Knox Business Life - November 2011 (Issue 48)

Knox Economic DevelopmentINNOVATE ANDGROW WITHSEMIPSEMIP - The South EastMelbourne InnovationPrecinct initiative is a uniquepartnership involving theVictorian State Government,CSIRO, Monash University,Australian Synchrotron, SmallTechnologies Cluster and LocalGovernment Municipalities ofGreater Dandenong, Kingston,Knox and Monash working inconsultation with industry.By building on existing strengths andJürgen Schneideris the new DeputyChair of SEMIP.networks, the SEMIP initiative aims to improveconnections between businesses andbetween businesses and researchers,providing potential for significant longterm job creation in the South EastMelbourne region.Focused on high-end growth sectorsincluding chemicals, polymers, machineryand equipment, applications in transport,health, construction and the environment,the precinct aims to energise the southeast by creating a high profile innovationbusiness and knowledge hub.The precinct is home to a number of uniqueresearch platforms. Clayton is the CSIRO’slargest site in Australia employing 1,100researchers. The Australian Synchrotron is anational facility also located in Clayton andaround the corner from the synchrotron isthe Melbourne Centre for Nanofabricationcurrently operating the largest purposebuiltclean room complex in the SouthernHemisphere.A current example of industry and scienceworking together is the project to developa Bionic Eye lead by a research teamat Monash University. The project hastwo industry partners: Grey Innovation,a company specialising in technologycommercialisation; and MiniFAB, based inthe Small Technologies Cluster at Scoresby.SEMIP concluded a very busy year with the 2011SEMIP Innovation Showcase in June, whichattracted delegates from a range of organisationsaround the region and featured speakers fromcompanies such as Kennovations, Invetech,MiniFAB and Siemens. This diverse offering ofknowledge and experience among delegates andpresenters was highly valuable to attendees whowere looking for ways to further their businesspotential through innovation and collaboration.A calendar of events has been finalised for2011-2012. The focus will continue to be onopening up the unique infrastructure in theregion and building industry connections.Planning for Innovation Showcase 2012 isalready underway.Jürgen Schneider, Regional General Manager forSiemens Australia is Deputy Chair of the SEMIPSteering Committee. At Siemens, Jürgen isheavily involved in business development acrossthe sectors of industry, energy and healthcare.‘In today’s competitive market, businessesshould always look at how they can innovateto grow and improve their organisation. Beinginvolved with SEMIP and attending their eventsis an ideal and affordable way to do so,’Mr Schneider said.To learn more about SEMIP, go towww.semip.org.au or email michelle.humphreys@semip.org.auSTOP PRESS – ECOTECH WINSEcotech has won the Victorian ExportAward for Innovation Excellence at the2011 Governor of Victoria Export Awards. Italso received a commendation in the Smallworld’s leading designers of ambient airand emission monitoring systems. It alsooperates the largest network of monitoringsystems in the southern hemisphere.to Medium Manufacturer Award category.Ecotech has been exporting itsThe year 2010-11 was one of record salesand exports for Ecotech, which saw James Agiusenvironmental monitoring instruments anda global uptake in its atmosphericreceives Ecotech’ssystems, which are made in Knoxfield, toresearch instrumentation. This was anAward from themore than 60 countries for over 30 years.Governor of Victoria,impressive achievement consideringAlex Chernov.The company has become one of thethe high Australian dollar.[2]Knox Business Life | Issue 48 NOVEMBER 2011