The NSW Government is to invest $12.5 million to support the expansion of the Innovation Precinct at the Lucas Heights campus of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO).
State Minister for Better Regulation and Innovation, Kevin Anderson, visited ANSTO to be briefed on how the investment will assist scientists, students, start-ups and industries in NSW.
In February 2019, the NSW Government committed the money to support ANSTO’s Innovation Precinct and the expansion of the nandin deep technology incubator at ANSTO, the first nuclear science and technology incubator in the world.
ANSTO’s Innovation Precinct is intended to bring together local and global scientists, students, start-ups and industries. It will include a next-gen nuclear medicine cluster, to knowledge-share and advance the development of diagnostics and therapies to progress the treatment of cancer and other diseases. And it will also include a graduates centre, including 25 new scholarships for graduate students, who will work to grow advanced technology businesses in NSW.
ANSTO CEO, Dr Adi Paterson, said support for ANSTO’s Innovation Precinct would not only translate into local jobs, but also medical and technological advances that could have an impact on all Australians.
“ANSTO is a world-leading nuclear research facility – the ground-breaking technology being developed here is amongst the best across the globe,” said Paterson.
“The thing with ground-breaking techniques and technologies is that you have to keep breaking the ground, and for that you need investment, so we are very pleased to welcome Minister Anderson here today.
“It will be a place where research and industry meet, to ensure that what happens in a lab or at a science facility is developed into real outcomes that benefit all Australians.
“With a vision for this scale, you have to start somewhere, and that is nandin. This funding will evolve nandin into a full-service innovation hub to enable research by design, collaboration, innovation and entrepreneurship.”
Minister Anderson toured ANSTO’s key research facilities to meet scientists and founding businesses who are involved in this ambitious plan, and discuss the impacts of nuclear medicine, advanced manufacturing techniques and research.
“Our commitment to ANSTO’s Innovation Precinct and the nandin deep technology incubator is a reflection of the importance of technological advancements to improve human health and grow industry and jobs,” Anderson said.
“And this initiative which is evolving here today will prove to be the training ground for the next generation of scientists and engineers. We are talking about the smart jobs of the future right here in NSW.”