“Quicklook” Assessment of Greater Adelaide's Assets & Challenges ...

THEBARTON PRECINCT & CHARLES STURT COUNCIL’S DIGITAL PRECINCT
Interview Team
This was a group visit for all of the Austin team.
Who we met with
The tours of Adelaide University’s Thebarton Commerce and Research Precinct and its
adjacent BioScience Complex (John Hodges) and the Charles Sturt Council’s Digital
Precinct (Carol Hampton) were conducted Tuesday afternoon, July 10 th .
Rex Hunter, Thebarton’s director, conducted the tour of the facilities. Adelaide
University opened the Thebarton Precinct in 1992. This commerce and research precinct
is the former site of a pharmaceutical manufacturing company. The Precinct is less than
4km from Adelaide’s central business district and comprises 5 hectares of office,
laboratory, manufacturing, and warehouse space.
Carol Hampton, Manager Economic Development for Charles Sturt Council organized
the tour of the Digital Precinct. The aim of the Precinct, which was established in August
1997, is to create an environment to attract multimedia and digital technology
businesses, which could share resources and benefit from synergies. This also served
the purpose of revitalizing a portion Charles Sturt’s business district, which had fallen
into decline.
Opportunities
• Adelaide University and University of South Australia should look closely at ways
of developing synergistic approaches between their Thebarton and Mawson Lakes
facilities and programs. Among other things, this could offer Thebarton companies
greater access to the benefits of the larger corporate cultures at Mawson Lakes who
possibly could reciprocate by utilizing some of the resources of the smaller nimble
companies of Thebarton.
• There might also be similar synergies that Adelaide University and Charles Sturt
Council could cultivate between the Thebarton and Digital Precincts.
• Thebarton should consider ways that could increase the number of their start-up
companies that have high growth targets, such as, a combination of training initiatives
and screening criteria.
• The Premier's Department and Adelaide University should strongly consider
continuing the Premier's Enterprise Scholarship beyond 2002. The original
commitment was only for three years
• The Inner West Business Enterprise Centre and the Exporters’ Club should be
considered as an additional resource to assist with business development for
Adelaide University’s BIG and PES Programs
• Charles Sturt Council should continue to find ways to encourage ties between
resident companies and the Technology School of the Future (TSOF). This should
be an effective approach towards the goal of developing a community aspect to the
Digital Precinct.
Case Studies
Adelaide University’s Business Initiates from Graduates (BIG) and Premier's Enterprise
Scholarship (PES) Programs
In 1993, Adelaide University commenced a Graduate Entrepreneurial Program, which
aims to assist graduates with an innovative idea for a product, process or service to
COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE
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