The University of Newcastle, with a Central Coast campus at Ourimbah, has welcomed the signing of a historic five-year NSW Government Innovation Partnerships with the State Government which will boost innovation, attract investment and strengthen collaboration.
University of Newcastle Vice-Chancellor, Professor Alex Zelinsky, said the move highlighted the critical role that universities played in driving innovation and economic development.
“This is a valuable opportunity to strengthen our connections with the NSW Government and support activities aimed at helping the State, and our regions, be vibrant, connected, healthy and productive,” he said.
“We’ve already seen many benefits of these strong relationships – our joint efforts with our Local Health Districts are good examples of what can be achieved for our regions when we work collaboratively.
“Our University is committed to being part of a strong recovery for NSW and contributing to economic growth and innovation.
“As our regions diversify their economies, there is great potential for us to partner with government and industry to ensure our communities not just survive but thrive.
“This MOU will offer even more opportunities for us to work with the NSW Government and industry in NSW to contribute to economic growth and translate research into commercial success.”
Premier Dominic Perrottet said the Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) agreements, signed with nine other universities as well as Newcastle, will cement Sydney’s reputation as the smart city down under.
“NSW is home to some of the world’s leading universities and we want to strengthen our working relationships with the sector to commercialise research and develop world-leading local precincts where people live and create jobs,” Perrottet said.
“What you’ll see from our government through these agreements is a framework that takes NSW university collaboration to an unparalleled level.”
The agreements contain a pipeline of more than 100 current and potential strategic opportunities to support innovation across areas such as big data, artificial intelligence, cyber security, clinical innovation, clean energy, advanced manufacturing, regional development and more.
Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology and Minister for Skills and Training, Alister Henskens, said the agreements were a critical part in positioning NSW as the leading Australian state for university and industry collaboration.
“We don’t just want to rival other states for our collaboration, we want to lead the way across the Indo-Pacific,” he said.
“It’s exciting that this agreement will facilitate our world-leading university minds to collaborate with industry to harness unprecedented collective firepower.”
Terry Collins