Sunday 5 April 2009

TechClinics Launched

The Australian Institute for Commercialisation (AIC) in conjunction with the Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI) held its first Technology Clinic (TechClinic) in Brisbane on 31 March 2009 on “Advanced Technologies in Biofuels – Algae”.

This TechClinic was an invitation-only event which enabled interaction between key stakeholders concerned with the development of fuel from algae.  These stakeholders included researchers, emerging processing companies, energy producers, jet fuel users and co-product developers. 

The intended benefits for the participant were:

•  An increased understanding of the opportunities and the pathways  to develop and utilise the technology 
•  Increased collaborative opportunities
•  Enhanced ability for end-users to access new research and technology developments.

What are TechClinics?

TechClinics are initiatives operated by innovation support organisations such as the AIC to assist the development of innovation and technology in SMEs.  They are an activity implemented to reach agreement on a series of priorities to enable the development of SMEs and usually cover one or more of the following broad objectives: technology problem solving, technology intelligence gathering and technology transfer.

This predominantly occurs through the pre-selection of an issue which is strategically important for a firm, or a group of firms in a networked value chain.  The technology clinic activity supports participants to understand the issue and implement responses from within their organisations and firms.

Stimulating technology receptiveness between the research community, government, end-users and SMEs, are expected clinic outcomes that will enable the participating parties to make more informed decisions and:

•       Determine which R&D projects should be pursued
•       Identify a long-term, flexible portfolio of R&D priorities
•       Identify the appropriate parties to participate in research and commercialisation activities
•       Identify the scale and resources required to undertake the research.

    

The Technology Clinic process is intended to provide an opportunity to reveal potential infrastructure, R&D and investment priorities, informing not only technology development needs, but also strategic planning needs for the firm more broadly.

Upcoming TechClinics

Given the success of the first TechClinic on bio-algae, and the opportunities that were spawned, the AIC has been commissioned to hold further clinics in Queensland along niche industry value chains. These include

•      Marine Industry – Waste Handling ( Cairns , May 2009)
•      Textured Vegetable Protein (Toowoomba, June 2009)  

If you would like further information please contact Tracy.Boydell@ausicom.com

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