Putting strategic investment into programs with high impact: translation, training, industry engagement, commercial outputs

FLEET has strategically invested in programs designed to maximise research impact through translation, training, industry engagement and commercial outputs.

Three key initiatives demonstrate this approach:

  • FLEET Translation Program (FTP)
  • Meet FLEET industry engagement event
  • Better Future Innovation Challenge

FLEET Translation Program (FTP)

Launched in 2022, the FLEET Translation Program was designed to bridge the gap between research and real-world applications.

With a $500,000 investment, the program focused on:

  • Identifying researchers with translation potential
  • Selecting projects ripe for translation
  • Providing essential translation and commercialisation skills training for participating members.

The FTP funded ten diverse projects across the Centre:

  • TMD sample manufacturing (RMIT / Swinburne)
  • High efficiency Zn battery tech (UNSW)
  • Scanbot: An STM automation ‘bot (Monash)
  • High-performance, solution-templated porous thermoelectrics (UOW / ANSTO)
  • Alumina barrier layer encapsulant (RMIT)
  • Liquid metal electrode / demo pseudocapacitor (UNSW)
  • Switchable coatings (RMIT)
  • Ultra-wide-range laser locking (Swinburne)
  • Compact NV magnetometer market exploration (Monash)
  • CFD for AV fistula failure prediction (UQ)

A dedicated program manager guided researchers through the application process, encouraging them to recognise translational opportunities. The low-barrier application process facilitated advancement of projects that may not have progressed through conventional channels.

The value of the FLEET Translation Program extends beyond the projects funded, exposing early-career researchers to the translation process perhaps years earlier than would otherwise have occurred. FTP also provided a framework for FLEET strategic investment in training courses on intellectual property, commercialisation, entrepreneurship

Several projects received additional funding from external sources, while the suite of projects allowed FLEET to step up industry engagement, including via poster presentations on the FTP projects at the Meet FLEET event…

Meet FLEET

The Meet FLEET industry engagement event served as a platform to:

  • Showcase FLEET’s research capabilities in quantum and electronic materials and systems
  • Foster academia-industry partnerships
  • Explore joint R & D opportunities.

Two panel discussions featured i) innovation agents working at the research-commercialisation interface and ii) science-in-industry veterans sharing insights on academia-industry collaboration.

Panellists included representation from government, universities and industry, addressing barriers to research-industry collaborations and exploring available resources and solutions.

Better Futures Innovation Challenge

FLEET collaborated with four other ARC Centres of Excellence to launch the inaugural research hackathon, aiming to:

  • Foster new collaborations between academic research and Australian industry
  • Address real-world challenges
  • Provide hands-on experience for participants
  • Enhance problem-solving skills and networking opportunities

The initiative demonstrates FLEET’s commitment to cultivating innovation through cross-disciplinary collaboration and industry engagement.

Outcomes and Impact

FLEET’s strategic investments yielded significant results:

  • Increased industry engagement through events like Meet FLEET
  • Advancement of the ten translational projects via the FLEET Translation Program
  • Enhanced research skills in IP, commercialisation and entrepreneurship
  • Creation of new collaborative opportunities through the Better Futures Innovation Challenge

By focusing on high-impact areas and regularly reassessing priorities, FLEET has effectively leveraged its resources to drive research translation, foster industry partnership development and generate potential commercial outputs.