Oxford+ podcast: Olga Kozlova on an innovation economy that works for everyone

Our own Dr Olga Kozlova has recently featured on the Oxford+ Ethics & Innovation podcast series, a special mini-series sponsored by Equinox, exploring how Oxford can ensure the benefits of its innovation economy are felt locally, nationally and internationally.

Olga, Director of Innovation and Engagement at the University of Oxford and one of the driving forces behind Equinox, the partnership for Oxford’s equitable growth, joined Oxford+ host Susannah de Jager for ‘Building an Innovation Ecosystem That Includes Everyone’ discussing what equitable innovation means in practice and why growth and opportunity must go hand in hand.

For Olga, that ambition has been embedded in Equinox from the outset.

“We want equitable and we want innovation to be working hand-in-hand.”

She explains that Equinox is bringing together organisations from across Oxfordshire around a shared ambition: to strengthen the region’s position as a globally competitive innovation economy while ensuring local people can access the jobs, skills and opportunities that growth creates.

Olga reflects on lessons from other successful innovation economies, including San Francisco and Silicon Valley, and why Oxfordshire has an opportunity to take a different path: pursuing global competitiveness while taking communities with it on the journey.

That means turning the ambition into practical action. A particular focus is skills and ensuring that people living in Oxfordshire can access the employment opportunities created by its innovation economy.

“And by that, I don’t mean just PhD-level jobs.”

As Olga explains, growing innovation companies also create administrative and technical roles, with routes through apprenticeships and directly from school. Equinox is looking at how those pathways can be made clearer and more accessible to local people.

Other priorities include improving support for entrepreneurs who are not connected to either of Oxford’s universities and developing the case for a stronger inward investment proposition to make it easier for companies to locate, grow and remain in Oxfordshire.

Equinox now has more than 90 Charter Signatories, forming a growing coalition of organisations committed to shaping an innovation economy built on collaboration, ambition and shared impact.

Olga also reflects on the opportunity presented by the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor and the importance for Oxfordshire to communicate its strengths with greater confidence. In an increasingly competitive global environment, she argues that investment in infrastructure, skills and the region’s ability to tell its story will be critical to retaining companies, jobs and economic value.

With Equinox’s Strategy nearing sign-off, Olga also looks ahead to the next phase: moving firmly into delivery, with clear focus areas, KPIs and priorities for the next six to 12 months.

As she puts it, the Equinox Council is clear that it does not want the partnership to become “a talking shop” – the emphasis now is on turning ambition into action and delivery.

Listen to the full conversation with Dr Olga Kozlova on Oxford+ - available on all major podcast platforms.