radiofree.asia

Author: James Riley

  • The future of moving, making and computing

    We spoke to local leaders in electrified transport, additive manufacturing and quantum technologies in an attempt to understand what the future holds for each. By Brent Balinski.

    “We wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters,” is a famous gripe once made by venture capitalist Peter Thiel, underwhelmed by technological progress.

    Nowadays we not only get twice as many characters, but are well on the way to “urban air mobility” and other near-synonyms for flying cars, thanks to improvements in energy density in battery storage, electric motor performance, and more affordable flight control systems.

    Commercialisation comes with many remaining challenges, from the regulatory to the technical, but the field of hopefuls is significant. Airbus, Boeing and other established aerospace players are in the mix, as well as dozens of new companies. One of these, Joby Aviation, debuted on the New York Stock Exchange this month with a valuation of $US 4.5 billion.

    Quantum
    Our future in quantum computing. Image credit: Microsoft

    AMSL Aero’s vehicle is billed, “the world’s most efficient electric Vertical Take Off and Landing aircraft,” by the company. Flight tests are being conducted this year at Narromine.

    “Despite some of the impact we have faced due to Covid, we are progressing well and have built a full size Vertiia prototype and are looking forward to commercialising Vertiia in 2024,” Moore tells @AuManufacturing.

    The craft has a range of 250 kilometres using batteries, 800 kilometres possible through hydrogen fuel cells.

    “We are on the cusp of a transport revolution where zero emissions transport will not only be a game changer for our climate but also will be a significant contributor to giving greater freedom to where people choose to live and work,” explains Moore.

    Better, faster, cheaper

    It has existed since the 1980s, but 3D printing has only captured the public imagination in the last decade or so.

    While it has proved incredibly useful to countless manufacturers, it has not turned into a tool for use in every home, as some had predicted during one point in the hype cycle.

    It also remains too complicated, slow and expensive for many industrial processes. We’ve settled down a bit since the “Print me a Stradivarius” Economist article in 2011, which probably helped in some small way to inflate expectations.

    “I am still waiting for mine,” Byron Kennedy, co-founder of SPEE3D, told @AuManufacturing of additively manufactured classical instruments.

    “But more seriously, additive manufacturing is making a real impact in key industrial sectors. In particular in the defence, space and medical sectors, additive manufacturing is providing solutions that are adding value, reducing cost and solving long term problems.”

    SPEE3D has developed an answer to traditional, laser-based metal AM’s slow pace, which are one factor in high costs.

    Kennedy’s company has led the world in taking cold spray technology — discovered in the 1980s and previously only used for metal coatings and repairs — and using it to create parts.

    It uses pressurised air and a rocket engine nozzle to shoot metal particles onto a surface at supersonic speeds, where the powders fuse and build up a three-dimensional shape. It has achieved deposition rates of 6 kilograms an hour, and its award-winning technology has been used in Australian Army trials and elsewhere to create parts on demand for repair and other purposes.

    “This technology has the potential to revolutionise supply chain logistics, replacing time-consuming, expensive and inflexible methods of shipping metal components, but also the ability to replace parts that are currently impossible to source due to obsolescence,” adds Kennedy.

    The bleeding edge of what is technologically possible

    Professor Jim Rabeau’s research career took him from the materials science of diamonds to the applications of these to quantum technology.

    “I didn’t start off with any intention to get into quantum technology,” the Deputy Director at University of Sydney Nano Institute tells us.

    “[Diamond] has potential use as a quantum computing ‘chip’, a quantum sensor and a number of other possibilities… For me it’s such an exciting area to be working in because it really is at the bleeding edge of what is technologically possible and it means we are inventing completely new ways of doing things, which requires all the technical skills but with creativity and imagination as well. And I love that.”

    Rabeau’s work has included an industrial slant as well as an academic one, such as leading a review of Australia’s semiconductor industry published last year, co-founding Macquarie University nanomaterials spinout LuciGem, and time as Program Manager in Sydney for Microsoft Quantum (Station Q.)

    Possible commercial applications of quantum technology, and Australia’s ability to capitalise on them, are topics that sometimes get the attention of reporters.

    The CSIRO estimated last year that it’s a field that could add an extra $4 billion to the Australian economy, through enabling “drug development, more efficient industrial processes, and accelerated machine learning systems” and commercialising new sensors and communications.

    A recent report published by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute argues that though Australia has produced an oversized research contribution to the field, it has fallen behind in the last five years while other developed nations and private enterprises have upped their investments.

    It cites startups PsiQuantum (which has attracted over $400 million in venture funding) and Xanadu (over $40 million in funding) which have Australian founders but are based in Silicon Valley and Toronto. IBM’s VP of quantum computing is an Aussie.

    The report also advocates for a $15 billion federal investment in critical emerging technologies, with $3 billion to $5 billion allocated to quantum.

    “I think the article is timely and highlights some gaps in Australia that mean we are potentially going to miss some key opportunities in quantum,” says Rabeau.

    “The answer isn’t straightforward of course: there are so many aspects that need to be working well together for long-term success in this area, from talent creation and retention, domestic infrastructure and capability, commercial investment and IP creation.”

    Featured picture: cosmosmagazine.com

    Andrew Moore, Jim Rabeau and Byron Kennedy will be panelists at @AuManufacturing and MYOB’s “Trends and foresights in manufacturing” event, to be held Thursday September 9, 1230 pm AEDT. Register for this free event here.

    This story was originally published by @AuManufacturing. You can subscribe to the @AuManufacturing newsletter here.

    The post The future of moving, making and computing appeared first on InnovationAus.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.

  • Andrea Gardiner on Australia’s startup funding gap

    Jelix Ventures founder and chief executive Andrea Gardiner says the biggest challenge for pre-revenue and early-revenue startups in Australia remains the difficulty in securing funding, despite the huge volumes of new money that has washed into the venture capital sector.

    While the federal government’s Andrew (ESVCLP) program had attracted billions into the sector in recent years, a critical funding gap remained at the earliest stages of a startup’s journey to success.

    The biggest challenge for startup companies in Australia right now? “For the really early ones, I think its fund raising, because of the substantial and growing funding gap,” Ms Gardiner says.

    The success of the ESVCLP has meant deal sizes have grown dramatically on the back of dramatic growth in the size of the venture funds being raised.

    Sydney Harbour Bridge
    Bridging the gap in the Australia’s startup city

    Australia’s larger VC funds have beefed up and the size of the cheques they write has swelled as well. It seems like a nice problem to have, except that its has created a more dramatic hole in the funding landscape for the earliest stage companies.

    “[The bigger VCs] have been forced up to food chain, in a sense, to write bigger cheques,” Ms Gardiner says. “Lots of them started with tens of millions under management and now they’ve got hundreds of millions of dollars under management, and so they can’t really afford to be writing $500k cheques.”

    “They have to write millions of dollar cheques. And I think the gap that’s been created is the hardest thing [for these early-stage companies.]

    It is a thorny problem for local policy makers. The ESVCLP program has enjoyed great success by offering a capital gains tax free incentive. This has been undeniably positive for the local ecosystem. The trick in the longer term will be in structuring an incentive that opens the spigots of investment dollars into the pre-revenue and early-revenue companies.

    This has been the opportunity for Jelix Ventures, and where it has focused its attention.

    Jelix on Monday said it had closed a $15 million early-stage tech fund under an ESVCLP structure, bringing to $26 million in total funds that the company now has under management. Up until now the company has invested $11 million in 26 startups through its investor-led syndications under a variety of structures.

    The pre-revenue companies remain the focus, Ms Gardiner said.

    “That’s definitely our sweet spot. That’s where we have our deal flow. And that’s where we can help the most,” she said. “But the plan is to do lots of follow-on investments in the deals that we do well.”

    The new Jelix ESVCLP fund is backed by high-profile investors from the heart of the startup ecosystem, including Airtree co-founder Daniel Petre, Afterpay executive Rachel Kelly, Our Innovation Fund founder David Shein, iiNet founder Michael Malone, Inquisitive CEO and Mathletics founder Tim Power, Mumbrella founder Tim Burrowes, and Audible’s Japan-based regional chief Matthew Gain.

    Jelix cut its teeth in the sector when founder and CEO Andrea Gardiner began investing into startups in 2015.

    “Our original model was to source great investment opportunities and build and lead a syndicate for each investment,” Ms Gardiner said.

    “There were strong appetites to invest in early-stage tech startups, but lack of deal flow and expertise to assess the opportunity and structure terms, leading to a perfect opportunity for Jelix to fill the gap.”

    Jelix has already made its first investments from the new fund, including FL0 (described as Canva for engineers) alongside Blackbird and Skip Capital, as well as quantum computing firm Quantum Brilliance and computer vision AgTech startup Bitwise Ag.

    Jelix expects to invest in up to 20-25 businesses from the fund, focusing on software and deep tech servicing huge global markets. Ms Gardiner said Jelix would continue to offer co-investment opportunities with first priority to fund investors.

    Jelix also announced the promotion of key staff member Alon Greenspan to investment partner. Mr Greenspan has been an active investor with Jelix since early 2018.

    “It was a well-earned, short path to partnership for Alon. He is truly extraordinary,” Ms Gardiner said.

    The post Andrea Gardiner on Australia’s startup funding gap appeared first on InnovationAus.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.

  • Geelong’s GT Recycling gets $3m capacity boost

    GT Recycling has been awarded a $3 million state/federal grant for a $4.7 million expansion project, which will see the Geelong company able to process an extra 8,000 tonnes of plastic a year.

    The funding was from the federal Recycling Modernisation Fund and Victorian government’s Recycling Victoria program, and was announced on Friday.

    Victorian environment minister Lily D’Ambrosio said it would assist GT “to install world-leading technology to recover a range of plastics from discarded agricultural plastic including plant pots, shade cloths, and tarps.”

    plastic recycling
    Plastic recycling boost

    The announcement comes following the July 1 export ban on mixed waste plastics, with a scheduled ban July next year on unprocessed single polymer plastics.

    “GT Recycling is making a significant investment to increase its plastic processing capacity which means more jobs for Victorians, more reasons to recycle and a better outcome for the environment,” added federal environment minister Sussan Ley.

    Family-owned GT recycles cardboard and plastic materials, serving “small and large businesses, councils and government departments.”

    Picture: gtrecycling.com.au

    This story was originally published by @AuManufacturing. You can subscribe to the @AuManufacturing newsletter here.

    The post Geelong’s GT Recycling gets $3m capacity boost appeared first on InnovationAus.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.

  • CSL profit, revenue up 10%, but share price falls

    There seems to be no pleasing demanding shareholders with biotechnology giant CSL punished by the market despite announcing a greater than ten per cent rise in both revenues and profits for the year to June 30.

    The Melbourne company reported net profit after tax of $3.27 billion (US$2.375 billion), up 10 per cent on a constant currency basis.

    Earnings per share and final dividend also rose 10 per cent, but that didn’t stop the market cutting the value of CSL shares by one per cent or $2.99 to $294.95.

    Chief executive Paul Perreault said the result was achieved despite the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on the company’s blood plasma and vaccine businesses.

    vaccine
    Vaccine manufacturing

    During the year a record 130 million influenza vaccine doses were distributed, vaccine revenues were up 30 per cent and the company moved to develop a mRNA vaccine facility in Australia.

    CSL’s immunoglobulin products derived from blood continued to grow led by its new product HIZENTRA, which grew 15 per cent.

    Albumin sales grew 61 per cent, aided by a new distribution model in China.

    Mr Perreault said: Covid-19 is a once in a lifetime event (and) I am proud of our company’s response and confident of a return to strong growth.

    “Demand for CSL’s core (blood) plasma products remains robust.”

    Mr Perreault said the new Melbourne vaccine plant would use fully cell-based production technologies.

    “Furthermore, we have accelerated our research in mRNA technology in the next generation self-amplifying mRNA vaccine for influenza.

    “Pre-clinical results appear promising with human clinical trials expected to commence next year.”

    This story was originally published by @AuManufacturing. You can subscribe to the @AuManufacturing newsletter here.

    The post CSL profit, revenue up 10%, but share price falls appeared first on InnovationAus.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.

  • Judging underway: 2021 Awards for Excellence

    Judging has started across all categories of the InnovationAus 2021 Awards for Excellence, bringing together an outstanding group of companies and entrepreneurs for this celebration of Australian talent.

    The entries represent a diverse set of companies from across the whole innovation lifecycle, from startups with new to market products and services to established, well-known corporate brand names from across Australia.

    The inaugural InnovationAus 2021 Awards for Excellence were launched in May as a way to put a spotlight on the companies and people who are building new enterprises, and in the process creating jobs, creating wealth across the economy, and in the process building new industries.

    These awards have a focus on the local development and commercialisation of intellectual property: The creation of innovation new products and services that deliver commercial success or outstanding social impact.

    cORRIE mClEOD
    Corrie McLeod: The driver behind the InnovationAus 2021 Awards for Excellence

    We celebrate not only Australia’s research excellence, but also the translation of that research. We also Australian excellence in non-R&D innovation and the use of applied technology in building our industries of the future.

