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University of Melbourne's Professor Mark Cassidy outlines how the city can become Australia's innovation heartbeat, leveraging AI, precincts and a $1.6 billion annual research investment.
Professor Mark Cassidy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the University of Melbourne, has outlined a bold vision for Melbourne to become the innovation heartbeat of Australia. As the city prepares to become Australia's largest, Cassidy argues it can also lead in innovation, sustainability, cultural diversity and liveability. The University of Melbourne is working to transform the city into a world-renowned innovation and AI precinct by 2050.
Building an Innovation Ecosystem
The University of Melbourne's ambition is for Melbourne to be compared with Silicon Valley in California and Kendall Square in Boston, an extraordinary science and innovation hub that has produced 105 Nobel Laureates and counting. The vital research, collaboration and conversations happening across its campuses and precincts today will power the city's growth and prosperity tomorrow.
AI is enabling new opportunities for research excellence, collaboration and innovation across the University, Australia and the globe. The University is actively working with industry leaders, decision makers and communities with a shared vision for Melbourne to become a world-renowned innovation and AI precinct by 2050.
Cross-disciplinary collaboration strengthens research impact and innovation. The University's world-class precincts will drive this transformation.
Melbourne Biomedical Precinct and Research
The Melbourne Biomedical Precinct, encompassing more than 40 hospitals, research institutes, universities and major companies, is home to 10,000 researchers. The precinct has delivered medical care, research and education for more than 160 years, driving innovations like the development of the multi-channel cochlear implant, the discovery of the rotavirus and personalised cancer treatments.
The University of Melbourne invests about $1.6 billion every year on research. Its researchers explore ambitious questions to advance the boundaries of knowledge. AI is accelerating research discovery and supporting world-leading research. Researchers are supported through responsible AI guidance, partnerships and capability development. The University works in partnership with government, industry and the community to solve big problems at scale.
The next generation of medical breakthroughs will continue, in part aided by the opening this year of the Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery at St Vincent's Hospital. The Centre is Australia's first hospital-based biomedical engineering research translation centre that will lead innovations in medtech, biotech and digital health.
Arts, Commercialisation and Startups
The Melbourne Arts Precinct continues to learn more about the ways art and music positively shape society, health and wellbeing. Researchers are exploring how music therapy can assist people with dementia and how dance can increase social cohesion and resilience in an unpredictable world.
However, the intellectual property and research excellence within the University of Melbourne must be commercialised for real-world impact. This is the purpose of the innovation precinct, Melbourne Connect, a meeting place to facilitate innovation and translation for the benefit of society.
Melbourne Connect brings together researchers, entrepreneurs, experts, students and industry leaders to share ideas, develop creative solutions to local and global challenges, and fast-track innovations to market. The University of Melbourne launched Australia's first university-based venture capital fund, Tin Alley, a $125 million investment fund to commercialise and scale up innovative companies emerging from the University.
The University recently built a new lab, the Laboratory for Advanced Radiochemical Science (LARS), partnering with Cyclotek, to investigate next-gen cancer treatment and to strengthen Australia's sovereign capability in radiopharmaceuticals.
Meanwhile, five University of Melbourne-affiliated startups are working on minimally invasive implants and redefining how we diagnose, manage and treat conditions like paralysis, epilepsy and Parkinson's disease. Fluent, for example, is developing a brain computer interface helping people with impaired speech to communicate by using only their thoughts.
The researchers and educators in the University's three expanding precincts, Melbourne Biomedical Precinct, Melbourne Arts Precinct and Melbourne Connect, are united in building a bold and robust future for the city. The Melbourne community, today, tomorrow and future, stands to be the biggest beneficiary.
University Of Melbourne Mark Cassidy Melbourne Innovation AI Melbourne Biomedical Precinct Melbourne Connect
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