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The QUT Commercialisation Club brought together over 100 QUT staff, researchers, research students and key stakeholders to witness nine teams present a 4-minute pitch of their research commercialisation ideas.

Dr Erin Rayment, Executive Director, Industry Engagement said, “this has been such a great experience with all the fantastic ideas the research teams have been able to work through with support from their Office of Industry Engagement team coaches and mentors”.

The winners are:

The KAI-Sport team with Dr Kath O’Brien and Dr Scotty Russell both from the Faculty of Health and Dr Catarina Pinto Moreira from the Faculty of Science was the night’s Grand Champion and won a total pool of $100,000 with their AI-Sport Education pitch (pictured above).

Using smart Artificial intelligence (AI), sport organisations can (re)think how they train, upskill, and (re)educate their sport officials. The KAI-Sport AI-platform is designed to drive learning efficiency by streamlining real-world statistical analysis which allows educators the time and freedom to provide applied educational strategies for improving their sport official’s performance.

The funding will be an enormous boost, Dr Kath O’Brien said, “there’s just so many opportunities here for this type of technology. Not just with referees but also in the coaching space as well’.

Associate Professor Tony Kenna, from the Faculty of Health won the Health & Wellbeing category of $50,000 to commercialise his research on the Treatment of Atopic Dermatitis. The technology is a VLA-4 inhibitor for the treatment of immune-mediated diseases, namely Atopic Dermatitis in paediatric applications. Current treatment options are ineffective and often not available to this younger population.

Associate Professor Kenna said “the funding will develop a better solution to help kids suffering from atopic dermatitis.”

Associate Professor Kate Williams and members from the RAMSR Rhythm and Movement for Self-Regulation team received $50,000 for winning the Sustainable Communities Category.

More than a third of young children have problems with self-regulation, impacting learning and wellbeing.  This evidence-based program delivered through the early childhood sector demonstrates a positive impact for young children on their emotions, attention, and behaviour. Associate Professor Williams was delighted stating that “this funding will enable RAMSR to change the trajectory of our next generation providing a positive social impact for our society.”

The WearNext team led by PhD student, Lydia Manieson and supported by Associate Professor Alice Payne and Associate Professor Tiziana Ferrero-Regis from the Faculty of Creative Industries, Education & Social Justice was recognised as best student team, winning $20,000 to advance the WearNext tool. This online tool was developed as a practical outcome of a three-year empirical study, and allows clothing wearers, fashion designers, and retailers to build a deeper understanding of consumer values and preferences, leading to targeted sustainability strategies and waste reduction.

Lydia said the funding would enable her “to work on the interface and present it to the Australian Fashion Council, the peak Industry body for the Australian Fashion Industry. They will carry the tool and give it to their member brands to use. We’re looking for the highest and most effective impact in driving sustainability. So that’s the next step for us.”

Alongside the winning teams, special mention goes to the all the QUT Excolo! teams who pitched on the night:

• Team Biosensors led by Dr Mahnaz Gholami, Dr Emad Kiriakous and Dr Prashant pitched their Optical Biosensors. Optical biosensors are universal, rapid, cheap, highly accurate and sensitive, and are portable. They can be used as a PoC device, allowing for rapid and accurate diagnosis of infections and diseases.
• PhD student, Dusan Bojic supported by Dr Melissa Nikolic presented SpiroArtis, a gamified art-based spirometry platform used for spirometry testing, that increases motivation with lung volume testing for adolescent & adult patients with respiratory conditions.
• Team SPARK led by PhD student, Joshua McDonald from the Faculty of Science developed an all-in-one baby monitoring solution consisting of a sensor patch that detects heart rate, breathing, temperature and sound, combined with a built-in temperature regulating pad to keep a baby healthy and comfortable and alerting parents or carers when they aren’t.
• The all-student team, Brandon Mu, Tyson Watkins and Madeline Smith supported by Sally Wilson presented on PAE ((Phthalate ester) free foods. Phthalates are contaminants found in certain foods such as edible oils, dairy and alcoholic beverages and have been linked to a variety of health issues such as metabolic and endocrine disorders and cancer. The plasticizer degrading enzymes are an innovative technology that can be used to degrade plasticizer to a less toxic form. This bioremediation solution can be used to treat plastic landfill run-off wastewater or water used in plastic synthesis.
• Team MDHX Electrolysis Cell led by PhD student, Tim Arthur supervised by Professor Graeme Millar and Associate Professor Jonathan Love presented the MDHX electrolysis cell innovation which attempts to turn seawater or brackish water to pure water using only the waste heat from the green hydrogen production process.

We thank the following QUT Excolo! judging panel and their role for making the night a great success. 

Anne-Marie Birkill, Venture Partner, and Director of the Manager, OneVentures

Anne-Marie has over 30 years’ experience in commercialisation and product development, during which time she has worked with hundreds of early-stage technology companies and entrepreneurs as director, senior executive, mentor, and business coach.

Dr David Ireland, Co-founder and Director of Radian Energy and The Growth Drivers

David is an entrepreneur and design and innovation consultant motivated by creating sustainable, meaningful change. David is a Board Member of Planet Ark (where he contributes to finding innovative solutions to reduce and reuse waste), as well as being a Governor of WWF Australia.

Fiona Hindmarsh, Chief Executive Officer & Venture Partner for Significant - Early Venture Capital

As a change agent and a thought leader, Fiona possesses deep professional and industry networks and has a track record in driving tangible economic and social outcomes for Australia and Australia’s future generation.

Martin Duursma, Partner at Main Sequence Ventures

Martin has a passion for Deep Tech investing and bringing the best of research to full commercialisation. With over 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur, technologist and business leader, his experience as a founder of Datapac and then as head of the CTO Office and Labs at Citrix, has given him a unique insight into how companies need to navigate the technology to successful product journey.