Sydney wins top two spots in NSW Government innovation challenge
The University of Sydney innovations led by spin-off DetectED-X has won the NSW Government's R&D Innovation Districts Challenges focused on tackling the pandemic, taking the lion's share of seed funding for product development.
University of Sydney spin-off DetectED-X, which recently launched a COVID-19 lung CT platform for treatment scale-up, along with anti-viral air filtration personal device VBreathe, have together won the two biggest grants from the NSW Government鈥檚 R&D Innovation Districts Challenges, which aims to help translate ideas into real-world impact.
Collaboration between universities, CSIRO and local businesses will help bring new products to market that help to address the challenges of COVID-19. More than 110 businesses have applied to be part of the NSW Government鈥檚 R&D Innovation Districts Challenges, vying for a share in $500,000 of seed funding.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet, Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney Stuart Ayres and Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education Geoff Lee made the .
DetecteED-X CEO Professor Patrick Brennan. Top of page, an image from a lung CT with no signs of COVID-19, from the the training platform.
Minister Ayres said the challenges were designed to find research and development solutions to health and wellbeing impacts as a result of the pandemic. 鈥淲e鈥檝e seen an opportunity to help stimulate the economy, support businesses and drive innovation right across the state鈥� it鈥檚 great to see collaborations from innovation districts across the state share in the funding,鈥� he said.
鈥淚nnovation district partners worked with businesses to hone their applications for the state finals of the first challenge which called for R&D solutions to the health and wellbeing impacts of COVID-19 on the people of New South Wales.
鈥淭hirty-five finalists were evaluated by NSW Treasury and a panel of experts from NSW Health, the Office of the NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.鈥�
- $250,000 to lung scan AI diagnosis and education, led by Professor Patrick Brenan in the School of Health Sciences.
- $100,000 to anti-viral air filtration personal device to Professor Paul Young, in the School of Medical Sciences.
- Others: $30,000 to EcoAid BioTech biodegradable, anti-viral coating spray; $10,000 to local winners: COVIU Global, Birth Beat, All Metal Products, Criticalarc, Colan Products, YourLink, Energisim, Pen CS, Moove & Groove, Halo Medical Devices, We Are Explorers, The Ripper Group.听
The University of Sydney award-winning spin-off DetectED-X launched the cloud-based CovED for free this year - a training platform in identifying the coronavirus in lung CT scans. It later attracted $1.04m funding from the federal government and is now in 150 countries.
Ms Rupal Ismin, director of the University鈥檚 Sydney Knowledge Hub, which facilitated the Challenge for the University of Sydney Innovation District, said: 鈥淲e are thrilled for DetectED-X; they have been a member of the Sydney Knowledge Hub for over a year - which means they operate their business out of the space - and we have helped their business grow by connecting them to students, potential collaborators, and business consultants who are now part of their team.听
鈥淚t鈥檚 wonderful to see this spin-out of the University continuing to work on campus.鈥�
Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education Geoff Lee today said the Innovation Districts Challenge recognises the benefits that collaborations with universities, the CSIRO and local businesses can bring to NSW.
鈥淭hrough the Challenge, we鈥檙e supporting universities that are some of the leading organisations in adaption but have also really felt the brunt of international border closures.鈥�
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said the innovation challenges were an example of how small-to-medium enterprises and researchers can collaborate more often, which is at the heart of the NSW Innovation and Productivity Council鈥檚 new report, Let鈥檚 Collaborate, released today.
鈥淒oubling our current rates of collaboration could see a productivity increase worth $150 million per year for New South Wales,鈥� Mr Perrottet said.
University of Sydney Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Duncan Ivison said the pandemic highlighted the transformative nature of close collaboration between universities and industry. 鈥淚ndustry engagement plays a crucial role in commercialising research and this has never been more true 鈥� the pandemic presents a monumental challenge but our university community has risen to the challenge,鈥� Professor Ivison said.
Professor Robyn Ward, the University of Sydney鈥檚 Dean and Pro Vice-Chancellor, Faculty of Medicine and Health, said: 鈥淐ongratulations to DetectED-X and VBreathe for leading the Innovation Districts Challenges, and to all researchers at Sydney and beyond who are working on tackling COVID-19 and preventing future pandemics.鈥