UniQuest Pty Limited, The University of Queensland’s (UQ) main commercialisation company, has appointed Joe McLean as General Manager of its Consulting & Research (C&R) Division.
The $14 million revenue-generating division works closely with university researchers to facilitate around 500 consulting and research projects each year, responding to industry and government demand for high quality expert opinion and consultancy services.
Mr McLean joined UniQuest’s Technology Commercialisation division in 2002 as the Manager for Innovation and Commercial Development in UQ’s Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (SBS).
He was appointed Group Manager for the Social Science and Humanities discipline group in 2008.
He was instrumental in establishing the UQ Cultural Heritage Unit within the School of Social Science, which is a UniQuest business providing archaeological and anthropological services to industry, government and NGOs. Business growth has seen the Unit’s billings exceed $1 million in research revenue a year.
Mr McLean also initiated the relationship between the Institute for Social Science Research (ISSR) and UniQuest C&R. The ISSR is involved in a number of Commonwealth Government panels via UniQuest, and recently secured a major project through the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs panel evaluating the ‘Dad and Partner Pay’ program.
“With Joe’s business acumen and intimate knowledge of how UniQuest and the University work together, the transition to his new position will be virtually seamless,” said UniQuest Managing Director, David Henderson.
“The networks and expertise Joe developed in previous roles with the Queensland government and Co-operative Research Centres (CRCs) will also add value to the Division, which is currently experiencing 21 per cent growth,” Mr Henderson said.
Focusing on intellectual property policy and licensing, information management and innovation policy, Mr McLean led negotiations on behalf of combined state governments on the first whole of government copyright licence agreement with Copyright Agency Limited.
Prior to joining UniQuest Mr McLean was engaged as a consultant to UQ on the development of IT policy and management. While based in the SBS faculty, Mr McLean was engaged in research matters at a university-wide level as a member of the UQ Research Committee. He has also participated in the Latin American Strategy Group and helped UQ build relations with universities and governments in South America.
Mr McLean’s other global interactions have introduced new business opportunities to UniQuest and UQ. He has managed the licence for the globally successful Triple P Positive Parenting Program and was a founding director of the SBS faculty’s first research-based start-up company, Leximancer Pty Ltd. Recently, Mr McLean negotiated international licences for the Latch-On multimedia literacy program for young adults with an intellectual disability, and BRAVE Online, a ground-breaking approach to treating childhood and adolescent anxiety disorders.
Mr McLean said he was looking forward to transferring his focus from commercialising novel technologies and programs to marketing innovative expertise and resources.
“Working with the C&R division on various projects involving academics from the SBS faculty, I have seen the Division prosper substantially over the past few years, and I believe the prospects for further growth are exciting,” Mr McLean said.
“High profile successes such as the recent $1.3 million contract awarded to UQ’s Centre for Online Health and facilitated by C&R, are testament to the abilities within C&R to engage successfully with both the university community and a range of clients. I am keen to add my experience and expertise to the Division’s capabilities and future directions,” Mr McLean said.
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Media enquiries: Leanne Wyvill +61 7 3365 4037, +61 409 767 199 or l.wyvill@uniquest.com.au
About UniQuest Pty Limited
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. From an intellectual property portfolio of 1500+ patents it has created over 70 companies, and since 2000 UniQuest and its start-ups have raised more than A$450 million to take university technologies to market. Annual sales of products using UQ technology and licensed by UniQuest are running at A$3 billion. UniQuest now commercialises innovations developed at The University of Queensland and its commercialisation partner institutions: University of Technology Sydney, James Cook University, University of Tasmania, Mater Medical Research Institute, and Queensland Health. A recent addition to the company is the Queensland Government-supported ilab technology business incubator and accelerator. UniQuest also provides access to an expansive and exclusive network of independent academics to tailor a consulting or project R&D solution to meet the diverse needs of industry and government, facilitating some 500 consulting, expert opinion, testing, and contract research services each year. UniQuest is also a leading Australasian provider of international development assistance recognised for excellence in technical leadership, management and research. Working with agencies such as AusAID, NZAID, the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank, UniQuest has developed and implemented more than 400 projects in 60+ countries throughout the Pacific, South-East Asia, the Indian sub-continent and Africa.
