Using research sprints to solve problems and action academic research with industry: Editorial

Traditional research processes would benefit from an overhaul, write Australian researchers Marek Kowalkiewicz (Queensland University of Technology), Ivano Bongiovanni (University of Queensland), and Peter Townson (Queensland UT). The authors describe the beneficial use of “research sprints,” a non-traditional research process that draws inspiration from Google’s five-day design sprints. These sprints bring together researchers, industry partners, end-users, and stakeholders to develop practical solutions to specific problems. While the solutions are provided to the client for implementation, the authors explain that “there’s no ‘handover,’ – we literally lock ourselves in the same room with partner organisations during each sprint.” The article concludes with a discussion of the current lack of incentives at many universities to engage in collaborations with industry and outlines the opportunities sprints can offer young researchers.