mad Men-inspired soundtrack, this workshop focused less on Chat GPT prompts and more on setting pen to paper.

Last Saturday morning saw five aspiring entrepreneurs gather for an intensive business planning workshop through the UNE SMART Region Incubator HATCH program.

The four-hour session, focused on the Lean Canvas methodology, helped participants transform their initial business ideas into structured, actionable plans.