9 - 10 April, 2019 | Novotel Sydney Central, Sydney, Australia
Conference Day Two: Wednesday, 10th April 2019
9:00 am - 9:20 am Coffee And Registration
9:20 am - 9:30 am Conference Opening
Tam Nguyen
Deputy Director Research, Adjunct Associate ProfessorSt Vincent's Hospital Melbourne, RMIT University
9:30 am - 10:00 am Driving Research Innovation in Australia’s Defence & Science Industry Through Government, University & Industry Partnership
In this session, Ian Dagley will discuss the potential for Australia to improve its innovation performance particularly in the Defence & Science sector, through cultivating talent, engaging stakeholders and facilitating collaboration. With over $1.6 billion in government funding available for spending, this session will explore the current Defence & Science landscape, and discuss reasons for encouraging collaboration between Universities, Government and Industry partners.
- Current technologies that DST are working on with the collaboration of industry partners
- Insight into DST’s current collaboration frameworks in place to reduce overhead costs and accelerate contract negotiation
- Transitioning science and technology into defence capabilities through the Defence Innovation Hub program
Dr. Ian Dagley
Chief Science Partnerships and Engagement, Defence Science and Technology (DST)Department of Defence
Interactive Group Discussions
In this session you will have the opportunity to deep dive into two of the following topics. Each 30 minute session will be led by a subject matter expert- who will facilitate an opportunity to compare and contrast your experiences and thoughts with a small group of your peers.
Roundtable A:
10:00 am - 11:30 am Design-led Innovation: How can Universities Design for Impact to Drive Better Partnership OpportunitiesRoundtable B:
10:00 am - 11:30 am Improving Research Delivery Time to Meet Industry Needs
Roundtable C:
10:00 am - 11:30 am Breaking Down Intellectual Property and Licensing Barriers to Improve Collaboration between Research and Industry
11:30 am - 12:00 pm Morning Tea
12:00 pm - 12:40 pm PANEL DISCUSSION: How to Scale Your Business by Identifying and Measuring ROI on Early Stage Research Ideas
Universities are improving their commercialisation support through rollouts of incubator and accelerator programs, while businesses are paying more attention to early research investments. There is an abundance of support from public and increasing private funding to encourage innovation in Australia. However, the main challenge for all stakeholders is identifying research projects that carry commercial viability as well as its impact on communities.
This panel discussion will look at the critical sets of challenges around bridging research to commercialisation and answer key questions:
- What are the factors that lead to commercial success or failure of a research idea?
- How to quantify the risk of a research project and what strategies can be implemented to mitigate these risks?
- The role of stakeholders to support innovation that can help solve market problems and create positive impact for our community
Shane Lawrence
Advisory Board Member, PartnerAustralian China Technology Incubator, NBC Capital
12:40 pm - 1:10 pm Panel Interview: Investment Opportunities in Research Commercialisation: Why Airtree is Backing the Future of Australia’s Start-Up Ecosystem
Australia’s start-up scene is growing at an unprecedented rate and is undoubtedly a crucial factor in enhancing Australia’s global innovation performance. Following Dun & Bradsheet’s 2016 credit report, 42% of start-ups result in business failures which is no surprise given the inherent high-risk of return in the entrepreneurial space.
- Why invest in the vision that involves community growth and economic prosperity
- Case studies on research ideas that have transitioned into successful start-ups
- Identifying opportunities in Australia’s landscape to drive investment decisions
Michael Biercuk
Director, Quantum Control Lab,University of Sydney CEO & Co-founder, Q-Ctrl
1:10 pm - 2:10 pm Lunch Break
2:10 pm - 2:40 pm CASE STUDY: Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (IMCRC): How Industry, Research and Government Collaboration Drives the Transformation of Australian Manufacturing
Manufacturing plays a major role in the Australian economy and is a dominant source of innovation. 24 months of consecutive growth shows that the Australian manufacturing sector is transforming itself and taking advantage of the possibilities of new technology. Local businesses are investing, diversifying and innovating to create products and services that are sought after on the global market.
This session will explore how research collaboration can assist Australian manufacturers to utilise emerging technologies and expertise to solve their market specific problems.
2:40 pm - 3:10 pm CASE STUDY (RFDD & RIC): Inside the Nanocomm Hub: Pioneering Research into Nano-Materials to Deliver Innovation to Australia’s Construction Sector
Inaugurated in 2016, the Nanocomm Hub was an initiative funded by the ARC and Industry partners to provide a platform for multidisciplinary teams to leave the advancement of construction materials. In this session, Professor Wenhui, Director of the Nanocomm Hub will highlight the design and space management of the facility that have supported collaboration across 13 different universities and 48 industry partners.
This panel will address the following questions:
- Early successes resulting in over 50 PhD students and 6 patents
- Major challenges in aligning the dynamics between industry and university groups
- Metrics used to analyse success of research to inform future investments in facility expansion
3:10 pm - 3:40 pm Afternoon Tea
3:40 pm - 4:20 pm Supporting the Entrepreneurial Researcher to Maximise the Impact of their Research
How can we support the modern-day researcher to think ‘big’? New grants are in place that requires researchers to consider the impact of their research on communities and there is growing pressure to add commercialisation into the research mix. With this in mind, the ON Program seeks to equip researchers with the necessary skills and mindset to tackle industry-led problems.
- Developing the right frameworks to test the market for better decision-making on research ideas
- Educators and researchers to evaluate the long-term sustainable impact of their research
- Lessons, pitfalls, and success stories of spin-out programs from the ON program and how educators can continue to play a role in supporting researchers
4:20 pm - 5:00 pm CASE STUDY: Southern Cross University’s Farming Together Project: Building Farmer’s Capacity for Collaboration through Sustainable, Healthy and Profitable Partnerships
Within the first 12 months of operation, the Farming Together Project generated $20.45 million of value-add to production, and created over 131 full-time equivalent jobs. Earlier this year marked the end of the program and a new understanding of the significant gap in support for primary producers in Agriculture. Lorraine is now heading up the National Regenerative Agriculture Alliance bringing the major practicioners and academics in this space together to shape policy, inform decision makers, lead critical research and education priorities around regenerative agricultural practice.
- The project delivered over 1,155 expert support services and registered 57 new co-operatives
- Surpassed government’s target of 2000 producers by reaching 28,500+ primary producers, supporting 730 groups Australia wide
- Build farmers’ capacity in collaboration including a structured Ambassadors program linking well established co-operatives with newly formed co-operatives
