The ability to turn research into commercial reality has seen Griffith Enterprise (GE)nominated in two categories in the inaugural Knowledge Commercialisation Australasia (KCA)Research Commercialisation Awards.
KCA is Australasia’s peak body for groups and individuals associated with knowledge commercialisation and exchange.
Its inaugural awards include categories for Best Commercial Deal, relating to any form of commercialisation of knowledge which is innovative in its approach, provides value-adding to the research institution and has significant long-term social and economic impact; and Best Creative Engagement Strategy, which showcases some of the creative strategies that research organisations are using to engage with industry and share and create new knowledge.
GE is nominated in Best Commercial Deal for “Silicon Carbide Coast”, a suite of deals and engagements designed to commercialise the Queensland Microtechnology Facility’s (QMF) silicon carbide (SiC) on silicon (Si) platform technology.
Through a collaboration with UK-based SPTS Technologies, specialist equipment enabling mass production of SiC on Si wafers was developed. Funding from this deal then enabled creation of specialist tools that could build devices on to these wafers.
A further collaboration with Chinese micro-electronics company SICC Materials now facilitates a path to the lucrative semiconductor, MEMs and power device markets in Asia. Together these deals have involved consideration of more than AUD$7 million and provide a potential future royalty stream.
Building on this foundation, Griffith and partners aim to establish a research and development, prototyping and high-tech manufacturing precinct in southeast Queensland.
GE is also nominated for Best Creative Engagement Strategy for expanding Griffith’s Seed independent music project, which brings together the University’s popular music, creative arts, film and marketing students to develop and promote an album annually.
GE, with QCGU, has helped build Seed’s key learning offering by linking with major partner, the Queensland Performing Arts Centre, to co-produce an annual concert series, The Seed Project.
Here students hone their performance skills, build a following and become noticed through co-branded publicity which last year alone reached more than one million people.
Meanwhile, there is also a People’s Choice category in the 2014 KCA awards and Griffith staff and students canvote for the Griffith Enterprise nominees by going toPeople’s Choice Awards.
Winners will be announced at the 2014 KCA Annual Conference Awards dinner in Brisbane on September 18.