    While the awards have attracted outstanding entries across all categories, the most popular awards categories by volume of entries were in Advanced Manufacturing; Mining Equipment, Technology and Services; and the Research Translation category. And the WildCard category for difficult to define cross-industry entries of course attracted many entries.

    “These are the heroes of our economy in transition – the people and companies creating IP and turning it into commercial or societal value,” InnovationAus.com publisher Corrie McLeod said.

    “We have been blown away by the response to this Awards for Excellence program, with such incredible enthusiasm from the innovation community, a representative of the broadest range of industries across the whole economy,” she said.

    Ms McLeod thanked the Awards inaugural sponsors – Verizon Business Group, Sitecore, Squiz, Microsoft Australia, CSIRO, Okta, Mimecast, Agile Digital, Wrays, the Innovation Manufacturing CRC (IMCRC), and Digital Health CRC – for the support in helping to shine a spotlight on these outstanding companies.

    The Awards program includes a multimedia editorial series of articles, podcasts and videos that profile the finalists in the Awards for Excellence to put a spotlight on these successful innovators.

    You can find out more about the InnovationAus.com 2021 Awards for Excellence Board of Advisors as well as its incredible panel of judges by visiting the Awards website.

    The program culminates in a black-tie gala being held in Sydney on November 18 – a Commercial Disco for the ages, and the perfect antidote for a lockdown-troubled year..

    Our Awards categories are:

    1. Advanced Manufacturing
    2. Cybersecurity
    3. Food and AgriTech
    4. MedTech and Biotechnology
    5. Mining Equipment, Technology and Services (METS)
    6. Energy and Renewables
    7. Space and Remote Automation
    8. Defence Industry
    9. Research Translation Award
    10. People’s Choice Award
    11. Australian Hero Award

    The post Judging underway: 2021 Awards for Excellence appeared first on InnovationAus.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.

  • Technology lessons of COVIDSafe must be learned

    OPINION: As the government turns its thinking to a vaccination passport or similar, it would do well to learn some of the lessons from COVIDSafe.

    COVIDSafe illustrates the need for a good understanding of both policy intent and how the technology works.

    Aimed at ‘help[ing] assist health officials understand and contain the spread’ of COVID-19, the app is more than a benign study assistant.

    It uses people’s smartphone Bluetooth functionality as an incomplete proxy for distance between potential carriers and other people. Collected data provides an approximate, near real-time social network.

    Lesley Seebeck
    Dr Lesley Seebeck on the technology lessons of COViDSafe

    That can be both helpful to understanding the spread of infection and highly invasive of privacy. Like all such data, stripped of context, it can be highly misleading and potentially open to abuse.

    So, kudos to the government, which realised it needed strong privacy provisions around COVIDSafe data.

    However, it’s not enough to do good on the legislative side alone: government needs to follow through on the technology and implementation.

    A fundamental lesson of running a technology shop is that most apparently technical faults aren’t technical in nature but organisational.

    A ‘technical failure’, for example, may expose how after a reorganisation, no-one had assumed responsibility for backing up key systems, or that a long-departed contractor had hard-coded passwords.

    When these events occur, best practice in a mature technology organisation is to run an all-hands retrospective, after-action review, or blameless post-mortem to understand what happened, to identify systemic issues and a way ahead.

    Such exercises are not to find scapegoats but to ask ‘why’ until a root cause is found.

    Typically, it takes several iterations, digging progressively deeper. And it requires a healthy, open, informed, constructive, and respectful culture. After all, technology done well is hard; the technology savvy organisation will seek opportunities to improve.

    The report by independent researchers Richard Nelson, Vanessa Teague, Jim Mussared and Geoffrey Huntley probably offers the best insight into COVIDSafe’s technical, privacy and security issues.

    The organisational issues can only be inferred. For example, the hurried implementation that led to oversights on privacy issues, the prioritisation of user interface changes over privacy and security issues, the choice of security advisories by the Digital Transformation Agency, and persistence with a notification protocol that required workarounds that in turn introduced inconsistencies.

    Without digging deeper, root causes can only be guessed at.

    What is clear, however, is that the government’s technology competence could be improved, at both the technical and organisational level. As policy is increasingly shaped and implemented through technology, that’s needed.

    First, people. Twenty years of outsourcing, combined with a continued erosion of public service knowledge and rapid technological change, makes it hard to argue, aside from some niche areas, that the government is an informed judge of technology.

    But more ‘techies’ alone won’t help much. Technologists need to be exposed to the complexity of policy and delivery; policy and program managers need to understand the nature, opportunities, constraints, and weaknesses of technology.

    Ministers, too, have a responsibility to be much more familiar with technology than they are now. They need to learn to avoid optimism bias, be wary of vendor promises, and be willing to listen to the practicalities of complex design and implementation.

    Second, process. Given the fusing of policy, programs and technology, government needs an appropriate means of oversight—one that has a good grasp of technology and the economic, societal, and national security implications in design, implementation, and operation.

    That role cannot be outsourced to either vendors and consultancies, or the national security community, which rightly has a singular focus but typically lacks an empathetic citizen perspective.

    The government may consider its own lab for the express purpose of understanding and testing technologies, including hardware and algorithms.

    To understand technology well, one must build and run it. There is a precedent from the days when we took such technical expertise seriously: Lucas Heights was built to ensure Australia retained expertise in the nuclear fuel cycle.

    Technology is an integral part of people’s lives, society, the economy, and government. It’s going to have a continuing role in how we live with COVID.

    Best that government takes it sufficiently seriously to get it right, rather than simply acting to meet political expedience.

    Dr Lesley Seebeck is an Honorary Professor at the Australian National University and the former chief executive of the ANU Cyber Institute. She has worked in senior roles across government including as Chief Investment and Advisory Officer at the Digital Transformation Agency.

    The post Technology lessons of COVIDSafe must be learned appeared first on InnovationAus.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.

  • A digital path to growth in manufacturing

    The southern Adelaide industrial suburb of Lonsdale has been going through hard times recently with the closure first of Mitsubishi then Holden and a nearby oil refinery leading to numerous company closures and restructuring among others.

    But one company, Redarc Electronics, has grown at more than 20 per cent a year for the past 16 years, doubling the size of its factory that makes off road vehicle electronics, electrical and solar power systems, brake controllers and vehicle management systems in 2011, and doubling again in 2018.

    Now owner Anthony Kittle is planning to construct a building on an adjacent 3,000 square metre site to house his Redarc Defence Systems offshoot.

    Mr  Kittle said: “If you think about it that’s a lot of growth but in terms of systematic, planned, manageable growth that’s a pretty good rate.

    Redarc Electronics – using digital transformation to grow

    “We invest 15 per cent of our revenue on R&D and to maintain that investment we have got to maintain the 20 per cent to make it a viable proposition.

    “I am not trying to downplay it you have to plan for it and you are thinking five years or more out.”

    When Mr Kittle took over the business in 1997 it employed just eight people, and today has grown to 298 including more than 90 employed in the past year alone.

    With R&D performed by Redarc Technologies, a group of 130 engineers, Mr Kittle is now building a 24 hour engineering capability with small but growing capabilities in the United Kingdom and the US complementing work in Adelaide and Newcastle, NSW.

    “If someone in Adelaide closes their computer in Adelaide in the evening when they come back at 8.00am that project has been worked on through the night. We want to create a 24/7 engineering capability.”

    Mr Kittle has always had a very clear roadmap of the product and manufacturing technology he needs to acquire and develop to sustain his growth.

    “Technology for us is a real enabler of the things we need to do to remain competitive as a manufacturer in Australia. We know we can’t be a low-cost manufacturer and survive in Australia.

    “We have to compete on having the best technology and the best products in the marketplace.”

    The strategy is paying off in the United States market where Redarc has found a high degree of knowledge and acceptance among consumers of his rugged off-road electronics products.

    Consumers in the US search out products internationally that suit their demanding off-road conditions, and as Redarc’s products were designed for Australian conditions they suit the US also.

    A key to this success was an exercise the company undertook in 2015 with the German Fraunhofer Institutes involving an industry 4.0 audit of his factory and the development of a technology development plan.

    Mr Kittle said: “As far as we know this was the first Industry 4.0 audit in Australia that benchmarked us against the best SMEs in Europe.

    “The outcome was a focus on digital technologies, smart facilities, connected machines and connected products.

    “It was not just about the information we collect in the factory and the field but also about developing new value streams for the business.”

    Redarc in January repeated the exercise with the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre and Swinburne University, developing a clearer idea of technology gaps to be filled and a detailed roadmap covering the next five years.

    The last five years saw massive progress, with standalone IT systems in areas such as finance and manufacturing ERP integrated into a single end-to-end data management system in a $1.5 million 2018 software implementation.

    From his desk Kittle can now get real time visibility into the performance of individual process and machines using a dashboard that all in the company share.

    “In the past it wasn’t until month-end that you got that sort of information, and now we have real-time information helping us understand things like why is the uptime of a machine not what we expect.”

    “In the old days you had to ask the CFO to prepare a report.”

    Each printed circuit board going through the company’s surface mount facility, for example, is marked and laser tracked, giving full traceability down to the component level.

    Digital technologies are complemented by the latest machines including a SMT Asscon reflow oven with vacuum soldering capability – the only such machine in the southern hemisphere.

    The company has also used technology to shrink the time taken from product concept to production and release by building new products on the base of known, standard technology modules.

    Product lifecycle management software allows the company to manage a product from its inception through the engineering, design, and manufacture, as well as the service and disposal of manufactured products.

    “There are eight areas in our business where we know there are technology gaps we are working on.

    “You might say it sounds bad but we know where they are what we have to do about them.”

    It is the combination of product design and manufacturing discipline that enables Redarc to make the promise that its products will get an off-roader ‘there and back’.

    Such ruggedness and reliability has also eased the way for the company to enter the defence field.

    Two of its products are utilised onboard the Thales Hawkei armoured vehicle range for example.

    Kittle said: “Touch wood, we have never had a failure of one of our defence products.”

    Pictures: Redarc Electronics

    This story was originally published by @AuManufacturing. You can subscribe to the @AuManufacturing newsletter here.

    The post A digital path to growth in manufacturing appeared first on InnovationAus.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.

  • Melbourne Health embraces IBM digital uplift

    Melbourne Health is one of Australia’s leading public healthcare providers, responsible for the Royal Melbourne Hospital, NorthWestern Mental Health and the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory.

    All up, these encompass 71 buildings across 33 sites with more than 10,000 staff and some 32,000 assets.

    Melbourne Health was using paper-based systems to manage its assets and the many processes and procedures undertaken by staff for everything from patient care to building maintenance, meals and cleaning.

    These processes and procedures were time-consuming and opaque: Melbourne Health was not easily able to gather the data on many aspects of its operations needed to support funding requests.

    Health hospital
    Healthcare worker: Melbourne Health has upgraded

    Critically, it was unable to achieve compliance with the Victorian Government’s Asset Management Accountability Framework (AMAF), which meant it risked losing government funding.

    Meeting government’s mandate

    Melbourne Health selected IBM’s Tririga, hosted on IBM Cloud, for its computer aided facilities management (CAFM) to address these issues and IBM appointed TRIXi Building Insights to undertake the implementation. TRIXi has been working with Tririga since 2012.

    At Melbourne Health, as part of the Tririga implementation, TRIXi was also responsible for integrating the product with accounts payable, accounts receivable and general ledger and asset management register supported on an Oracle Cloud system shared by all Victorian health districts.

    Implementation commenced in 2019 and was scheduled to take 12 months but was accelerated to enable Melbourne Health to meet the challenges created by COVID-19. It was completed in March 2020.

    400 paper-based tasks digitised

    The system has now digitised the former paper processes required to fulfil some 400 tasks and enables resources to be quickly redirected to meet immediate demands, for example cleaning tasks initiated by a COVID infection.

    Digitisation of engineering and maintenance tasks enables service levels to be set and monitored and jobs costs to be identified.

    The status of facilities such as availability of patient rooms and whether they have been cleaned ready for use are instantly visible.

    Melbourne Health is also planning to use Tririga to support a centralised asset management register: a single source of truth on its assets.

    This will provide better understanding of assets and their utilisation, which will in turn improve decision-making on investments and support applications for grant funding.

    A Tririga feature facility condition assessment (FCA) will be used to create a register of capital assets and estimated replacement schedules to support capital expenditure planning.

    A happier workforce

    Melbourne Health’s Tririga implementation continues to evolve, and TRIXi has an ongoing role.

    TRIXi managing director Mark Williams says current initiatives are around energy management, assessing the organisation’s carbon footprint and deployment of IoT sensors for condition monitoring of machinery such as air-conditioning systems.

    Another project is to track food trolleys with Bluetooth low energy devices. When Tririga was first implemented, the more detailed information it provided revealed that 75 per cent of staff movements in Royal Melbourne Hospital were related to feeding patients.

    A strategic decision

    Mr Williams said Melbourne Health had taken a strategic decision to deploy Tririga.

