Dr. Annita Nugent is an Assistant Director in the Office of the Chief Economist at IP Australia. Within her current role Annita leads the gender diversity and innovation research program. Annita has a PhD in the dynamics of university-industry collaboration and the influence of government incentives and has over 30 years of experience working in the innovation ecosystem. Annita began her career as a patent examiner (pharmaceuticals) before qualifying as a patent and trademark attorney. She has worked in private practice for a leading national patent attorney firm, as an in-house IP specialist, in university commercialisation and research translation. She is an Industry Fellow with the University of Queensland School of Business.