UniQuest, The University of Queensland’s main commercialisation company, has formed a partnership with the University of Tasmania (UTAS), its fifth with an external research institution.
The collaborative agreement was launched at the UTAS Sandy Bay (Hobart) campus othis month with a networking event for UTAS researchers, representatives from government departments involved with innovation and state development, and members of the Tasmanian business community.
UniQuest Managing Director, David Henderson, said the partnership presented both UQ and UTAS researchers with new opportunities to expand the global reach of their research.
“UniQuest’s commercialisation agreements with other research organisations facilitates greater entrepreneurial activity at all of our partner institutions," Mr Henderson said.
"As well as taking Australian research-based innovations to the global market, UniQuest stimulates collaborative interactivity with our commercialisation workshops, which are open to researchers from all our partners, and through our internal and industry networks.
“These are valuable ways of engaging researchers in commercial opportunities and helping them to understand how their intellectual property can be transferred from the bench to the boardroom and out into the community where the research can have great impact.”
In the past six years UniQuest has signed similar agreements with the University of Wollongong, University of Technology Sydney, James Cook University and the Mater Medical Research Institute.
UTAS Vice-Chancellor Professor Daryl Le Grew said the collaboration was a milestone for UTAS research and would expose the untapped potential of research innovation in Tasmania.
“UTAS is a research-driven university producing international-standard research. This partnership heralds a new era in commercialisation to ensure our results can be transferred into the global community,” Professor Le Grew said.
“The UniQuest collaboration is the first of its kind for UTAS and allows us to work together to identify, package and commercialise university technologies and expertise to the community, industry, business and governments.”
UniQuest Managers of Innovation and Commercial Development will be located at the Sandy Bay campus, working with the UTAS Research Office Commercialisation Unit to develop commercial potential for research innovations, organise patent protection and deliver commercialisation results, with the support of UniQuest’s extensive Brisbane-based technical resources.
About UniQuest
Established by The University of Queensland in 1984, UniQuest is widely recognised as one of Australia’s largest and most successful university commercialisation groups, benchmarking in the top tier of technology transfer worldwide. The company’s charter is to identify, package and commercialise research-based technologies, expertise and facilities to the community, industry, business and government. It has created more than 60 companies, and since 2000 UniQuest and its start-ups have raised a quarter of a billion dollars to take UQ technologies to market. Sales of products using UQ technology and licensed by UniQuest are now running at $5.2 billion per year. UniQuest now commercialises research, expertise and technologies developed at The University of Queensland, University of Wollongong, University of Technology Sydney, University of Tasmania, James Cook University and the Mater Medical Research Institute. For more information about UniQuest, please visit www.uniquest.com.au
Media enquiries: Leanne Wyvill (+61 7 3365 4037, 0409 767 199, l.wyvill@uniquest.com.au)
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