The Australian Department of Education’s $370 million Trailblazer Universities Program (TUP) funded between 2022 and 2026) established six Trailblazers focused on national priorities such as defence, space, food and beverage, recycling and clean energy, and resources technology and critical minerals.
Under the Trailblazer program, 14 Australian universities and 220 industry partners have also co-invested a total of $1.14 billion to build new research capabilities and drive commercialisation outcomes at speed and scale, to accelerate Australia’s innovation agenda.
All six Trailblazers have joined forces to call for continued policy and investment support to extend the successful momentum of the Trailblazer Universities Program, as outlined in a joint submission to the Strategic Examination of R&D.
Curtin University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research Professor Melinda Fitzgerald said the programs demonstrate the power of university-industry collaboration to deliver real impact.
“Since 2023, the Trailblazer program has been redefining how Australia drives innovation by aligning research with industry needs. At Curtin, more than $100 million in industry co-investment into our Resources Technology and Critical Minerals Trailblazer shows strong belief in this model. It’s delivering collaborative and industry-based impact in one of the nation’s most vital sectors at speed and scale. Continued government support is key to sustaining that momentum and further strengthening Australia’s innovation ecosystem,” Professor Fitzgerald said.
The six Trailblazers have demonstrated the value of university-industry engagement in experimental development, or the translation of research into practical applications– an area where Australia has historically underperformed. Within 18 months of operation, all Trailblazers have had significant achievements:
- unlocking more than $549 million co-investment from 228 industry partners
- establishing more than 319 collaborative projects between industry and academia; and
- fostering early career industry pathways for students and academics through internships, industry sponsored PhDs and academic-industry secondments.
The joint submission to the Strategic Examination of R&D also highlighted several common themes:
- Establish long-term, large-scale commitments to areas of strategic priority – a national vision to guide R&D investment
- Support cultural reform by rewarding, recognising and incentivising university-industry R&D – encourage the commercialisation of research
- Create greater societal understanding of the benefits of R&D and innovation – build a “social license” for basic research, and encourage risk-taking in experimental development
- Create stable funding programs that incentivise industry participation in R&D and innovation – address the funding gaps between prototype development and commercialisation; and
- Create and promote measures that are aligned to the outcomes and impact of R&D investment – metrics to track the success of innovation-based products and services.
