NSW turns ideas into jobs
Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte, NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer; the Hon. Gabrielle Upton MP, Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier; the Hon. Gladys Berejiklian, Premier and others at the Australian Centre for Field Robotics for the launch of the Action Plan. Image supplied.
Industry-led research and commercialisation initiatives are set to turbocharge economic recovery in NSW, by creating new jobs and positioning the State as a leader in R&D.
Parliamentary Secretary to the NSW Premier, Gabrielle Upton MP is leading the initiative on behalf of the Government.
Ms Upton said, "In January, the NSW Premier launched the Turning Ideas into Jobs: Accelerating R&D in NSW Action Plan, which sets out five Priority Actions. Two of the Priority Actions, a Small Business Innovation Research Program and an R&D online matchmaking platform, are already funded with $24 million from the State Budget.
"The NSW Premier also recently launched R&D NSW, a new Government agency, that will house all of NSW’s R&D activities under one roof.
"Our valuable research and innovation networks, like the NSW Smart Sensing Network, bring researchers and industry together. As the Action Plan recognised, we need to do more of that to help turn the great ideas in NSW into jobs, new industries products and services."
NSW Smart Sensing Network (NSSN) Co-Director, Professor Benjamin Eggleton, said commercialising research benefits NSW through the creation of new jobs, sovereign industry and sovereign capability, which ultimately grows the State's economy and prosperity.
NSSN Co-Director and Director of Sydney Nano Institute, Professor Benjamin Eggleton.
"In NSW, we are in an incredibly strong position to translate smart sensing technology into capability that brings return on investment and solves real-world problems," Professor Eggleton said. "The NSSN provides a fantastic vehicle for realising this vision."
The NSW Smart Sensing Network, established thourgh the Office of the NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer, is a consortium of eight leading universities across NSW and the ACT that brings together universities, industry and government to develop multidisciplinary smart sensing solutions to solve complex challenges.
"The Network provides a service for end-users, industry and government departments to connect into the innovation sector, and facilitates the synthesis and actuation of innovation around specific problem statements," Professor Eggleton said.
Since its inception in 2016, the NSSN has collaborated with key industry and government partners on a number of multimillion-dollar research and development projects.
The Network has developed tailored solutions to complicated problems such as leak detection and prediction in large urban water networks and increasing Australia's capability in recycling HDPE plastics (milk bottles).
Sensing is a game-changer in urban water management, said Professor Eggleton. Advanced sensing technologies powered by artificial intelligence enable water utilities to predict and prevent catastrophic failures in water networks and save millions of litres of water each year.
"New opportunities will arise to completely rethink the design of the urban environment as Sydney starts to reimagine some of its new zones of development," said Professor Eggleton. "The narrative around smart cities, sensors, and automation is truly transformational."
"We see sensors play a crucial role in the environment," Professor Eggleton said. "We now know and appreciate in more detail the impact that smart sensing technologies can deliver for bushfire prediction, mitigation and response."
The NSSN operates across a wide range of sectors such as built environment, advanced manufacturing, MedTech, AgTech, resources, energy, space and defence.
The NSSN has a unique ability to mobilise the world-class R&D capability across its member universities, which include the University of Sydney, University of New South Wales (UNSW), University of Technology Sydney (UTS), University of Newcastle, Macquarie University and, Western Sydney University, as well as ACT universities: the Australian National University, University of Canberra,
The Network recently launched a Grand Challenges Program on themes including bushfires, water, ageing and COVID-19. The Program aims to focus the Network's capabilities on current issues of critical importance to NSW, Australia and the globe.
"We can see an evolution towards an innovation ecosystem that thrives on science and industry collaboration," said Professor Eggleton. "The future is very bright."
Media: Shahrzad Abbasi
M: 0466 548 145
E: Shahrzad.abbasi@nssn.org.au
The NSW Smart Sensing Network (NSSN), an initiative of the NSW Government Office of the Chief Scientist and Engineer, is a consortium of eight leading universities across NSW and the ACT that brings together academia, industry and government to develop smart sensing solutions for complex challenges.
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