Trailblazing new opportunities to commercialise defence research

A major defence research commercialisation project between the University of Adelaide and the University of New South Wales is one of just eight proposals shortlisted for the Federal Government’s new $242.7 million Trailblazer Universities program.

The program is expected to play a leading role in securing Australia’s economic recovery, and is focussed on research commercialisation across six national manufacturing priority areas: food and beverage, recycling and clean energy, defence, medical products, space and resources, and critical technology.

Dr Stephen Rodda, Executive Director of Innovation and Commercial Partners at the University of Adelaide and bid-lead for the project says: “The proposal sees two universities with a long and proud history of partnering with the defence sector join forces to lead a range of new initiatives to strengthen Australia’s defence capabilities and assets.

“The strong engagement of our industry partners, which cover the full spectrum of defence primes, mid-sized defence tech companies, early stage companies and investment fund managers, highlights the need and demand for such a trailblazer program and the value that will be created through the initiatives proposed in our submission.”

Professor Michael Webb, Director of the Defence and Security Institute (DSI) and Academic Coordinator for Defence, Cyber and Space at the University of Adelaide, says: “The University of Adelaide is delighted to deepen its long-standing relationship with the defence sector through this new partnership.

“The academics at the University of Adelaide and the University of New South Wales are at the forefront of defence research and are experts in helping industry translate research into meaningful commercial outcomes.

“Our joint Defence Trailblazer: Concept to Sovereign Capability bid will see our Universities collaborate with defence partners in new ways to inject opportunities for industry in manufacturing, and equip the sector with a pipeline of graduates and researchers with industry knowledge and experience to support and grow the sector.”Professor Michael Webb, the University of Adelaide

“Our joint Defence Trailblazer: Concept to Sovereign Capability bid will see our Universities collaborate with defence partners in new ways to inject opportunities for industry in manufacturing, and equip the sector with a pipeline of graduates and researchers with industry knowledge and experience to support and grow the sector.”

Vice Admiral Paul Maddison (Ret’d), Director of the Defence Research Institute, the University of New South Wales says: “The University of NSW is very pleased to be partnering with the University of Adelaide on our joint Defence Trailblazer: Concept to Sovereign Capability bid.

“Our two universities lead the nation in defence-related research, working closely with Defence, and defence industry to deliver ground-breaking capability to the Australian Defence Force.

“We have world-leading programs in priority technology areas such as space, quantum, cybersecurity, hypersonics, and AI, and have invested significantly in the translation of fundamental research into commercialised and deployable competitive advantage capabilities for the Australian Defence Force and Australia’s allies.

“The University of New South Wales joins the University of Adelaide in viewing Trailblazer as a generational opportunity to transform Australia’s defence innovation ecosystem, and to meet the strategic imperative of accelerating the concept to defence capability cycle.”

Outcomes of the selection process will be announced in late March, with  four proposals selected from the eight shortlisted.