The University of Queensland will use almost $1 million in new Queensland Government funding to speed the flow of research inventions to the community.
Treasurer and Minister for Employment and Economic Development Andrew Fraser today announced funding of $995,000 to UQ in the first round of the Smart Futures Proof of Concept Fund.
UQ Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Greenfield congratulated the State Government for the first release of funds, which will help take commercially-promising research outcomes to the market.
“It usually takes many years for a brilliant idea to progress from a researcher’s laboratory, field or office to the stock market,” Professor Greenfield said.
“This fund will accelerate the process and help deliver more benefits of UQ research to the community.
“It is a particularly important fund for these times, when potential investors in research products are highly risk-averse.
“It will be critical for demonstrating the commercial potential of early-stage research, and its prospective benefits to end-users.”
Proof of concept activities can include comparative experiments, testing a hypothesis, constructing a prototype, ironing out technical issues, or engaging a consultant to provide expert industry advice.
This stage can be vital to attracting pre-seed venture funds, angel investment or commercial partners, especially when projects with commercial potential must demonstrate their feasibility before they can be presented to a potential seed investor or licensee.
Professor Greenfield thanked UQ’s three commercialisation companies, UniQuest, IMBCom and JK Tech, which worked together to help secure the two-year grant.
UniQuest Managing Director David Henderson said that proof of concept funding was critically important to launch Australian innovations onto the global playing field.
“Smart Futures Proof of Concept funding is timely public funding for relatively low cost commercial validation of public research,” Mr Henderson said.
Media inquiries: UQ — Fiona Kennedy (3365 1384) or Jan King 0413 601 248; Uniquest — Leanne Wyvill (3365 4307, 0409 767 199).
