RMIT: New RMIT Vice-Chancellor’s Innovation Professor, Dr Marta Fernandez

Dr Marta Fernandez is the Executive Director at RMIT Europe, where she leads the University’s European hub in strengthening and expanding RMIT’s international partnerships, research impact and global student experiences.

RMIT Vice-Chancellor’s Innovation Professors have national or international eminence, and reflect a distinctive contribution to the University’s research, learning and teaching, and/or advancement activities.

RMIT’s two other Innovation Professors are Tom Bentley and Rob Hulls.
With innovation at the heart of what Fernandez does, she shared her thoughts on the new appointment.
“For RMIT, innovation is taking the knowledge we develop as a higher education institution and delivering impact through our research in industry and society,” she said.

“It’s also about finding new ways to deliver transformative experiences for students to get them ready for life and work.”


Marta Fernandez leads the European hub of Australian university RMIT
Fernandez’s approach to innovation is a collaborative one, practising open innovation at all levels across an organisation.

“To innovate you need to persevere, be curious and open-minded, and take a questioning approach to your work and life,” she said.

“You need to be ready to experiment and fail, and make sure you learn as much as you can along the way.
“Innovation is needed more than ever to emerge stronger in a post-pandemic world.

“I look forward to continuing working with colleagues at RMIT as well as partners on research collaboration and education partnerships, particularly in the areas of focus at RMIT Europe: sustainable urban development and digital transformation.”