$40 million distributed under CRC-P Program

Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews has announced the results of the sixth Cooperative Research Centres Projects (CRC-P) selection round, distributing $40 million to a record number of 19 industry research partnerships.

The $731 million CRC-P Program supports collaborations between industry, researchers and the community to develop new technologies, products and services that deliver tangible and commercial outcomes for the country. Funding is open to all industry sectors and research disciplines and is awarded through a competitive, merit-based selection process.

“These industry-led partnerships will improve the competitiveness, productivity and sustainability of Australian industries, and create more jobs,” Andrews said.

UNSW Sydney is participating in a whopping five of the 19 projects — the most of any organisation — which received more than $11 million in funding. The grants went towards the following:

• $3 million for a project with Flame Security International to develop an autonomous intelligent fire prediction and suppression system, with a non-toxic, eco-friendly flame retardant for use in furniture, clothing, cars and construction materials.
• $2 million for a project with Orpeus to develop a new transport device for donor hearts that will make more hearts available for more patients.
• $2.1 million for a project with Nutromics which will develop a digitally enabled wearable device and a deep learning behaviour change engine to help advance preventative measures for type 2 diabetes.
• $1.47 million for a project with Jasgo R&D to create a system for the rapid diagnostics of house dust mites and bedbugs in the medical sector.
• $2.9 million for a project with Frontier SI to deliver secure digital valuation models and tools that cover a broad range of land and property types across Australia and overseas.
   

UNSW Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research Professor Nicholas Fisk congratulated the university’s researchers on securing the most grants and funding in this round.

“This program allows our researchers to interact with industry in a meaningful way and take new technology to market, so it’s pleasing to see our researchers participating in versatile projects across so many disciplines,” he said.

Outside UNSW, other project highlights are as follows:

• $3 million for a tool which aims to improve surgical accuracy when removing tumours in cancer patients, in a partnership between Oncores Medical, the University of Western Australia, South Metropolitan Health Service and Linear Clinical Research.
• $2.9 million for support tools and real-time insights which use artificial intelligence and machine learning to help farmers manage crop productivity, in a partnership between CSIRO and various agricultural bodies.
• $2.1 million to use artificial intelligence to detect and highlight aneurysms on brain scans, in a partnership between Macquarie University, Macquarie Medical Imaging, Fujitsu and GE Healthcare.
   

“Small and medium businesses are the backbone of our economy and this investment will help businesses grow, find new market opportunities and bring significant returns to Australia,” Andrews said.

The full list of recipients can be found on the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science website.

Image credit: ©fabioberti.it/Dollar Photo Club

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