Is your business ready for Covid-19?
Australia is bracing for probable Covid-19 outbreaks which can heavily impact businesses if workers or their families become sick or if schools send children home for any length of time. Events will get cancelled and people will stop going out. At...
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A better world through education, unity and action
As a country, we are in the unfortunate position of witnessing first-hand what climate change is doing to our home, plants and animals. If we continue with ‘business as usual’ we are condemning our children and children around the world to a future...
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What does the future hold?
As we rang in the New Year for 2020, I had a similar feeling of deep apprehension and anxiety to when I turned on the news coverage of planes flying into the World Trade Centre in 2001. After the initial shock and horror, I imagined the...
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Discovering the business behind a good idea
My name is Erinn Watts and after recently completing my HSC, I had the opportunity to do work experience at Gemaker. Gemaker is a commercialisation and marketing intelligence consultancy that helps companies to transforms ideas into products for...
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How to inspire 2000 students in one hour for the cost of a high-end iPhone
At gemaker, part of our mission is to build Australia by inspiring the next generation. We also know that not every business has the time or expertise to deliver a full-blown educational package. But you can still make a big difference. Here’s how....
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You can’t commercialise your tech unless you communicate it
As a marketing communicator working in tech transfer, I frequently encounter STEM researchers and innovators who initially express scepticism about the value of my services. I strive to win them over, because (a) it’s a living and (b) they need my help, even if they don’t know it yet.
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How to get the most out of attending an expo
Make your next expo visit a successful one with our expert tips. Spoiler alert: Most of the work happens before you arrive. Before you go Before booking an expo, do your homework and check it’s right for you. If you have an ideal customer you want...
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Challenges and opportunities for graduates: resilience, adaptability and climate action
gemaker Managing Director, Natalie Chapman, gave the occasional address at the University of Wollongong graduation on 24 June 2019. Below are the video and transcript of the speech.Deputy Chancellor Elizabeth Magassy, Presenting Dean of the...
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A challenge-based innovation program could fund your R&D
A growing number of increasingly diverse, challenge-based innovation programs are creating win-win opportunities for business, research and government to work together to solve real-world problems.
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Marketing makes or breaks commercialisation; don’t make these mistakes
Unfortunately, many STEM innovators underestimate the importance of marketing. I’m frequently contacted by research organisations or innovative businesses seeking to commercialise new knowledge or technology, who are suffering the consequences of...
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Natalie Chapman speaks at the University of Sydney Graduation Ceremony
Transcript: First of all congratulations!! You’ve put in a tremendous amount of hard work to be here today. You and your family must be so proud. What an awesome achievement. As a Science graduate of the University 24 years ago. I’m extremely...
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11 ways to shipwreck your start-up
We’ve compiled a top 11 list of ways to shipwreck commercialisation of your new ideas or start-up.
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International Women’s Day: a balanced report
The theme for IWD2019 (8 March) is #BalanceforBetter: The better the balance, the better the world. The bad news We still have far to go before the Australian workforce is gender-balanced. Firstly, there are financial imbalances:...
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Attitudes to part-timers and flexible work key to management diversity
In my youth, I didn’t think about diversity, much. My Hungarian father came to Australia on a boat with his resilient and resourceful parents in 1949, but that wasn’t unusual in our neighbourhood.
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Turning 7!
To be frank, when I started gemaker, I hoped that it might last three years before I had to give up playing start-up CEO in my garage and find a ‘real’ job. My wildest dream was to make a positive difference to Australian innovation and...
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Highlights from Science Meets Business
Every year, Science Meets Business brings together leaders in STEM and private industry to increase understanding and cooperation between these two complex sectors. In 2018, Science Meets Business focused on the theme ‘High Tech and Big Data’. The...
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Networking not working? Here’s the smarter alternative
Who likes networking? I ask this routinely when training researchers in industry engagement. The response is always a collective groan. Maybe networking is fun for exceptionally extroverted people, but for most of us, it seems fitting that the word...
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How small business can have a big impact on STEM education
To sustain Australia’s STEM industries, businesses need to step up and help schools and teachers to educate and motivate the next generation of innovators. You don’t need to be a large corporation to have a positive impact on STEM education, as...
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Researchers need soft skills training to succeed
To address a lack of essential, transferable, ‘soft skills’ training, Deakin University (DU) and Macquarie University (MU) are developing a series of seminars for Early-to-Mid-Career Researchers (EMCRs) working in science, technology, engineering...
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My work experience with gemaker: daily lessons in business and research commercialisation
I shadowed the Co-Founder and Managing Director of gemaker, Natalie Chapman for a week. I assumed I would be in an office, but over the week I travelled a lot and learned a lot. Monday We were at the University of Wollongong to run a training...
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Commercialisation Recommendations and Cautions for CRCs
This article is based on Natalie Chapman’s presentation at the annual conference of the Cooperative Research Centres Association in May 2018. I’ve been commercialising innovations arising from research organisations for 17 years. Over this time,...
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Advice for early- and mid-career researchers from a diverse thinker (and doer)
If you’re an EMCR who’s considering changing direction and wondering how to reach your desired destination, then the following four tips gained from my successes and failures may help you
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Bioreactor PhD launches careers
Swinburne University's innovative Bioreactor PhD Program was launched only three years ago, with funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC), but the benefits of its entrepreneurial focus are already clear to the program's supervisors, the...
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My grandma: a gem shaped by adversity
On this International Women’s Day, I’m honouring an international woman who was incredibly resilient, resourceful and self-sacrificing: my 91-year-old grandma, Erzsebet (Elizabeth) Szakacs, who died last week. As the world faces...
