DR Robert kaY

/ Co-founder & Executive Director

Dr Robert Kay is a co-founder and Executive Director of Incept Labs. Incept Labs undertakes research into some of the most vexed social science questions, often delivering insights that have overturned conventional thinking. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Macquarie University.

Robert’s career has moved continuously between industry and academia. He is a former Head of Strategic Innovation at Westpac Banking Corporation; a Senior Lecturer in Information Systems and Organisational Development at the University of Technology, Sydney; and a research analyst at Bovis Lend Lease. He has commissioned to undertake numerous studies of senior leaders, exploring organisational resilience, innovation, and corporate governance. The largest of these involved interviews with Chairs of 100 organisations around Australia for the AICD.

Ultimately, however, his passion is in education which he believes requires a revolution if it is to help our young people prepare for an uncertain and technologically disrupted future. This conviction was shaped by his early research on experiential curriculum design for the development of 21 st Century learning and numerous evaluations of school transformation and professional development programs across South Australia, Victoria, Malaysia and currently the Northern Territory.

Robert holds a first class honours in curriculum development and worldview change, whilst his PhD involved the application of biological systems theory to improving learning and resilience in organisations.

DR CHRIS GOLDSPINK

/ CHIEF SCIENTIST & RESEARCH DIRECTOR

Dr Chris Goldspink is the Research Director and Chief Scientist with Incept Labs. An expert in complex organizational and social change, he has supported Corporates and Government in the change process for 20 years.

A former Assistant Director of Social Statistics with the ABS, Chris has held a range of senior staff and line management positions in the communications, technology, wine and information services industries. He has also held academic posts at the International Graduate School of Management, University of South Australia, and the Centre for Research in Social Simulation (CRESS), Department of Sociology, University of Surrey. He is currently a visiting Fellow with the Graduate School of Education, Faculty of Social Sciences and law University of Bristol and with the Centre for Systems Learning and leadership - a collaboration between the Systems Centre in the Faculty of Engineering and the Graduate School of Education at the University of Bristol.

His research is highly trans-disciplinary, spanning psychology, sociology, cognitive and organization science, ecology, complexity science, artificial intelligence. He is skilled in the use of both quantitative and qualitative research methods as well as in the use of simulation for the study of social system complexity and emergence.

Chris has extensive teaching and group facilitation experience within both industry and academic contexts in Oceania, Europe and South East Asia. He has published widely in both academic and industry journals.

ROBERT COOPER

/ RESEARCH MANAGER

Robert Cooper joined Incept Labs in mid-2014. Before joining Incept Labs, Robert worked on major research, engagement, and logistics projects with the South Australian Department of Education and Children’s Services. He has also held several sessional teaching positions, covering introductory and advanced material in Information Technology and Law.

Robert brings a dynamic and responsive skill set to Incept Labs, with a holistic approach to meeting clients’ needs, achieving project ends, and managing program execution.

Robert holds a 1st class Honours Degree in Laws and Legal Practice and a Degree in Information Technology.