Spotlight on Commercialisation
At Curtin, we are committed to transforming cutting-edge research into real-world applications. We have a proud history of driving research outcomes and offering solutions to benefit industry and society across different disciplines.
Exclusive to Curtin staff and students, the Spotlight on Commercialisation series introduces the principles of research commercialisation, what’s involved, and what support mechanisms are in place for them at Curtin for early-stage commercialisation projects.
This series is supported by the Resources Technology and Critical Minerals Trailblazer. Curtin University has partnered with The University of Queensland and James Cook University, together with industry partners across Australia, to accelerate innovation, commercialisation and research in the resources technology and critical minerals sector.
Find out what’s coming up below or if you are a Curtin staff member or researcher wanting to sign up for one of our events, please reach out to the Commercialisation team via email.
*Registration is only available to Curtin staff and students.
UPCOMING EVENTS
What is a Commercial Opportunity?
12pm Wednesday 9 April 2025 – Curtin Bentley Campus
Commercialisation describes the process of translating research and knowledge into new products, services and companies. This session provides Curtin staff and students with insights into the commercialisation process at Curtin University and what support is available to innovators at Curtin looking to build commercial and entrepreneurial skills.
Commercialisation Funding
12pm Wednesday 9 October 2024 – Curtin Bentley Campus
Led by special guest Charlie Gunningham, this session will explore how to keep your project on the path towards commercialisation, addressing gaps in technical and commercial development through a range of internal and external funding opportunities.
Charlie has spent more than 25 years in Perth’s startup sector. He’s been a startup founder himself, through to exit, has invested in and sold multiple startup businesses. Originally from the UK, he lived and worked in Singapore before arriving in Perth in the late 90s. He graduated top of UWA Business School with an MBA and co-founded property listings site aussiehome.com in 1999, which was later sold to REIWA in 2010. He then ran reiwa.com, went on to be CEO of Business News, and also worked for a federal government startup fund and then ran the WA government’s New Industries Fund. In 2021, he was awarded WA Entrepreneur of the Year (Incite Awards), was voted a top 10 startup mentor in Australia (Startup Muster, 2023) and in 2023 and 2024 made the Business News Power 500 list in the tech and innovation section.
Intellectual Property Basics
12pm Wednesday 28 August 2024 – Curtin Bentley Campus
Attendees of this session acquired a basic understanding of how Intellectual Property (IP) can benefit their research career and be used to leverage commercialisation activities. Basic concepts and terminology related to IP, what different types of IP protection are available and what might fit research, ownership of IP, and revenue sharing in accordance with Curtin’s IP Policy were all explored by Griffith Hack Patent Attorney Robyn Heard and Executive Director of Commercialisation Rohan McDdougall.
What is a Commercial Opportunity?
12pm Wednesday 17 July 2024 – Curtin Bentley Campus
This session provided insights into the commercialisation process including how to assess commercial potential, when to contact the Commercialisation team, different pathways, funding available for early-stage commercialisation projects and training and other activities to build commercial and entrepreneurial skills.