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Trademarking – to do or not to do, that is the question
What is a trade mark? A trade mark is a ‘sign’ used to distinguish a good/service from similar goods/services of other traders. It could be a business name, a product brand name, a logo, a slogan or a combination of these things. It could even be a...
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The most overlooked source of funding
The Research and Development (R&D) Tax Incentive is an eligibility entitlement program administered jointly by the Department of Industry, Innovation & Science and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). The department manages the...
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#AUSinnovates Launch – So what’s innovation doing for us anyway?
A new social media campaign launching today aims to turn the talk about Australia’s R&D commercialisation on its head by celebrating and highlighting their marketplace success. The #AUSinnovates campaign is the brainchild of...
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The R&D Tax Incentive – Supporting Medical, Health and Life Sciences Research
Are you in the medical, health or life sciences sector? Is your company developing cutting-edge technology? If you answered yes, then you’re in good company! Registered expenditure for the R&D Tax Incentive scheme on Medical, Health...
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Calling all parents – Australia’s future female scientists need your support now
Women are underrepresented and underpaid in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The majority of programs and schemes addressing this problem focus on girls, or their teachers, or on assisting businesses to engage...
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gemaker rewards young innovators at Australia’s largest science fair
For the tenth year in a row, the University of Wollongong ran the Illawarra Coal Science Fair on 29 November. The 2017 Fair was the biggest ever, attracting more than 1000 students from 85 schools around the region. Associate Professor...
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Commercialising your innovation: fund, market and focus…or fail
I’ve spent a good part of the last 16 years helping researchers and innovators bring their ideas out of the lab and into the market. I’ve witnessed the development of numerous innovations from ideas through to tests,...
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Notes from Science Meets Business
This year’s Science Meets Business conference was an inspirational mix of policy, practice and promotion aimed at researchers, policy makers and industry partners. Policy There were four presentations from business and political...
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Six of the best
Celebrating gemaker’s 6th birthday this week with members of the team in Sydney was uplifting.
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The Beginners Guide to Digital Marketing – Part 2
In Part 1 of our Digital Marketing Guide, we covered the components of a strong digital marketing foundation: a website, social media, great content and search engine optimisation (SEO). In Part 2, we discuss how you can support your marketing efforts with paid advertising to amplify engagement with your customers and drive more traffic to your website.
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Entrepreneur Natalie Chapman Finalist in Telstra Business Women’s Awards
gemaker is proud to announce that Managing Director Natalie Chapman is a finalist in the Entrepreneur category of the 2017 Telstra Business Women’s Awards.
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The Beginners Guide to Digital Marketing – Part 1
We live in an increasingly digital world. If you want to get your ideas, products and services out into the marketplace it’s important that you’re able to engage with your audience online. Our guide explains some key components of...
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gemaker sponsors female student to attend YMCA Space Camp!
gemaker has created the ‘gemaker Future Woman in STEM Scholarship' to support a female student from a disadvantaged/rural background with the best answer to the question ‘What topic in Space do you like exploring?’. The...
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Research-industry collaboration: a bridge-building guide for both sides – Part 5
At the end of any research-industry collaboration, it’s important to reflect on the partnership, what worked well and what could be improved. This is often the most neglected part of the collaboration because the work has (hopefully)...
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gemaker wins at the Telstra Business Awards!
On Tuesday night at the Telstra Business Awards gala dinner gemaker – a unique Australian business that focuses on taking new technologies to market – was named winner of the Micro-Business category for NSW.
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gemaker announced as Telstra Business Award Finalist
gemaker is proud to announce that we are finalists in the 2017 Telstra Business Awards in the Micro-Business category. A Telstra Business Award represents business excellence in Australia, and this nomination is a great...
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My STEM work experience at gemaker
The team was extremely friendly and approachable, I highly recommend it to any students considering a career in a STEM industry.
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The future STEM workplace, for women AND men, is closer to home than you might think
There’s more equal responsibility between the genders today than there ever before for looking after children, running the household and earning money. This makes the consideration of flexible work options an important concern for any man who wants to engage in a meaningful way with the daily business of running a household, participating in family life and being there to see his children grow up.
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International acclaim for gemaker empowering researchers to engage with industry
gemaker was named the winner of three Silver Stevie® Awards for Innovative Management in Business Product & Service Industries, Excellence in Innovation in Business Product & Service Industries and Innovation in Business-to-Business...
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Research-industry collaboration: a bridge-building guide for both sides – Part 4
Having done all the hard work in establishing the partnership, consider how it can be leveraged for even greater mutual benefit.
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Reward for innovation: an update on the R&D Tax Incentive
For start-ups and other innovative companies, the R&D Tax Incentive is designed to reduce the cost and risk of undertaking research and development, by reducing their tax.
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Research-industry collaboration: a bridge-building guide for both sides – Part 3
Researchers should be aware that collaboration with Company A may restrict you from jumping into bed with Company B, particularly if A and B are competitors. In business as in love, consider whether monogamy suits you before beginning a long-term partnership.
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Science meets Parliament: How to influence the impact when worlds collide
It was an enlightening two days that fostered better understanding and relationships between scientists of all walks of life and politicians.
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Research-industry collaboration: a bridge-building guide for both sides – Part 2
Partly in response to Innovation and Science Australia’s recent performance review of Australia's innovation, science and research system, I am producing a series of posts about improving research-industry collaboration, to...
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Commercialisation in botanical terms – Sowing the seeds of technology transfer
Download the industry engagement graphic which explains what technology transfer is, why it doesn't work so well in Australia and how we can improve it with better industry engagement by researchers. Originally I trained as...
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Research-industry collaboration: a bridge-building guide for both sides
There’s often a huge crevasse between research organisations, such as universities, and commercial companies, in any industry: a gap in understanding and a potential grave for hopes and dreams.
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