    “It’s mostly used by large, global corporates that have massive facilities portfolios. For the issues Melbourne Health was facing, organisations typically buy point solutions, such as an asset management system or a work management system. I think their strategic intent and their procurement process was pretty innovative.”

    IBM Business Unit Executive for AI Applications David Small said one of Tririga’s key features that led to it being selected was its ability to cater for almost all requirements.

    “In the RFP process, Melbourne Health gave us a whole series of scenarios, that were very, very detailed. We took their requirements, and demonstrated to them that Tririga could meet the vast majority of those requirements out of the box.”

    The next planned use case for Tririga is for space management, Mr Small said.

    “They are looking to optimise their use of space across the hospital, which is something they have never done previously.

    “We now have 212 CAD drawings in Tririga, for every floor of the hospital and every building. That’s a big push for the second half of this year.”

    This article was produced in partnership with IBM as a member of the InnovationAus Editorial Leadership Council.

    The post Melbourne Health embraces IBM digital uplift appeared first on InnovationAus.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.

  • Ministerial Council unveils Australian Data Network

    The Data and Digital Ministers’ Meeting on Friday has agreed to the first ever national program of work on data sharing between jurisdictions and outlined the initial priority areas that will inform the creation of the Australian Data Network.

    The creation of the National Data Sharing Work Program follows the signing by the National Cabinet in July of the intergovernmental Agreement on Data Sharing.

    National Cabinet committed all governments to sharing data with each other jurisdiction as a default position, and outlines a basic framework to enable that to happen.

    The agreement between all of the states, territories and the federal government recognises that data is a “shared national asset” and aims to maximise the value of data to delivering policies and services to citizens.

    Inter-government Australian Data Network launched

    The agreement commits all jurisdictions to share data as a default position “where it can be done securely, safely, lawfully and ethically.”

    The first three priority areas for data sharing will be in national hazards and emergency management; waste management; and road safety.

    The ministers agreed that future priority data sharing areas could include family, domestic and sexual violence; closing the gap; and veteran’s health.

    To underpin data sharing objectives, the minister’s agree to advance on system reforms that includes:

    • the creation of an Australian Data Network
    • standard operating procedures for data sharing activities
    • improving data discoverability through machine readable metadata for data sharing priorities
    • introduction of a share-once, use-often model for aggregate de-identified administrative data

    The ministers also discussed the opportunities presented by digital birth certificates and will explore how future interoperability to support future citizen engagement with different governments.

    The Data and Digital Ministers’ Meeting is a regular and ongoing meeting of state, territory and federal ministers who are responsible for data and digital services under the federal relations architecture that has emerged under the National Cabinet structure.

    The meeting evolved from the Australian Digital Council, which was a standing sub-committee Council of Australian Governments (COAG) before it was replaced by the National Cabinet structure.

    The New Zealand government holds observer status on the Data and Digital Ministers’ Meeting, but is not a signatory to its communiques.

    The post Ministerial Council unveils Australian Data Network appeared first on InnovationAus.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.

  • What will our future export industries be?

    COLUMN: As the reality of potential ‘carbon tariffs’ hit the Australian Government, the big question is what we can export in future to maintain economic growth.

    The Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction, Angus Taylor, writing in The Australian last week, attempted to argue that proposed EU tariffs threatened the confidence the liberal democracies are building in the benefits of free and open trade.

    The issue of concern was the EU’s proposal to impose tariffs through a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. Quite reasonably, the EU feels domestic producers should not face an unfair cost disadvantage due to the European carbon price.

    The EU’s action to impose the tariff is unsurprising; it was one of the major reasons advanced against the Rudd Government putting a price on carbon in advance of global agreements. The failure of COP 15 in Copenhagen in 2009 to reach a strong agreement was the primary cause of Rudd’s uncertainty, which, in turn, was a significant part of his downfall.

    But in the final analysis, the exports that Taylor listed of concern (aluminium, cement, steel and eventually agriculture) aren’t a significant section of our exports. The chart below from the Observatory of Economic Complexity shows Australian exports by trade value by product in 2019.

    Exports
    Resource reliance: Australian exports

    Europe as a whole is also a relatively small component. Over 50 per cent of our exports go to just two countries – China and Japan.

    Readers are encouraged to visit the site to gain a deeper understanding of the patterns of trade. Some examples include 78.8 per cent of exports to the UK are gold, 18.8 per cent of our exports to Germany are pharmaceutical products, 12.4 per cent of our exports to the Netherlands are instruments and apparatus.

    To put the export question into context, Australia exports six times the domestic use (excluding industry self-use) of coal and gas (see endnote 1). As a result, the economic consequence to Australia of our own emissions reduction policies (or non-policies) is repeatedly over-estimated. A ‘just transition’ for workers doesn’t depend on what we do with our electricity – it depends on what others do.

    The three most prominent destinations of coal exports are Japan, India and China (at 24.6 per cent, 23.5 per cent and 18.2 per cent, respectively) and for natural gas are Japan, China and South Korea (at 43 per cent, 34.7 per cent and 9.79 per cent). So what are these countries doing?

    The Morrison Government is not unaware of this trade concentration, though it has declined to take action on a Senate Committee’s recommendations on trade diversification.

    The IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report unequivocal conclusion that ‘human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land, and that this change is accelerating will result in stronger and faster action by the community of nations.

    The biggest economic question for Australia is not the rate at which it might decarbonise – important as it is – but what our future export industries will be.

    The Prime Minister’s response to the IPCC’s report was, as always, underwhelming. He chose the ‘we have to let developing nation’s catch-up’ argument but argued these countries generate two-thirds of emissions (see endnote 2). The Australian even reported the PM’s comments as:

    Scott Morrison says reducing emissions in China, India and other developing nations is the only way to avoid catastrophic ­climate change

    That is precisely what these countries are committed to. President Xi has committed China to reach peak emissions by 2030 and net-zero by 2060. India isn’t yet committing to net-zero by 2050, but has pledged to reduce emissions by 33 per cent of 2005 levels by 2030. Last month the Indian Minister said they were on track to exceed that target.

    But, across the two fuels, our biggest market is Japan. Japan is not only committed to net-zero by 2050, but it has also increased its immediate goal to reduce emissions by 46 per cent on 2013 levels by 2030.

    Of more direct significance to Australia is the draft energy mix policy released by Japan last month. Coal’s share of electricity production will be reduced from 26 per cent to 19 per cent, while gas will be reduced from 56 per cent to 41 per cent.

    The Prime Minister remains stuck in his ‘technology not taxes’ rhetoric without really doing anything on technology while his Government denies the parliament a Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology.

    Minister Hume is apparently unable to distinguish between advice to government and advice to parliament.

    This is a truly ‘conservative’ government, unwilling to address change in any substantive way.

    When change is affecting something as fundamental as climate, and its repercussions so great for the economy, something more is required.

    Endnote 1: Australian use and export of coal and gas

    The Sankey diagram (from the International Energy Agency) below shows Australia’s energy supply sources and uses.

    After allowing for consumption in production, we export six times as much coal and natural gas as we consume domestically.

    Endnote 2: Emissions by country

    Scott Morrison claims that developing countries account for twice the emissions of developed countries. This claim is accurate but misleading.

    The World Bank publishes emissions per capita data (for 2018) with a data set that labels countries as either High, Upper middle, Lower Middle or Low Income. Using population data (also from the world bank, but for 2015), we can convert these to emissions data and calculate the total emissions by income group. The data is presented below (noting China is classed as Upper middle income).

    The telling issue remains the emissions per capita, with high-income countries at two and a half to three times more than the middle-income countries. The low-income countries have high emissions because much of their energy still comes from burning wood or dung.

    The Indian Minister referred to earlier claimed that some countries per capita emissions are up to nine times more than the global average without naming any country.

    This claim isn’t entirely accurate – the global average is 4.48 tonnes per person, while Qatar is the highest country at 32.41. Australia, Canada and the US all make the top ten at over 15 tonnes per person.

    We don’t get to net-zero by raising the developing countries’ emission levels to those of the developed; the developed must get theirs down.

    So, Australia, like our major export markets, should be committed to net-zero by 2050 and deeper reductions by 2030.

    The actions other countries are already taking will have the biggest economic impact on Australia. Yet, all the while, the so-called champions of our mining sector – the Nationals like Joyce and Canavan – are holding the nation hostage on our climate action while doing nothing to help the mining communities that will see exports disappear.

    David Havyatt is a former adviser to Federal ministers and a longtime observer of Australian innovation policy.

    The post What will our future export industries be? appeared first on InnovationAus.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.

  • Collaboration premium for $800m industry grants

    The Industry department has unveiled guidelines for Australian manufacturers to apply for a share of $800 million under the big-ticket Collaboration Stream of the federal government’s Modern Manufacturing Initiative.

    Grants of between $20 million and $200 million are available to large-scale manufacturing projects that have business-to-business collaboration, or business-to-research collaboration at their core. The grants will fund up to 33 per cent of the cost of a project.

    The grants available through the Collaboration stream are among the largest awarded through the MMI and aim to boost the long-term transformation of manufacturing in the government’s six manufacturing priority areas.

    manufacturing
    Collaboration is key to unlocking funding

    The aim of the new stream is to build collaboration between businesses, research organisations, investors and others to scale up, move toward higher-value activities, and to become more competitive. A major focus of the program is job-creation.

    It also aims to support companies in working together to build manufacturing networks and ecosystems to unlock complementary capabilities.

    A key driver for the Collaboration stream of the program is to support long-term job creation and a more highly-skilled workforce in the Australian manufacturing sector, and to increase investment in manufacturing – particularly in higher value-added activities.

    Industry Minister Christian Porter said the manufacturing initiative was a part of both charting the economic recovery from COVID-19 and building future resilience.

    “Through the Collaboration stream, we are determined to co-invest in industry-led proposals that will transform our National Manufacturing Priority areas, by encouraging manufacturers to move up the value chain to higher value, higher margin activities, including drawing on our world class research,” Mr Porter said.

    “This is at the heart of our $1.5 billion Modern Manufacturing Strategy which is all designed to support Australian manufacturers to scale-up, build resilience, become more competitive and create the jobs we need not only now but for generations to come.”

    The six priority areas under the Modern Manufacturing Initiative are resources technology and critical minerals processing; food and beverage manufacturing; medical products; recycling and clean energy; the defence sector; and space.

    The post Collaboration premium for $800m industry grants appeared first on InnovationAus.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.

  • The DTA is missing in action, adrift

    Now before people @me, I have long advocated for a far-reaching agenda for a ‘digital transformation’ institution. More on that shortly, but we are way off track.

    Even at this most perilous time, when digital services and technologies are the very means – and in many instances, the only means – by which we remain connected, work and access services, the DTA is directionless.

    A google and news search on the DTA, reveals all sorts of tenders; the handing out of contracts like confetti; the explosion of consultants; endless updates on digital identity; information about itself; an entry on Wikipedia; and an embarrassing confusion with Bunnings.

    And while the country is in the midst of the ravages of the COVID pandemic, it would seem that the DTA’s crowning glory has been the COVIDSafe app debacle. Helped along by a bevy of consulting firms.

    people crossing city connections
    Crossroads: Where are we going?

    The whole COVIDSafe episode has been blighted by the lack of transparency regarding the app’s design, the lack of an operating model, and an entrenched reluctance to engage with industry experts.

    However, this is far more than the failure of an app. And the fact that many in Canberra still think of this only as an app, demonstrates just how without purpose the DTA has become.

    This is a serious policy failure of digital resilience. Fragile trust squandered.

    Hot on the heels of the COVIDSafe debacle, has been the urgent need for a trusted vaccine digital certificate, and it is a good thing that people are being given the choice to use their Google or Apple wallets.

    But people shouldn’t need a MyGovAu account to get a digital vaccination certificate on their phone. This is inserting MyGovAu as a mechanism of control. People should be given the choice to have their digital vaccination certificate securely delivered via other means.

    In any case, as Senator Rex Patrick recently demonstrated, the certificate itself even if downloaded via MyGovAu, can be fraudulently tampered with.

    These credentials will quickly become the means to access everyday services and the authority mechanism for movement.

    Under pressure to deliver, the problem I see emerging, is insufficient thought given to the operating model of the vaccine certificate and the ecosystem in which it will operate – as occurred with the COVIDSafe app.
    This will lead to all sorts of in-use problems, scammers, and unintended constraints on civil liberties. The DTA cannot handball this to Services Australia.

    The COVID-cert will run head-on into the ‘House of Cards’ $450 million 6-year long digital identity project.

    Key questions have never really been asked or answered: for what purpose and what is the problem to be addressed? Where is the digital identity business case?

    In the digital era, the digital identity audit will perhaps be one of the ANAO’s most important investigations.

    The DTA also seems to have not much to say about artificial intelligence, algorithms, and ethics – whether from a government servicing perspective or from the perspective of national capability.

    There is zero mention of any of these in the Digital Transformation Strategy Refresh. Just let that sink in.

    Perhaps most telling, the DTA remains mute in the midst of the storm of research identifying real societal and technical risks with these technologies. They mount no defence because there isn’t one.

