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.

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.

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