New Swinburne co-led consortium to accelerate research translation and innovation

Swinburne University of Technology is helping turn more research into real-world impact through its newly launched Australian Research Translation and Innovation Consortium (ARTIC). 

Co-founded by and headquartered at Swinburne, ARTIC will bring together a group of Australia’s Centres of Excellence, industry partners, government stakeholders, investors and innovation enablers into a collaboration network focused on research translation and innovation.

As the co-founding and host institution, Swinburne has played a leading role in developing ARTIC, leveraging its strong expertise in industry partnerships, commercialisation programs and innovation ecosystem. Swinburne will also coordinate collaboration across the consortium’s national network.

“Australia is home to world-class research. Through ARTIC, we now have an opportunity to bring together leading minds across research, industry and innovation to turn that expertise into value for communities, industries and the economy,” says Dr Werner van der Merwe, Swinburne’s Vice President, Innovation and Enterprise.”

Dr van der Merwe adds, "ARTIC will help create these connections at a national scale, providing researchers with greater access to the partnerships, expertise and opportunities to accelerate the commercialisation of research to produce real-world impact."

Taking research out of the lab and into the real-world

ARTIC was established in response to the growing need to strengthen research translation nationally.

“There is an incredible breadth of research happening across Australia. However, translating discoveries into products, services, policies and businesses remains a challenge. Researchers often face barriers in navigating commercialisation pathways, finding industry partners and accessing the necessary networks to scale innovation,” says Diana Haikal, Consortium Lead.

“ARTIC is about helping bridge that gap and creating continuity and longevity for researchers. It will strengthen how we collaborate on research translation and industry engagement to deliver national benefit,” she says.

Over time, the consortium will provide a coordinated national network that helps connect expertise, opportunities and resources across institutions and sectors, making it easier to forge a path from research to real-world impact.

A new approach to research translation

ARTIC’s Chair and Director of the Swinburne-based ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav), Distinguished Professor Matthew Bailes, said the consortium represents a new model of collaboration across Australia's research sector. 

“The Centres of Excellence are not just a collection of elite researchers, but of teams drawn from many institutions where collaboration across institutional boundaries is the norm. ARTIC is a natural evolution of this research ecosystem that capitalises on their remarkable discoveries, new technologies, training and highly skilled researchers to fully capitalise on their collective commercial potential,” he says.

ARTIC's first-year activities will include the development of a national research capability map, a shared resource library, professional development programs, industry engagement initiatives, and a series of networking and collaboration events.