    And while Senator Hume is of the view that artificial intelligence in Australia should not be regulated, the “do nothing” strategy is both a cop out and ineffectual. This sets Australia up to be an ignorant slave to global corporations.

    The genie is out of the bottle. AI has been compared to nuclear power – it can be both incredibly beneficial to society and a weapon of war. We ignore it at our peril

    But alarm bells are being sounded. The Australian Human Rights Commission brilliant report on Human Rights and Technology has called for urgent action: it is so concerned that it has called for a halt on the use of facial recognition and algorithms in decision-making by government.

    AI is perhaps the government’s most serious policy abyss across all policy areas.

    Elsewhere, Royal Commissions into Aged Care and Disability Abuse reveal a landscape of sickening policy and service delivery failures.

    The Royal Commission into Veteran Suicides will be haunting for the country as we face the truth of the impact of the machinery of warfare and the servicing machinery of government.

    So lacking in purpose is the DTA, that it appears the Royal Commissions are not on its agenda. Perhaps this has been directed politically.

    The DTA should be concerned about the systemic issues arising from the Royal Commissions.

    Should it not investigate if new areas of digital policy need to be formulated in response?

    Examine if there are systemic and doctrinal issues arising from whole-of-government digital services, platforms, and architectures? Consider if the rise of artificial intelligence and algorithms presents unmanageable ethical and legal issues across disability, aged care, and veterans?

    Digital transformation is about far more than cloud services, apps, and off-the-shelf software. We have attempted to automate the human out of the loop. My family and many others have experienced the devastating consequences of this.

    So pressing are these issues, that the DTA must not be left to wither without purpose. And nor can we continue to admire the problem.

    As an institution, the DTA needs to be fundamentally re-constituted, and given an economic and social standing and resilience beyond the hobby and happenstance of an interested Minister.

    So here’s what I said five years ago in submissions to the Murray Financial Systems Inquiry.

    I described the establishment of a “Digital Transformation Commission”, a statutory institution, similar to reconstruction commissions set up following man-made or natural disasters. Intended to be enduring beyond a political whim.

    I believed then – and even more so now – that what is needed is a bold, ambitious coherent system-wide strategy led by the world’s best, experts in their field, deep systems thinkers, with a long view.

    Before any new chief executive is appointed – and hopefully this role is not militarised – a far more fundamental question must be examined. What is its purpose?

    The post The DTA is missing in action, adrift appeared first on InnovationAus.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.

  • 5G tech is the key to omnichannel retail

    Following the surge in online orders created by the pandemic, bricks-and-mortar retailers are working to create true omnichannel shopping experiences for consumers that span their online and in-store experiences.

    Communications technology plays a key role here, with 5G tech likely to have a big impact.

    These developments were explored in the Age of Trust podcast: Trusted Retailing: The role of next-gen technology in delivering strong CX, with InnovationAus publisher Corrie McLeod in conversation with Kmart and Target chief information officer Brad Blyth, and Verizon global solutions executive Mathew Wells.

    Mr Wells said there was a clear distinction between those retailers that simply offered multiple channels, and those offering a true omnichannel experience.

    Kmart and Target CIO Brad Blyth, Corrie McLeod and Verizon’s Mathew Wells

    Data played a key role in enabling an organisation to offer a truly omnichannel experience: “It’s the secret sauce that enables them to do this,” he said.

    Mr Blyth said Kmart and Target were working towards an omnichannel experience for customers.

    “We’ve got our mobile app out and we’re promoting our website. Now, we’re moving beyond that to what we’re calling ‘contextual experiences’: having the experience consistent is where we need to be, so that customers can access the right level of information seamlessly.

    “We want to use data to step up to that next level. In other words, one that’s more adaptive to the environment they are in.”

    He said that, when the onset of the pandemic in 2020 saw a massive surge in online shopping, particularly for everyday goods such as groceries, Kmart and Target were filling these online orders from store shelves, but this created some challenges.

    “We have a really big store network. So, for us distributing from stores makes sense because there’s less travel time from where the product is to the customer. But that created a challenge around real-time inventory management,” Mr Blyth said.

    “If you’re online, and you order a pair of shoes and we try and fulfill that order from a store, we need to know exactly how many pairs of shoes are on the shelf.”

    To obtain real-time in-store inventory data, Kmart and Target have started to add RFID tags to every item and are using robots to travel around stores and read these – and such technology requires very good in-store communications capability.

    “Sub-standard network coverage really hampers our digitisation and some of the technology we’re trying to implement. Connectivity to the internet is the base level capability we need, but in a physical retail environment getting the bandwidth to provide some of the experiences we want to offer can be difficult,” he said.

    He sees 5G as offering a solution. “We think that, as 5G rolls out, it’s going to open up more opportunities to provide better experiences than we can offer today. In a world where 5G has really good coverage we can use edge computing more powerfully. We can really beef up some of the things that we’re trying to do to digitise our stores.

    “We see this as a massive opportunity. We see our store network as an advantage that complements our online experience, and we’re really trying to marry those two together.”

    Verizon’s Mr Wells said the low latency of 5G combined with edge computing opens many possibilities for retail store operators.

    “When people are moving around a store you need real-time data to be able to add value to those clients, and to get that data you need high bandwidth and low latency.

    “You can make real-time decisions in sub millisecond timeframes with edge computing by pushing virtual machines to the edge of the 5G network. I’ve seen use cases in retail where they’ve been able to create heat maps: an image of the store that shows where people have been looking,” Mr Wells said.

    “So, if the retailer has a particular product they are showcasing at the front of the store, they can test the effectiveness of that by looking at the heat map.”

    Key priorities for retailers to compete more effectively in this new era post-COVID will be scaling up digital, improving the ecommerce customer experience and operating efficiency, futureproofing end-to-end operating models and progressing supply chain transformation – all of which require failsafe connectivity.

    Those that do this will be ahead of the rest.

    The Age of Trust podcast series was produced as a partnership between Verizon Business Group and InnovationAus.

    The post 5G tech is the key to omnichannel retail appeared first on InnovationAus.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.

  • The Tech Council is global, but very Australian

    The structure or the new Technology Council of Australia is a very deliberate construction, creating a powerful new group that is global in composition and outlook, but also very Australian.

    Launched on Wednesday, the Technology Council of Australia is a broad collection of ecosystem interests, from Australian-founded tech behemoths to local venture capital firms, to foreign ‘Big Tech’ multinationals.

    Everything about its 25 foundation members screams ‘global’. These are all companies that are at home in the world.

    But it’s also a very Australian group and is rightly representative of the Australian technology landscape.

    That ‘Australian-ness” is baked into its structure, with guide rails written into its constitution to make sure the strength of that Australian voice is retained into the future.

    Technology Council of Australia
    On board: Wyatt Roy, Kate Jones and Alex McCauley

    The driving force behind the Technology Council of Australia – its founder, in fact – is former StartupAus chief executive Alex McCauley, who spent the past year and a half bringing together the different parts of the tech sector in a way that possibly only a former diplomat could manage.

    In six years at StartupAus, Mr McCauley has been the standout advocate for the interests of Australian tech to government policymakers, and he has taken a seat on the Tech Council board as an executive director, albeit in a part-time capacity from his new home at Stanford University.

    The Tech Council’s board eligibility requirements are clever – and very interesting –playing a key part in getting the sector’s most senior people engaged. Board members must be the founder, the CEO or the chairperson of a member organisation (or Partner in the case of venture capital firms).

    This is a powerful model that has meant Atlassian’s co-CEO Scott Farquhar, Afterpay’s co-CEO Anthony Eisen, Canva co-founder and COO Cliff Obrecht, :Different CEO Mina Radhakrishnan, and Culture Amp CEO Didier Elzinga are all foundation board members.

    The local subsidiaries of Microsoft and Google are members of the Tech Council, meaning in theory and in practice their CEOs Satya Nadella and Sundar Pichai are eligible to sit on the board, just in case they take a deep-dive interest in the Australian market.

    The same rule allowed the chairperson of US-based Tesla, Robyn Denholm, to become chair of the Tech Council board.

    There are three ‘independent directors’ brought in part-time executive roles. In additional to Mr McCauley, that enabled the appointment of former federal Innovation minister Wyatt Roy (and current Afiniti Australia managing director) and former Queensland Innovation minister Kate Jones, who is now an advisor to Bevan Slattery’s Capital (b) venture capital outfit.

    And newly appointed Tech Council CEO Kate Pounder also joins the eight-member board, eligible via her role as chief executive.

    Also written into the Tech Council constitution is the requirement that at least 50 per cent of its member companies are Australian.

    You can make the argument that Atlassian is a foreign company by way of its Nasdaq listing, or that Canva is foreign via its top company being domiciled in the US (though probably best not to make this argument too forcefully in front of these companies’ Australian founders).

    Equally you can make the intellectual argument that Microsoft Australia and Google Australia are Australian, by way of registration and geography.

    There is a point at which the argument becomes pedantic. But the intention of the rule is clear enough – that there is a clear Australian voice in an industry that is ultimately global. It is a criticism that is consistently levelled at the venerable Australian Information Industry Association, which has been dominated by foreign headquartered multinationals throughout its 45-year history.

    Mr McCauley says “you can develop a test around this that is about a predominant connection with Australia, whether that’s about the global HQ being here in Australia, whether its about where the business was founded – those sorts of things.

    “This is clearly about Australia’s tech sector, but fundamentally that does include whether they are local tech or global tech companies,” he said.

    Regardless, it is the thinking behind the structure of the new Tech Council that counts. And its currently a moot point, as the vast majority of the 25 foundation partners are locally founded, and locally headquartered.

    It is worth noting also that of these Australian companies, only one has previously been a member of a major industry group (by way of Atlassian very recently joining the Tim Reed-chaired Business Council of Australia).

    “This is really bringing into the national conversation a group of companies that are [relatively young], and that are new to the national conversation,” Mr McCauley said.

    “And I think we have made pretty clear from the statistics [in the Accenture report] that these companies are already important to the broader Australian economy and are going to become increasingly important in the years to come,” he said.

    The foundation members of the Technology Council of Australia are 99designs, Afterpay, Airtasker, Airtree, Atlassian, Blackbird, Capital [b], Canva, Culture Amp, Deputy, :Different, Google Australia, HealthEngine, Jarden, LiveTiles, Main Sequence, Megaport, Microsoft Australia, Our Innovation Fund, Redbubble, Safety Culture, Sonder, Square Peg, Stripe Australia and Tyro.

    The post The Tech Council is global, but very Australian appeared first on InnovationAus.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.

  • Power shift: Tech Council of Australia arrives

    If the emergence of wealth-creation engines like Atlassian, Canva and Afterpay had not already signaled that a new centre of economic power in this country, then the launch of the Technology Council of Australia will send the message loud and clear.

    The Technology Council of Australia formally came to life on Wednesday as a new institutional power to be added to the political mix of industrial policy advocacy. And it arrived with plenty of power under the hood.

    Based in Canberra, it is chaired by Tesla’s Robyn Denholm and comes with a board that includes billionaire founders and CEOs, and former state and federal ministers.

    Robyn Denholm
    Tesla chair Robyn Denholm also chairs the new Technology Council of Australia

    It’s 23 foundation member companies includes Australian startup and scale-up success stories, local venture capital outfits, as well as multinational tech giants. It’s a broad church of interests.

    The council has recruited the highly regarded former Accenture managing director Kate Pounder as its inaugural CEO. Ms Pounder is a public policy and research specialist, having previously worked in senior executive roles at Alpha Beta, McKinsey and the Australian Industry Group.

    Like the Business Council of Australia, the Minerals Council of Australia, and the Property Council of Australia, the freshly minted Technology Council of Australia carries plenty of heft.

    Consider the rest of its board, in addition to Tesla chair Robyn Denholm:

    • Scott Farquhar, Co-CEO, Atlassian (Director)
    • Anthony Eisen, Co-founder and Co-CEO, Afterpay (Director)
    • Cliff Obrecht, Co-founder and COO, Canva (Director)
    • Mina Radhakrishnan, CEO, :Different (Director)
    • Didier Elzinga, CEO, Culture Amp (Director)
    • Wyatt Roy, Former Federal Minister (Executive Director)
    • Kate Jones, Former Queensland Minister (Executive Director)
    • Alex McCauley, former CEO, StartupAus (Executive Director)
    • Kate Pounder, CEO, Tech Council of Australia

    It carries the simple aim to provide a coordinated and clear voice to government on policy matters that impact the sector.

    It will also build a more accurate public narrative for the tech industry that highlights the current size of the sector, the scale of the near-term opportunity for growth, its positive role as a job creator, as well as its role as a productivity engine for the rest of the economy.

    To coincide with its launch, the Tech Council released new research from Accenture that says the technology industry generated $167 billion of economic output in the 2021 financial year, equivalent to 8.5 per cent of GDP.

    If the sector was classified as its own industry, it would be equivalent to the third largest contributor to GDP in Australia. That’s just behind mining and finance, and ahead of major industries such as health care, construction, and retail.

