The Innovators
Innovation is second nature to UQ researchers as they strive to develop and commercialise their knowledge for new products and outcomes. This culture is supported as UQ creates a strong position for research development through the creation of centres of excellence to address the challenge of an ever-accelerating force of change. True to UQ's enduring spirit of innovation, academics and research and industry partners have welcomed the "Innovator-in-Residence" initiative. The University's inaugural appointment was Professor Ron Johnston, the founder and Executive Director of Australia's first innovation "think tank".
The invitation to be UQ's first "Innovator-in-Residence" was evidence in itself of the University's far-seeing attitude to change and innovation, inaugural appointee Professor Ron Johnston said recently.
"At UQ, one of my main roles was promoting the InnovatorsatUQ initiative and forging strong links with relevant State Government agencies," Professor Johnston said.
Based at UQ's Technology and Innovation Management Centre (TIMC), the Innovator-in-Residence initiative invites highly motivated and outstanding academic achievers for up to six-months, to build networks and to provide insight into developing alliances and leveraging the University's excellence and opportunities.
The TIMC is a centre within the Faculty of Engineering, Physical Sciences and Architecture. It conducts postgraduate teaching, research and industry consultancy in the technology management field.
The next Innovator-in-Residence, Professor Elko Kleinschmidt from McMaster University, Canada, takes on the role this month. Professor Kleinschmidt is a leading expert on the process of new product development, portfolio management of new products, and success factors for new product development programs. He is a recognised researcher in the field of new product development, innovation and the impact of the international dimension on new products.
The InnovatorsatUQ network connects a range of stakeholders including academic staff and students, industry, professionals, government and the public. Its mission is to forge links between research, teaching, government, business and industry to develop an interactive professional knowledge network. Participants can share ideas on the construction and management of innovation in the 21st Century.
According to InnovatorsatUQ Co-ordinator, Lisa Daniel, the initiative aims to build a culture of innovation across UQ through a network of professionals seeking opportunities and advantage through a tertiary alliance. By creating neworking opportunities for researchers and academics in parallel and convergent disciplines, InnovatorsatUQ was facilitiating insight and opinion informing constructive interactions, Ms Daniel said.
Other major innovations happening at UQ:
Development of a new oral vaccine for $7 billion global market
A Federal Government Biotechnology Innovation Fund (BIF) grant of $193,676 to Vacquel Pty Ltd - a start-up company set up last year by UQ's commercialisation arm UniQuest - will help in the development of a new oral vaccine delivery system. Vacquel is validating a new system for delivering foreign antigens orally for vaccination, which is potentially safer, cheaper and more effective than current technology. The system uses live attenuated Salmonella bacteria that can be given orally to deliver the antigens. The company was originally funded by an investment of $392,000 from UniSeed. The world human and veterinary vaccine markets are estimated at more than $7 billion and $3 billion per annum respectively.
Opening of the state-of-the-art Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) clinical and research facility
The Wesley Hospital University of Queensland Centre for Magnetic Resonance Imaging incorporates patented, innovative techniques to enhance image quality and reduce distortion in magnetic resonance developed by UQ's Centre for Magnetic Resonance (CMR). The Centre is responsible for technologies in 70 percent of recently installed magnetic resonance systems in the international $3 billion annual market.
UQ Library's Cyberschool wins major innovation award
The Cyberschool helping to bridge the gap between high school and university by providing students with the opportunity to experience university research skills recently won the 2001 Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) Award for Innovation. Criteria used in the award included originality and degree of innovation; positive impact on service delivery to Library clients and information service; and potential applications across the library and information sectors.
Leading-edge guidance system for brain research installed at UQ
The Frameless Stereotactic Guidance system - offering amazing insights into human psychoses, Parkinson's Disease, movement disorders and cerebral trauma - was installed at the School of Human Movement Studies in March this year. Funded by a $435,000 Wellcome Trust grant, the Faculties of Health Sciences and Biological and Chemical Sciences and UQ generally, the new guidance system will allow researchers to precisely deliver magnetic stimulation to cortical structures that have been identified using brain-imaging.
Orthodox health disciplines and complementary medicine come together in new centre
The Australian Centre for Complementary Medicine Education and Research (ACCMER) is a joint venture between UQ's Faculty of Health Sciences and the Southern Cross University's School of Natural and Complementary Medicine. ACCMER is poised to become a world-class research and education centre, delivering innovative health benefits through a unique, multi-disciplinary approach combining complementary and conventional medicines.
UQ part of groundbreaking pharmaceutical research initiative Imaginot
National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Senior Principal Research Fellow Professor Mike Roberts will help identify new and better ways to administer pharmaceutical and nutritional products, including prescription drugs in his role as mentor to an innovative team of researchers known as Imaginot. The Herron Pharmaceuticals-sponsored initiative fuses academic and industry interests to achieve better research outcomes for patient care.
Patently ahead
One barometer of innovation success for any institution is in the numbers of patents generated. With this in mind, UQ was awarded an outstanding 44 patents during 1995-2000 the highest number of any Australian university during that period.
According to an Intellectual Property Australia report, The University of Melbourne and Sydney University were the next standout leaders, with 43 and 40 patents respectively before a significant gap to the Australian National University (ANU) with 30 and the University of New South Wales with 22.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor David Siddle said the additional 44 patents brought the total number held by UQ to 126 demonstrating UQ's significant contribution to the innovation cycle.
"These patents indicate our research is being more broadly utilised for social and economic development," Professor Siddle said.
"They are clear evidence that our research results are considered worthy of being protected by patents that may lead to commercial development, in the form of licensing agreements and start-up companies which in turn create opportunities and eventually jobs."
UQ took out more than three-quarters of the total number of patents awarded to Queensland universities during 1995-2000, with our 44 comparing with a total of 13 to all other universities in the State.
Professor Siddle said UQ's patent portfolio protected a wealth of valuable intellectual property sourced from research in biotechnology, new materials, software and various devices.
UniQuest Pty Limited is the company responsible for protecting and commercialising UQ technologies and Managing Director David Henderson said the patent portfolio now possessed a large potential value to the University.
One patent, the so-called '127 patent' protecting a technology for purifying the magnetic field in Magnetic Resonance Imaging equipment, has returned $7.4 million in royalties to date, he said.
