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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Great expectations—and the reality of company valuations
You’ve put your heart and soul into your business. Years of passion, dedication and plain hard work have gone in to get it to where it is.
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The next generation of innovators is here—and they’re girls
A good proportion of the entries were from female students and 80 per cent of the high school winners were girls.
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My STEM work experience at gemaker
gemaker is the connection between the science and market worlds, and they are there to help, guide and communicate each other’s needs and wants.
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Food for thought on intellectual property: 7 courses from IPBC Australasia 2016
Right now, intellectual property (IP) management presents a banquet of opportunities, judging by presentations at the IP Business Congress Australasia, held this month in Melbourne.
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Courting industry: Why your next research funding won’t come from a grant
Here are my top tips on how to successfully engage with industry.
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Celebrating 5 years with lessons learnt!
Each phase is a learning experience, with new challenges and financial risk. We are on a steep growth trajectory, which causes some pain, but also brings plenty of opportunity and excitement.
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What you can do for industry
. I learnt more about what holds researchers back from beneficial partnerships with industry, and shared the joy of ‘A-ha!’ moments, when they realised what they could change or start doing, to seed the relationships they need.
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Is Australia’s glass of innovation half full or half empty?
Is Australia’s glass of innovation half full or half empty? I thought, as Science & Technology Australia’s second annual Science Meets Business conference began.
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Unconcious Bias (and how to fix it)
Dr Julie Wheway explains how bias in STEM is effecting 50% of our talent.
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World-first career framework for Technology Transfer Professionals published
The KCA framework describes up to 200 desired capabilities for TTPs, divided into seven clusters and sixteen sub-clusters, and classified by development stages: early-career, mid-career and senior level.
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What Australian research and innovation can learn from Iceland’s soccer team
Iceland’s win wasn’t a happy accident. The country made a conscious decision to be good at soccer and invested in the sport.
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Want productivity? Get flexible and stop wasting women
We don’t lose our knowledge, skills or experience when we become parents, but many parents risk losing their professional roles unless they work as if their children don’t exist.
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Engaging industry: a traveller’s guide
Calls that Australian research is not being adequately translated into commercial advantage for the nation have been heard for more than 20 years.
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Networking tips for socially awkward penguins
Starting a conversation was simple too, because we shared a common passion (for science, not fish – these are metaphorical penguins).
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Is Commercialisation the Dark Side of research?
Like a Jedi apprentice, I began my science degree because of my love of and interest in science. I was not interested in doing a business degree or any degree that would purely maximise my salary prospects.
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Strength from the storm: lessons learnt in winning a $450K grant
How would you feel if your start-up received A$450K in an Accelerating Commercialisation grant under the Australian Government’s Entrepreneurs’ Program?
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How to turn your research career into a launch pad to alternative worlds of employment
Recently, someone said to me ‘You were preparing yourself for 10 years to leave research weren’t you?’ I was surprised by this comment and realised they were partly correct: it was 15 years.
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