    The sector’s economic contribution has increased 79 per cent since 2016, and has outpaced average growth in the economy by more than four times.

    The sector currently employs 861,000 Australians. The Tech Council wants to boost this number to employ more than one million by 2025, and to increase the value of tech to the economy to $250 billion by 2031.

    Robyn Denholm says “with the right investment and partnership, the tech jobs opportunity can get much bigger. Since 2005, tech jobs have grown by 66 per cent, compared to an average jobs growth rate of 27 per cent across the economy.”

    “During the pandemic, the tech sector generated 65,000 jobs, one of the economy’s highest job creators,” she said.

    The tech sector had already been critical to underpinning Australia’s COVID-19 response as the widespread adoption of cloud software and other tech enabled businesses and workers to avoid total economic shutdown and enable critical services across major sectors.

    “While we have a lot of uncertainty across the rest of the economy. Technology has succeeded despite this uncertainty. Crucially, it is an enabler of all other sectors, helping mining, agriculture, banking, and health drive new growth and productivity.”

    “As we rebuild our economy in the years ahead, technology has the potential to expand and create great jobs for our kids and grandkids. Near term, by 2030, the technology sector has the potential to contribute more to GDP than either primary industries or manufacturing,” Ms. Denholm said.

    Newly appointed chief executive Kate Pounder wants Australians to be fully aware of the opportunities to access jobs in the sector.

    “The boom in tech related jobs means there are now more software engineers and developers in Australia than hairdressers, plumbers, or high school teachers. That’s 1 in 16 working Australians.”

    “Workers in our sector can be found all across the country.  Tech workers are most likely to live in Western Sydney and Melbourne’s outer suburbs because of their housing affordability, with Southeast Queensland actually fastest growing area for tech jobs.

    “This is especially important given the diversity of companies in the tech sector including 35,200 sole traders, 26,100 businesses with fewer than 20 employees and 100 large firms of 200+ employees,” Ms Pounder said.

    The post Power shift: Tech Council of Australia arrives appeared first on InnovationAus.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.

  • Sovereign defence manufacturers stand up

    When Nova Systems strategy chief Rebecca Humble stood up at a Defence Teaming Centre breakfast in Adelaide early this year, she was angry.

    I was one of the panelists along with executives from two foreign-owned multi-nationals discussing the state of industry, but what really got up Bec’s goat was what she saw as the misuse of the term ‘sovereign defence capability’.

    In a few minutes she demolished the myth that somehow a multinational delivering a multi-million or multi-billion dollar capability could be termed sovereign and Australian, even if they did have local operations and utilised numerous local sub-contractors in their supply chains.

    I am paraphrasing, but she said we all know what sovereign Australian means, and it does not mean a US or UK or French based firm.

    Sovereign Missile Alliance
    Sovereign Missile Alliance

    Sovereign meant nothing less than the products and services from Australian owned and Australian led and managed companies that were utilising Australian intellectual property right here on our shores.

    @AuManufacturing followed up with a story written by Nova chief executive Jim McDowell – himself well known for his leadership at BAE Systems, one the multi-nationals we rely on which has done more than most to develop local industrial and technological capabilities.

    He said then: “Our view is that we should be striving to get the most sovereign position we can, that is value for money.”

    ‘Sovereign defence capability’ has featured in hundreds of federal government media releases and been mouthed by one and all from the smallest SME to the largest global defence contractors.

    They all think they do it.

    But in truth Australia has precious few genuinely sovereign defence suppliers, and they are becoming increasingly vocal in backing Bec Humble’s belief that now is the time Australian companies step out of the sub-contractor pack and offer and sell their own products globally.

    The immediate catalyst for this is the federal government’s ambition for a $1 billion Sovereign Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance Enterprise (GWEOE).

    There are now three – genuinely Australian – consortia vying for the contract along with the likes of BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin:

    • The Australian Missile Corporation AMC consortium led by Queensland munitions manufacturer NIOA and including Quickstep, Moog Australia, Black Sky Aerospace and Thomas Global Systems
    • The HISPEX venture which includes Shoal Group, Black Sky Aerospace, REDARC Defence Systems, and Silentium Defence in a leading edge offering including hypersonic weapons
    • And the Sovereign Missile Alliance (SMA) of Electro Optic Systems and Nova Systems.

    There is no doubt of the importance to our defence posture of the UK’s BAE Systems, the US-based Lockheed Martin and France’s Thales with their growing local operations that in some cases have unique capabilities within their companies.

    There is no doubt of the immense value of their work with several thousand Australian SMEs, incorporating their parts and systems into their products, lifting their capabilities and introducing them to their global supply chains.

    But they are not sovereign Australian manufacturers.

    Much has been achieved in Australia’s defence industry sector in the past five years, but the real challenge is to develop our own sovereign defence prime contractors.

    This story was originally published by @AuManufacturing. You can subscribe to the @AuManufacturing newsletter here.

    The post Sovereign defence manufacturers stand up appeared first on InnovationAus.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.

  • Social capital issues stall women entrepreneurs

    Women entrepreneurs lack social capital and it’s holding back their ventures, according to growth expert at the Australian Centre for Business Growth Sarah Curtis-Fawley, who has just completed her MBA thesis examining the gendered nature of entrepreneurship.

    Ms Curtis-Fawley looked at the concept of “social capital and entrepreneurial identity” to understand how it is related to venture creation; and found it plays a significant role in the success of venture creation.

    Social capital – the institutional and professional networks and connections – can open up opportunities for entrepreneurs to move their ventures forward, but it’s experienced very differently for men and women.

    Women are underrepresented as decision makers in venture capital funding, but even before getting to this point, Ms Curtis-Fawley’s research reveals it’s the lack of social capital that makes it more difficult for women to connect with the people they need to help take their entrepreneurial venture to the next level. However, by contrast, men don’t find the process as hard.

    Social capital issues: Dr Elaine Stead, Corrie McLeod, and Sarah Curtis-Fawley

    “For male founders, mentors connect them with much-needed resources, such as investors, customers, markets and industry partners; whereas the women’s mentoring relationships have a much more contained quality to them,” said Ms Curtis-Fawley, speaking at virtual panel discussion hosted by InnovationAus publisher Corrie McLeod, as part of the Paddl Accelerator and National Innovation Games, sponsored by Western Sydney University.

    Also on the panel, managing director of Human VC, Dr Elaine Stead, pointed out how women face “several degrees of separation between them and a person they need to connect with simply because they lack these institutional networks”.

    “Social capital is critical for all entrepreneurs, and it can act as a kind of a silent contributor or silent advantage, or disadvantage, depending on who you are,” said Dr Stead.

    Social capital is a shorthand for an alignment of values, which can keep women and minorities out of valuable networks, noted Dr Stead.

    “Female and other minorities are up against a kind of headwind, which is that the people who are in positions of influence want to use social capital to help work out if a person is aligned with their values.

    “They’re looking for these touchpoints as a shortcut to do that, but when you’re not from that same circle, and you don’t have those touchpoints of social validation, it’s really hard to break into it,” she said.

    Women also face networks that are more contained because of their own concept of entrepreneurial identity, which is very different to their male counterparts, Ms Curtis-Fawley found through her research.

    “When you claim an identity as an entrepreneur, it changes the way you see the world and it changes the opportunities you think are available to you,” said Ms Curtis-Fawley.

    However, research shows women tend to minimise their role or achievements as entrepreneurs compared to male founders when engaged in the same kinds of activities.

    “This has all of these flow-on effects into social capital, how women use mentors, and the kinds of things women think they can make,” she said.

    One of the ways to address the lack of social capital is through sponsorship, according to Dr Stead. Where mentorship provides valuable guidance and support, sponsorship is a powerful way to help women and minorities gain access to the important networks they need to be a part of to move their venture forward.

    “It is saying: ‘I vouch for this person’ and will introduce them to your networks and your circles of influence, and that’s replacing social capital. It’s a challenge we still need to solve if we’re going to get diverse representation,” she said.

    Dr Stead explained that whether it’s via specific quotas or targets or just natural development, it’s essential that venture support is not being decided by a single class, values, perspective or thinking. “That’s the only way that we start to get a diverse perspective,” she said.

    Ms Curtis-Fawley agreed there needs to be more women in the places where decisions are being made. “To increase the number of women founders, we need to actually wrap resources around this goal. To make ecosystems more inclusive requires proper resourcing,” she said.

    To hear more about women in STEM, tune into See What You Can Be, a series of interactive webinars championing Australia’s extraordinary female changemakers who are blazing new pathways across the STEM sector.

    InnovationAus was the media partner for the Paddl Impact Accelerator Program ‘Achieving Diversity in STEM’ and Western National Innovation Games.

    The post Social capital issues stall women entrepreneurs appeared first on InnovationAus.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.

  • Public service women in digital: Apply now

    Time is running out to apply for the public sector Coaching for Women in Digital Program, with applications closing on Monday 9 August.

    Now in its second year, the 12-month program provides targeted support for executive level 1 (EL1) female, female-identifying and non-binary professionals in the Australian Public Service (APS).

    The program empowers participants to develop leadership skills, identify strengths, build leadership capability, connect with coaches and peers and grow.

    Only 30 per cent of professionals in digital are women. Programs such as this bridge this gap and support women to move into senior digital roles in the APS.

    Canberra Parliament House
    Ready to work: Public service Women in Digital

    This is a leadership program, so participants don’t need technical digital knowledge to apply. Visit the Digital Profession website to learn about the roles we consider digital.

    The program provides benefits to both managers and participants

    Assistant Director of the Enterprise Portfolio Management Office at the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Moira Richards, found a new network of like-minded digital professionals.

    ‘The program has had a big impact on my confidence and approach to challenging situations, opening new and unexpected opportunities.

    It’s helped me better understand my leadership style and given me a practical toolkit to draw on. I’ve also met lovely women who work in similar digital professions,’ Moira said.

    Director in the Biosecurity Integrated Information System team at the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, Magda Hribar, nominated Helen for this program to develop her knowledge and skills.

    ‘Helen has made many significant contributions to business outcomes over the years… I thought a coaching program such as this would support her to continue her career development generally, as well as digitally.

    ‘By focusing on strengths, the program has given Helen a better self-awareness of her strengths and preferred ways of working, and acknowledgement that this this is both valid and valuable,’ Magda said.

    Apply for the Coaching for Women in Digital today to secure a place in this incredible program.

    Join the Digital Profession

    Like the Coaching for Women in Digital Program, the Digital Profession offers a space for like-minded digital professionals to connect across the public service. Join the Digital Profession, get recognised and be digital ready.

    The post Public service women in digital: Apply now appeared first on InnovationAus.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.

  • What next for the rollout of digital government?

    State governments have recognised the importance of bolstering digital strategies in their recent budget announcements, with millions of dollars invested into various initiatives for the coming year.

    During budget speeches, the NSW government announced further investment in a Single Digital Patient Record system and WA set forth plans to implement single digital identities, showing that both governments are committed to addressing citizen needs head on.

    The Victorian budget also noted significant investment towards their proposed single digital presence platform earlier this year.

    These plans are a clear response to people’s increased expectations for more accessible, responsive, transparent and secure digital government services. And the onset of the global health and economic crisis has reinvigorated the role of digital services in everyday life.

    Citizens have greater expectation of government digital services

    People from all backgrounds and abilities are moving to online services, whether by necessity or choice. In fact, 80 per cent of the 1,500 Australian residents we recently surveyed used digital government services last year.

    These same respondents, however, are calling for digital improvements – such as pre-filled form technology and greater availability of medical data to healthcare professionals.

    A keen appetite for a single digital identity similarly shone through to streamline and simplify how we all engage with these services, as did a desire for more controls over how personal information is shared across government agencies.

    The digital investment announced by state governments so far this year is a welcome step towards transforming government services. But to achieve this goal, there are some key considerations to consider for a successful strategy implementation.

    Reinvigorate foundations

    Starting from scratch isn’t always possible, or necessary. With the right approach, many existing systems can be reimagined and transformed for an online future, rather than replaced.

    Assessing whether systems can be digitised to agile and scalable cloud platforms, which can result in real time insights and policy updates, is an important first step.

    Policy agility is key

    Policy evolution directly impacts people’s livelihoods, so implementing legislated changes through technology can understandably become complex and time-consuming.

    Taking an agile, modular approach to policy change can accelerate implementation and better assess the impact of each change. It also can drive greater collaboration and sharing between departments, agencies and partners.

    Unbiased data forges trust

    Unbiased, non-sensitive citizen data is a strategic asset which governments can use to make evidence-based decisions that in turn improve people’s livelihoods. When this data is securely shared across government platforms, it can optimise citizen experience, help governments form a single view of a person and their needs, improve efficiencies and reduce expenditure.

    But a privacy-first approach to citizen data is key – in fact over a third of respondents in our research cited privacy, trust, and security as critical to their use of these online services.

    In relation to sharing personal information, over fifty per cent of the respondents said they are comfortable doing so, but only if they know how it will be used and stored, emphasising the need for better disclosure.

    Humanise digital services

    Putting citizens at the core of every digital service – right from the design stage – is crucial. Stepping into citizens’ shoes to view their needs and challenges is so important.

    This may include deep research, prioritising citizen feedback and integrating HX (Human Experience) design in evolving services.

    Half of the people we surveyed want digital experiences to feel ‘human’ and show ‘empathy’. Combining Customer Experience, User Experience and Employee Experience techniques – with a layer of creative thinking – can achieve better overall HX.

    Leave no one behind

    Considering diverse abilities and needs of communities is essential to optimising the future of digital government services.

    We know that digital disadvantage coincides with other forms of social and economic barriers, meaning those who need support the most often face the greatest risk of being left behind on the digital journey.

    In fact, close to 90 per cent of people we surveyed believe governments need to better service those with a disability.

    By integrating inclusivity into platform design, such as considering whether technology is compatible with assistive technology, or if content is accessible in other languages, means governments can avoid building new barriers for people of various abilities and backgrounds.

    Optimise the innovation ecosystem

    An evolution as widespread as a digital government can’t happen in silo. Continuing to foster collaboration between the public sector, private entities, not-for-profit organisations, and the academic world rewards governments and their constituents with fresher ideas, more robust approaches, and strategies.

    When approached properly, enhancing digital services can provide governments with more access to unbiased data, enable greater agility to rapidly adopt policy changes and make government interaction seamless.

    That is ultimately what citizens want – an engaging, open and reliable way to use digital government services, wherever and whenever they need.

    Allen Koehn is Associate Vice-President and General Manager of Public Sector at Infosys.

    This article was prepared by Infosys in partnership with InnovationAus.com.

    The post What next for the rollout of digital government? appeared first on InnovationAus.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.

  • Defence scientists and industry collaboration

    We all know that Australia lags on any measure of collaboration between science and industry, but changes are underway in the defence field.

    Defence science as we know it today was largely born in the technology spur given Australia during WW2 and the UK’s missile testing centred on the Woomera rocket range in the 1950s and 60s.

    The expert laboratories formed then, now known collectively as the Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG), and defence’s collaborative research group DMTC have just sent out an SOS for help develop what it is calling Human Integrated Sensor System (HISS).

    Such systems might be used by troops working in Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Environments by leveraging subtle signals from the human body to detect and react to infection or exposure.

    “Imagine if we had the capacity to detect infection within hours of exposure, rather

    LastPass
    Defence Industry collaboration

    than days, by simply probing for cues from our own bodies.

    “It would be a game changer that would allow us to get ahead of the spread.”

    It is an intriguing question, but where would you even start?

    Developers and providers of sensing systems, advanced biotechnology and data analytics are being invited to share knowledge, experience, and ideas at an HISS collaborative workshop.

    “(This) is one of the core future focused problems Defence and DSTG are prioritising as part of the More, Together Defence Science and Technology strategy.

    “(It is) the sort of problem that can’t be solved alone or without significant advances in science, technology and research.”

    With more than 30 per cent of the Australian population locked down due to Covid-19, we could all do with a little help sensing danger.

    The challenges are even greater for defence personnel who might be called upon to work in really hazardous situations.

    Defence calls these sort of quests STaR Shots

    And while you might puzzle at the blizzard of complex names and acronyms, it is great to see such things happen more regularly nowadays – good luck to them.

    You can find more information here.

    This story was originally published by @AuManufacturing. You can subscribe to the @AuManufacturing newsletter here.

    The post Defence scientists and industry collaboration appeared first on InnovationAus.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.

  • WA invests in graphite manufacturing facility

    The Western Australian government has granted $2 million to young company International Graphite which plans the state’s first micronising and graphite foil manufacturing facility for the former coal mining district of Collie in the south west of the state.

    The first stage of the project is expected to create around 40 full-time jobs in the region, with plans to expand the facility to add manufacturing capability.

    The first stage of construction is planned to deliver short term sales in traditional markets such as in graphite foils and fire retardants.

    Graphite
    Added-value: WA pushes ahead with graphite manufacturing facility.

    Development of the plant will see manufacturing of graphite products for new technologies including mobile phones, computers, high-pressure sealants and fire-retardant building materials.

    According to IG: “Concurrently, IG will establish the equipment and processes required to produce battery anode material using a two-stage thermal purification process.

    “The initial plant will produce demonstration product for analysis and product qualification, particularly with customers in Europe and North America.

    “IG will be one of the first suppliers outside of China, to provide high quality, customised BAM for this highly tailored and emerging market.”

    IG is in the final stages of seed capital raising and has its sights set on public listing on the Australian Stock Exchange.

    Graphite has a wide range of uses with refractory materials accounting for 43 per cent of global consumption.

    Picture credit: International Graphite

    The post WA invests in graphite manufacturing facility appeared first on InnovationAus.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.

  • Q-CTRL and Sydney Uni in quantum control advance

    Researchers at Sydney University and quantum control startup have detailed a new way to identify sources of error in quantum computers using machine learning techniques which they say will accelerate the paths to development of useful quantum computers.

    The researchers describe in a joint scientific paper a way to give hardware developers the ability to pinpoint performance degradation with unprecedented accuracy.

    The paper is titled ‘Quantum Oscillator Noise Spectroscopy via Displaced Cat States,’ has been published in the Physical Review Letters, the world’s premier physical science research journal and flagship publication of the American Physical Society (APS Physics).

    The technique described in the paper focused on reducing errors caused by environmental “noise” — the Achilles’ heel of quantum computing.

    The University of Sydney team developed a way to detect the tiniest deviations from the precise conditions needed to execute quantum algorithms using trapped ion and superconducting quantum computing hardware.

    These are the core technologies used by world-leading industrial quantum computing efforts at IBM, Google, Honeywell, IonQ, and others.

    To pinpoint the source of the measured deviations, Q-CTRL scientists developed a new way to process the measurement results using custom machine-learning algorithms.

    In combination with Q-CTRL’s existing quantum control techniques, the researchers were also able to minimize the impact of background interference in the process. This allowed easy discrimination between “real” noise sources that could be fixed and phantom artefacts of the measurements themselves.

    Q-CTRL chief executive and Sydney University professor Michael Biercuk said, “The ability to identify and suppress sources of performance degradation in quantum hardware is critical to both basic research and industrial efforts building quantum sensors and quantum computers.

    “Quantum control, augmented by machine learning, has shown a pathway to make these systems practically useful and dramatically accelerate R&D timelines,” he said.

    “The published results in a prestigious, peer-reviewed journal validate the benefit of ongoing cooperation between foundational scientific research in a university laboratory and deep-tech startups.”

    Dr. Cornelius Hempel of ETH Zurich who conducted the research while at the University of Sydney said that combining cutting-edge experimental techniques with machine learning had demonstrated huge advantages in the development of quantum computers.

    “The Q-CTRL team was able to rapidly develop a professionally engineered machine learning solution that allowed us to make sense of our data and provide a new way to ‘see’ the problems in the hardware and address them,” Dr Hempel said.

    The post Q-CTRL and Sydney Uni in quantum control advance appeared first on InnovationAus.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.

  • Q-CTRL and Sydney Uni in quantum control advance

    Researchers at Sydney University and quantum control startup have detailed a new way to identify sources of error in quantum computers using machine learning techniques which they say will accelerate the paths to development of useful quantum computers.

    The researchers describe in a joint scientific paper a way to give hardware developers the ability to pinpoint performance degradation with unprecedented accuracy.

    The paper is titled ‘Quantum Oscillator Noise Spectroscopy via Displaced Cat States,’ has been published in the Physical Review Letters, the world’s premier physical science research journal and flagship publication of the American Physical Society (APS Physics).

    The technique described in the paper focused on reducing errors caused by environmental “noise” — the Achilles’ heel of quantum computing.

    The University of Sydney team developed a way to detect the tiniest deviations from the precise conditions needed to execute quantum algorithms using trapped ion and superconducting quantum computing hardware.

    These are the core technologies used by world-leading industrial quantum computing efforts at IBM, Google, Honeywell, IonQ, and others.

    To pinpoint the source of the measured deviations, Q-CTRL scientists developed a new way to process the measurement results using custom machine-learning algorithms.

    In combination with Q-CTRL’s existing quantum control techniques, the researchers were also able to minimize the impact of background interference in the process. This allowed easy discrimination between “real” noise sources that could be fixed and phantom artefacts of the measurements themselves.

    Q-CTRL chief executive and Sydney University professor Michael Biercuk said, “The ability to identify and suppress sources of performance degradation in quantum hardware is critical to both basic research and industrial efforts building quantum sensors and quantum computers.

    “Quantum control, augmented by machine learning, has shown a pathway to make these systems practically useful and dramatically accelerate R&D timelines,” he said.

    “The published results in a prestigious, peer-reviewed journal validate the benefit of ongoing cooperation between foundational scientific research in a university laboratory and deep-tech startups.”

    Dr. Cornelius Hempel of ETH Zurich who conducted the research while at the University of Sydney said that combining cutting-edge experimental techniques with machine learning had demonstrated huge advantages in the development of quantum computers.

    “The Q-CTRL team was able to rapidly develop a professionally engineered machine learning solution that allowed us to make sense of our data and provide a new way to ‘see’ the problems in the hardware and address them,” Dr Hempel said.

    The post Q-CTRL and Sydney Uni in quantum control advance appeared first on InnovationAus.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.

  • BYD arrives to heat up local e-bus market

    A number of companies are now lining up in a race to secure major orders for electric buses from states such as New South Wales determined to electrify their fleets.

    Led by our largest bus maker Volgren, the market includes Bustech, Germilang Australia and Custom Denning all offering various levels of local assembly and manufacture, with at least two offering locally made chassis if not the vehicles electric drive trains and batteries.

    Driven by climate change concerns, and the savings on offer from lower fuel costs and less maintenance on vehicles inherently simpler than internal combustion models, the prospective orders are massive indeed.

    But the field just got hotter with China’s BYD, arguably the leading electric bus manufacturer globally, entering the market via a link up with Australian electric vehicle supplier Nexport.

    electric bus
    An electric bus from China’s BYD

    BYD has supplied its chassis and complete buses made in China to Australia previously, but the new agreement extends a partnership between BYD and Alexander Dennis Limited already successful in the UK, Ireland and New Zealand to Australia.

    Nexport, part of the TrueGreen mobility group, is building a factory at Moss Vale in NSW to assemble bodies from the Alexander Dennis Enviro family on BYD chassis (main picture) for the local market.

    Nexport chief executive Michel van Maanen said: “We are delighted to partner with Alexander Dennis who have been extremely progressive in the zero-emission bus space globally.

    “For Nexport to be able to partner with such a strong global company, further demonstrates our business objective to bring the world’s best zero-emission mobility technology to our shores and manufacturing the products locally, by Australians.”

    The first of the range released will include a 9.7-metre electric city bus as well as 11.6-metre and 12.5-metre models.
    Nexport is also planning a range of vans (below), pick up trucks and consumer vehicles.

    According to afr.com, Nexport has secured $100 million in funding from a Hong Kong group and plans a stock exchange listing.

    The first buses are targeted to be on the road in early 2022 with volume production to be underway by the end of that year.

    Announcing the latest developments TrueGreen group CEO Luke Todd said: “We are fully charges and fully funded.

    “Now let’s make Australia a leader in zero-emission mobility.”

     

    The post BYD arrives to heat up local e-bus market appeared first on InnovationAus.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.

  • Deadline looms: 2021 Awards for Excellence

    The final deadline to enter the InnovationAus 2021 Awards for Excellence is almost upon us. We want to hear from Australia’s best entrepreneurs, innovators, researchers and commercialisation heroes by Monday 2 August.

    These awards are not just a one-day celebration. Our aim is to shine the spotlight on deserving talent through a six-month program, giving companies the opportunity to showcase products and services through editorial profiles, podcasts, videos, events and social media.

    The InnovationAus 2021 Awards for Excellence are designed to give life to the prodigious Australian innovation that’s often overlooked and underappreciated. With 12 categories to choose from, heroes who are building the future industries will be duly celebrated.

    The black-tie gala event on Thursday 18 November will be a Commercial Discovery – a commercial disco we are calling it – celebrating the companies and individuals who have turned ideas into great successes.

    InnovationAus Awards last call
    Better get a move on – InnovationAus Awards for Excellence

    It brings together our unique industry to galvanise ideas and ambition, and to acknowledge collective achievements.

    “The response we’ve had so far to these inaugural Awards has been absolutely amazing,” InnovationAus publisher Corrie McLeod said.

    “There are so many interesting companies and people we want to recognise and share with the rest of the industry.”

    “It can often be hard to see just how important the work is that people are doing, so it’s essential to have platforms like this to recognise and to honour the outstanding work being carried out in this country.

    You can find out more about our incredibly well-credentialed judging panel for these awards here.

    The 12 categories for the InnovationAus 2021 Awards for Excellence are:

    ADVANCED MANUFACTURING
    This broad category will include entries across the spectrum of other industries – from Australian designed-and-built satellites, to mineral processing, food products and everything in between. We hope this category also attracts successful pivots of IP during COVID-19 to meet supply chain shortages.

    CYBERSECURITY
    Since the launch of the first Australian Government Cybersecurity Strategy in 2016, the local cyber ecosystem has built steadily. From a handful of companies five years ago, there are now hundreds of Australian cyber companies – many based on deep-tech research in everything from cryptography to Artificial Intelligence.

    FOOD AND AGRITECH
    Value-added food production and AgriTech have been a focus of innovation investment in this country. This is in both food processing as well as production and range from high-tech sensor devices and farm-based robotics and automation to the at-scale production of plant-based meat and other protein products.

    MEDTECH AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
    The pandemic has put a huge spotlight on biotechs through the detailed mainstream discussion about vaccines and vaccine manufacturing. Australians are good at this stuff. Our research community is exceptional, and the commercialisation of that research is strong.

    MINING EQUIPMENT, TECHNOLOGY AND SERVICES (METS)
    The technology that supports the mining sector in Australia is highly advanced; whether it’s remote operation of highly-automated operations – including autonomous robotics – or the software systems that drive those operations. Australia has an incredible technology track record that we want to highlight.

    ENERGY AND RENEWABLES
    This category seeks to reward ambition and innovation in the renewable energy sector. Commercial research in this area is fast growing and holds tremendous promise for the nation. From hydrogen extraction technologies and solar cell improvements to the management software systems.

    SPACE AND REMOTE AUTOMATION
    The space sector was a lonely place to be in up until recently – now it is a hotbed of activity. From launch companies to companies with ambitions for global satellite constellations, the Award goes to our most ambitious entrepreneurs. We include remote automation in this category because there is so much cross-over.

    DEFENCE INDUSTRY
    The defence sector has been a stand-out in collaborations of partners – of researchers, private SMEs and multinational corporations, covering the full, vast array of technologies consumed by the defence community. This award seeks to highlight the best, most valuable collaborations between research and industry.

    RESEARCH TRANSLATION
    Recognising an innovative product or service that has found institution-based IP, created a team around it, and successfully taken it to commercial realm. There are boundless examples here, from plant-based meat production to mineral processing, and space initiatives.

    INNOVATIONAUS WILDCARD AWARD
    If you have an outstanding product/service/piece of IP that deserves recognition but does not strictly meet the criteria of the other Award categories then this is for you. The InnovationAus Wildcard Award celebrates individuals and organisations whose innovation is unique and has made an impact in spaces such as the creative industries, FinTech, AI and machine learning, smart cities, emergency and instant response and edge computing; or for technology that has applications across verticals and has or will contribute significantly to industry and community.

    PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD
    Our judges select a final panel of the most ambitious and most outstanding entries to the InnovationAus Awards for Excellence – and allow our readers to vote on their choice for the most outstanding Australian innovation of the year.

    AUSTRALIAN HERO AWARD
    This award recognises the individual (or leaders of a company) whose ambition and drive has resulted in a game-changing innovation, and a fabulous commercial success. These are the heroes that we must celebrate in this Australian future we are creating.

    The post Deadline looms: 2021 Awards for Excellence appeared first on InnovationAus.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.

  • Brace yourself for global component shortages

    Electronics manufacturers such as Entech Electronics have had to beef up their supply chain and purchasing teams to meet the challenges of a global shortage of electronic components. Yaser Darban explains what companies can do to weather the shortage.

    As the world recovers from a pandemic, another threat looms for manufacturers – a global shortage of components. So when companies like Apple say that a chip shortage can cause a loss of $3 billion to $4 billion, it makes us wonder how even industry leaders didn’t foresee it.

    The global chip shortage didn’t come without its warnings, which many industry leaders failed to heed.

    Projections say that the global chip shortage will last at least another 12 to 24 months, but there are ways in which businesses can mitigate the problem to manage the crisis better.

    Practical solutions to chip shortage

    We must plan actionable steps to prepare for and reduce production risk due to global components shortage.

    Price is not the key element; the total value is important.

    Prioritizing the total value over the price of the components will affect how your business runs. Amidst shortages, prices are going to be high.

    In such a scenario, you may choose to lower your purchases. However, this strategy will affect the consistency of supply and the time to market.

    It is important to be mindful of this challenge to set competitive pricing. If one associates a value with a cheaper component price, the long-term effects of this decision can be detrimental to the progress of your manufacturing business.

    It is better to place the value on the end product and not on the individual prices of parts. As a manufacturing unit, better not sacrifice time, be it weeks or months, for a marginal reduction in the BOM (Bill of Materials).

    Yes, by waiting for a few months, it is possible to reduce the BOM cost to some extent by design improvement. However, it also means that there are going to delays in the order. It is better to secure parts that are fixed in the design as soon as possible. Ultimately, customers will choose other suppliers who have enough inventory available.

    Ordering parts early will only have a minor difference in procurement costs, but with a well-planned inventory, the production schedule will be much better. Eventually, this decision will help boost brand image, which should ideally be the real end goal of any manufacturing business.

    Collaboration matters

    The collaboration between the customer, designer, part supplier, and the manufacturer is essential to keep the flow of products moving and keep the business growing. When one chain breaks, it will lead to unforeseen delays and holdups.

    Currently, we see that these essential components within the industry follow a closed loop. Most designers and manufacturing companies are unwilling to share their product information or BOM, fearing that it would compromise their IP.

    However, if the lines of communication are open, there will be a significant shift in how these components work with each other. Professional and experienced operators can identify how to avoid compromising IP and connect clients to enablers in the supply chain network.

    To navigate this situation, companies should consider sharing as much information as possible with manufacturers and/or part distributors.

    If a reliable supply chain partner is not available, start looking for one that can be trusted. A connected manufacturing partner with a robust supply chain team can serve as a valuable consultant to advise on how to plan procurement and avoid shortages.

    Communication is the key

    Communication is the bond that keeps each part of the company in sync with each other. In a manufacturing business, it is crucial to promote the connection between supplier capabilities and customer requirements.

    When creating a product, the earlier the critical suppliers are involved in the vision, the better. This process brings supplier expertise to the mix and provides businesses with essential insights into designing the product efficiently.

    Another advantage is that companies will be well-versed with the supplier’s capabilities. Matching the supplier capabilities with customer demands yields the best results when it comes to manufacturing.

    Besides, with the supplier’s visibility on material lead-time, planning is easier in the current shortage situation.

    Everyone should get a chance to express their concerns about the product or parts of it. If there is no voice for constructive criticism or concerns, people will not contribute positively even when knowing that a certain decision would hinder the company’s progress.

    In the same light, suppliers and manufacturers may have critical information or warnings for the company, urging them to plan in advance. When the industry is experiencing turbulence, suppliers/manufacturers will see it coming in advance. Hence, it is always a good idea to consider their concerns and inputs.

    Planning

    During the global chip shortage, one company that thought to suffer the most fared much better than its competition – again, it’s Toyota.

    The automaker perfected a just-in-time supply chain strategy with a core idea to identify “what is needed when it is needed, and in the amount needed.”

    According to this philosophy, many thought that Toyota wouldn’t have enough inventory to weather the chip shortage storm. However, the opposite happened.

    Toyota stockpiled on semiconductors for their cars and maintenance tools before the chip shortage happened. In a recently released statement, the company said that they do not see any major short-term impact from the deficit. On the contrary, Ford expects that the chip shortage will lower its earnings by about $2.5 billion in 2021.

    So, did Toyota forsake its ideology? Not exactly.

    Firstly, lean manufacturing doesn’t mean that there is no room for advanced planning. Toyota adhered to just-in-time manufacturing, but as always, it showed that it learns from the past.

    The automotive giant was in a similar situation during the Tsunami of 2011, where its chip suppliers couldn’t supply semiconductors due to damages. From that experience, for the coming years, Toyota kept a careful eye on supplier capabilities and trends. This practice functioned like an early warning system that showed the impending chip shortages.

    During the pandemic, Toyota foresaw the effects it is going to have on the semiconductor industry. The company then took the list of the most important semiconductor components it needed to stockpile and did just that! Toyota merged just-in-time production with advanced planning, where they stocked more components if they identified an impending scarcity.

    Not relying on the grey market

    An efficient supply chain is possible by establishing standard processes such as supplier analysis and qualification and financial and commercial controls. This process discipline provides the ability to compare and contrast options, boosts product output, and also plays a more prominent role in the success of supply chain partners.

    When this process is absent, businesses likely look forward to the grey market to compensate for the low inventory. However, this solution is more like a pain killer that subsides your pain for a short period but won’t make it go away completely.

    These short-term solutions do not provide answers to why there was a shortage in the first place. Besides, grey market components may not uphold the same quality standards as the primary supplier/manufacturer.

    Additionally, if the customer feels a dip in quality, it will diminish the brand image, making the short-term gain insignificant to a much more significant loss in terms of customer perception.

    A few considerations can go a long way

    Before the chip shortage, the usual approach for businesses was to order parts after seeing the finished design. Although it is still the right approach to design, test, validate and certify the new product before mass production, consuming more time in the current situation may now result in inadequate stock or no stock at all.

    The solution is to source parts on the move. For example, businesses can avoid waiting to finish EMC testing before ordering parts since most components like the MCU or connectivity modules will likely not change at the EMC stage.

    If the prototype is nearing completion, it is already known that many of the parts will not change. At this stage, it is better to move forward with ordering the critical components for production.

    Minor modifications to some parts are inevitable, but waiting till perfecting the entire design will negatively impact the part availability.

    While regulatory approvals and certifications are necessary, they won’t likely impact the main electronic components in the BOM. So it makes sense to order parts in advance to prevent shortage issues later down the line. It is better to consider as many alternatives as possible on each of the parts on the BOM.

    As always, think long-term. When ordering parts, make sure to source enough so that you can keep the production running for the next 18-24 months.

    Understanding the current shortfalls of your manufacturing business during the global chip shortage will offer you valuable insight into what you can do for the future to prevent such a scenario from happening. At the core of it, foresight, planning, and communication are the key drivers that will enable your business to overcome such a situation.

    Yaser Darban is general manager, sales strategy, APAC, EU at Entech Electronics.

    This story was originally published by @AuManufacturing. You can subscribe to the @AuManufacturing newsletter here.

    The post Brace yourself for global component shortages appeared first on InnovationAus.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.

  • Resilience in the face of fire, flood and cyber

    What do bushfires and cyber threats have in common? They are both a fact of life; they are both likely to get worse; and we won’t be able to stop either from happening – so we need to be better prepared and to minimise their impact. In short, we need greater resilience.

    The issues of resilience against bushfires and cyber threats came together in an Age of Trust podcast with Rear Admiral Lee Goddard CSC, RAN, head of partnership ecosystem, government relations and operations at the Minderoo Foundation and Rob Le Busque, the regional vice-president Asia Pacific at Verizon.

    The Minderoo Foundation is a philanthropic organisation that “takes on tough, persistent issues with the potential to drive massive change”. One of those challenges is “to lift Australia to be the global leader in fire and flood resilience by 2025”.

    Lee Goddard Corrie McLeod Rob Le Busque
    Resilience is key: Rear Admiral Lee Goddard, Corrie McLeod and Rob Le Busque

    Mr Goddard said national initiatives to build resilience against bushfires were very much in catch-up mode: “We need to do much more, and we need to do it quickly – we need to be using the collective to find innovative solutions.”

    He introduced the idea of “pre-resilience”. In the case of bushfire preparedness, this means using the off-season to “make sure every part of our society, from the technology to the behavioural to the human aspects, are resilient and ready for further disruptions to come”.

    While there is no off-season for cyber threats, Mr Le Busque said pre-resilience equated to preparedness, but this often fell short of what was required.

    “Preparation is everything. It is really your first line of defence from cybercriminals and a large-scale hacking event,” he said.

    “A concept we talk about a lot is ‘you never rise to the occasion’. When the pressure’s on, you default to your level of training and preparedness.

    “You need to be conscious of the balance between the level of preparation, and the processes and systems you have set up to respond. You need to make sure these represent more than just compliance and are actually actionable programs and systems.”

    He added that often, when Verizon is called in to help an organisation respond to a cyber event, they find processes and systems for recovery exist, but they simply don’t work.

    “They haven’t been tested,” he said. “Then you see a level of disorganisation that adds to the disruption they are already suffering from.”

    The devastating 2019/20 bushfires and, more recently COVID-19, have shown up shortcomings in Australia’s resilience, and the topic is now garnering much attention.

    Mr Goddard, who is a rear admiral in the Australian Navy Reserve with a 34 years of full-time Navy service, said there needed to be an increased focus on the resilience of Australia’s infrastructure.

    “Our ability collectively to really understand where our critical infrastructure is, its vulnerabilities and how we quickly replace it has been an Achilles heel,” he said. “At the Minderoo Foundation, we are working through, and with, partners to identify this.

    “You only know how resilient some of your infrastructure is when the disaster happens. So, you need to really test it: critical communication hubs, critical resource hubs, critical infrastructure that supports dealing with the hazard.”

    He said Minderoo’s fire and flood resilience initiative chief executive of Adrian Turner – the former chief executive at CSIRO’s Data61 – was “focusing on data harmonisation and national data coordination to provide knowledge to support better decision-making and information sharing to enable leaders at all levels to really understand where the critical infrastructure is and where the critical weaknesses are in the system”.

    However, the resilience of critical infrastructure is now garnering considerable attention. There is legislation before Parliament designed to improve the security and resilience of Australia’s critical infrastructure that greatly increases the scope of what is seen as ‘critical infrastructure’.

    In the wake of the bushfires, policy think-tanks Global Access Partners and the Institute for Integrated Economic Research – Australia along with Gravity iLabs set up the GAP Taskforce on National Resilience, a group of 40 representatives from business, government, academia, the not-for-profit sector and the community brought together to “discuss ways to make Australia more resilient to future economic, strategic and environmental threats”.

    Australia has a number of resilience-related challenges that go well beyond our border. These increased vulnerabilities mean we need to deliver more effective solutions at greater speed. The disruption of the last 18 months has driven revolutionary change, and we in turn must be revolutionary innovators that ask questions and solve problems no one else has thought of.

    The Age of Trust podcast series has been produced as a partnership between Verizon Business Group and InnovationAus.com.

    The post Resilience in the face of fire, flood and cyber appeared first on InnovationAus.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.

  • NSW moves ahead with digital ID advisory council

    The NSW Police will have a prominent voice on the state’s newly formed Digital Identity Ministerial Advisory Council (DIMAC) to advise on the government’s strategic direction for digital ID.

    The new council is chaired by Digital and Customer Service Minister Victor Dominello and includes a cross section of state and federal bureaucrats, academics, financial services sector executives and global consultants.

    The council, which was foreshadowed in May and finally named on Tuesday, included the Minister for Police and Emergency Services David Elliott and as well as NSW Police executive director of strategic priorities and identity Duncan Anderson.

    Mr Dominello said council brought together experts to ensure personal privacy and security are enshrined in all policy making design.

    “The government is implementing a transformational digital agenda, including evolving the Service NSW app and delivery of stimulus such as Dine & Discover vouchers and business support grants. We need to surround ourselves with top experts to remain ahead of the game,” Mr Dominello said in a statement.

    “Privacy and trust are the hallmarks of our democracy and will continue to remain at the forefront of service delivery,” he said.

    “We’ve already demonstrated how digital products like the Digital Driver Licence actually improve and enhance identity protection.”

    Police minister David Elliott welcomed the formation of the council and said digital identities must be underpinned by robust fraud controls.

    “Fraudulent identities are often used to enable serious and organised crime, such as drug trafficking, human trafficking and child exploitation,” he said.

    “The NSW Police Force has a world-class Cybercrime Squad which is at the forefront of our efforts combatting these criminal threats, and I am pleased that as a member of this Council, NSW Police Force will proactively engage with subject matter experts and industry.”

    DIMAC will support the priorities laid out in the government’s NSW Identity Strategy, which guides the development and execution of identity products, services and technologies.

    The members of the council are:

    • Victor Dominello (chair) – Minister for Digital, Minister for Customer Service
    • David Elliott – NSW Minister for Police and Emergency Services
    • Greg Wells – NSW Department of Customer Service, government chief information and digital officer
    • Dr Glenn Lewis – NSW Department of Customer Service, digital identity program manager
    • Duncan Anderson – NSW Police Force, executive director, strategic priorities and identity
    • Associate Professor Sarah Thackway – executive director Epidemiology and Evidence, NSW Health and Conjoint Associate Professor, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, UNSW
    • Jonathon Thorpe – Digital Transformation Agency, general manager, digital identity
    • Robert Frelich – Employment and Social Development Canada, director general, identity management, benefits delivery modernization, Transformation Management Branch
    • Professor Atilla Brungs – University of Technology Sydney, vice-chancellor and president
    • Professor David Lacey – IDCARE, managing director and board member
    • Kate Crous – Commonwealth Bank of Australia, executive general manager – Everyday Banking
    • Stephen Wilson – Lockstep Consulting, managing director
    • Malcolm Crompton – Information Integrity Solutions (IIS), founder and lead privacy advisor
    • Margo Stephen – Australia Post, head of digital ID
    • John Banfield – BPAY Group, chief executive officer
    • Victoria Richardson – Australian Payments Network Limited, chief strategy officer
    • Ric Richardson – entrepreneur
    • Miguel Carrasco – Boston Consulting Group, managing director and senior partner

    The post NSW moves ahead with digital ID advisory council appeared first on InnovationAus.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.

  • Porter ‘open minded’ on software R&D tax

    Industry minister Christian Porter says he is open-minded about a separate R&D Tax Incentive scheme for software but will not consider the issue until a Senate committee reports in October.

    The Select Committee on Australia as a Technology and Financial Centre recommended that the government consider a separate R&D Tax scheme aimed specifically at software companies in its second interim report released in April.

    Mr Porter says he was “very aware” of the views of software companies and their advocates through submissions to the inquiry, and via feedback gathered in workshops conducted between government and the industry in April.

    But he won’t look at the issue until the Andrew Bragg-chaired Senate committee delivers its final report in October. In the meantime, new draft guidelines published by AusIndustry would at least provide clarity about how software fits into the current RDTI scheme.

    Parliament: Greenfield opportunities

    “I have followed the debate and the arguments, and obviously the eligible R&D [activities are] defined in the legislation,” Mr Porter told InnovationAus.

    “The committee that’s considering that has not given their report yet. I am very aware that earlier this year there was a group of stakeholders that went through a collaborative workshop with government and industry to improve the understanding of how software is recognised by R&D tax incentive system at the moment,” he said.

    “So that’s produced this new draft about software development activities and how that’s applied [and] that’s available now.

    “The second interim report of the committee recommended that we consider a separate specific software tax incentive scheme. The final report of the committee is due out in October, so I’ll look at that then.”

    “At least as a first and immediate step, I think clarity around how software fits into the existing R&D system was a sensible thing to do, and was done in a sensible way,” Mr Porter said.

    “It made a lot of sense to have that two-way understanding developed between the department and the people who are designing software.”

    “I am not closed-minded about some of the submissions that were put to the committee, but I will wait to see what the committee reports.”

    Meanwhile, Mr Porter defended the process government had undertaken in relation to potentially establishing a sovereign mRNA vaccine manufacturing capability, saying the technology was new, complex and fast evolving.

    While previous Industry minister Karen Andrews had in 2020 committed to a nine-to-12-month process bring an mRNA manufacturing capability onshore, that has now been pushed back.

    Government commissioned a $2 million business case study from global consultants McKinsey last December and has been in active discussion with the pharmaceutical companies Moderna and Pfizer – the two companies with existing proprietary IP in the manufacture mRNA vaccine.

    Mr Porter said the complexity of the technology – including in deciding what applications it could be applied to – made negotiations about what a taxpayer-supported effort to establish sovereign manufacturing might look like.

    “It is very difficult to assess what would be a reasonable ask [of the taxpayer] for a joint-venture or a consortium without knowing everything you can possibly know about worldwide conditions with regards to mRNA,” Mr Porter told InnovationAus.

    “I’ve been pretty pleased with the response to market process, and the conversations with Moderna have been very constructive, but there are some pretty difficult decisions to make about how you move forward between the various parties that have expressed interest in establishing a sovereign manufacturing capability in Australia. Because these are exceedingly complex questions.”

    “It’s not just about the scalable manufacture of a vaccine for another potential pandemic of similar scale and type to COVID-19,” he said.

    “It’s also about how you might apply mRNA technology to seasonal influenza, or how it might be applied to therapeutics [for diseases] like cancer or cardio-vascular. And even now, the international discussion is about seasonally how you might have a one-shot vaccination for COVID-type viruses and influenza viruses.”

    The post Porter ‘open minded’ on software R&D tax appeared first on InnovationAus.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.

  • Final countdown for 2021 Award entries

    Are you one of Australia’s brilliant entrepreneurs, innovators, researchers or commercialisation heroes? We want to hear from you!

    The clock is ticking toward the deadline for those innovative companies planning to enter the InnovationAus 2021 Awards for Excellence. The final deadline for entry into these inaugural industry awards of next Monday 2 August.

    These awards are a celebration of the companies and individuals that have taken the kernel of an idea and turned it into a successful commercial product or service or had a positive social impact.

    We want to put a spotlight on the heroes who are building future industries in Australia and for Australia. These are the people and the companies creating jobs and building wealth for the nation.

    InnovationAus Awards last call
    Better get a move on – InnovationAus Awards for Excellence

    The InnovationAus 2021 Awards for Excellence is a six-month program of discovery, where InnovationAus.com will put a spotlight on the best and brightest companies through editorial profiles, podcasts and videos.

    Entries must be submitted by midnight on Monday 2 August.

    “The response to these inaugural InnovationAus 2021 Awards for Excellence has been tremendous. We are very excited by the numbers of entries to each of the 12 categories across the innovation spectrum,” said InnovationAus publisher Corrie McLeod.

    “There are so many incredible ventures and amazing people that make up the innovation ecosystem in Australia. They don’t always get the attention we think they deserve, and we are doing something about that through the InnovationAus.com editorial platform,” she said.

    “And of course, we are very much looking forward to our black-tie gala awards night in Sydney on November 18 – an event we are calling the Commercial Disco – and the final stop in this voyage of commercial discovery.”

    You can find out more about our incredibly well-credentialed judging panel for these awards here. We are also very pleased to add one more name to this auspicious list: Tom Hajdu is Professor and Chair of Creative Technologies at the University of Adelaide, where he is the Director of the Sia Furler Institute for Contemporary Music and Media.

    The 12 categories for the InnovationAus 2021 Awards for Excellence are:

    ADVANCED MANUFACTURING
    This broad category will include entries across the spectrum of other industries – from Australian designed-and-built satellites, to mineral processing, food products and everything in between. We hope this category also attracts successful pivots of IP during COVID-19 to meet supply chain shortages.

    CYBERSECURITY
    Since the launch of the first Australian Government Cybersecurity Strategy in 2016, the local cyber ecosystem has built steadily. From a handful of companies five years ago, there are now hundreds of Australian cyber companies – many based on deep-tech research in everything from cryptography to Artificial Intelligence.

    FOOD AND AGRITECH
    Value-added food production and AgriTech have been a focus of innovation investment in this country. This is in both food processing as well as production and range from high-tech sensor devices and farm-based robotics and automation to the at-scale production of plant-based meat and other protein products.

    MEDTECH AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
    The pandemic has put a huge spotlight on biotechs through the detailed mainstream discussion about vaccines and vaccine manufacturing. Australians are good at this stuff. Our research community is exceptional, and the commercialisation of that research is strong.

    MINING EQUIPMENT, TECHNOLOGY AND SERVICES (METS)
    The technology that supports the mining sector in Australia is highly advanced; whether it’s remote operation of highly-automated operations – including autonomous robotics – or the software systems that drive those operations. Australia has an incredible technology track record that we want to highlight.

    ENERGY AND RENEWABLES
    This category seeks to reward ambition and innovation in the renewable energy sector. Commercial research in this area is fast growing and holds tremendous promise for the nation. From hydrogen extraction technologies and solar cell improvements to the management software systems.

    SPACE AND REMOTE AUTOMATION
    The space sector was a lonely place to be in up until recently – now it is a hotbed of activity. From launch companies to companies with ambitions for global satellite constellations, the Award goes to our most ambitious entrepreneurs. We include remote automation in this category because there is so much cross-over.

    DEFENCE INDUSTRY
    The defence sector has been a stand-out in collaborations of partners – of researchers, private SMEs and multinational corporations, covering the full, vast array of technologies consumed by the defence community. This award seeks to highlight the best, most valuable collaborations between research and industry.

    RESEARCH TRANSLATION
    Recognising an innovative product or service that has found institution-based IP, created a team around it, and successfully taken it to commercial realm. There are boundless examples here, from plant-based meat production to mineral processing, and space initiatives.

    INNOVATIONAUS WILDCARD AWARD
    If you have an outstanding product/service/piece of IP that deserves recognition but does not strictly meet the criteria of the other Award categories then this is for you. The InnovationAus Wildcard Award celebrates individuals and organisations whose innovation is unique and has made an impact in spaces such as the creative industries, FinTech, AI and machine learning, smart cities, emergency and instant response and edge computing; or for technology that has applications across verticals and has or will contribute significantly to industry and community.

    PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD
    Our judges select a final panel of the most ambitious and most outstanding entries to the InnovationAus Awards for Excellence – and allow our readers to vote on their choice for the most outstanding Australian innovation of the year.

    AUSTRALIAN HERO AWARD
    This award recognises the individual (or leaders of a company) whose ambition and drive has resulted in a game-changing innovation, and a fabulous commercial success. These are the heroes that we must celebrate in this Australian future we are creating.

    The post Final countdown for 2021 Award entries appeared first on InnovationAus.

    This post was originally published on InnovationAus.