An innovative new tool designed to improve university/business research interaction has been launched by Group of Eight Australia.

 

“World-class research and innovative activities occur every day in Australia's universities, but it can be difficult for individuals and industry to identify and access specific expertise,” said Go8 Chair, Professor Paul Greenfield.

 

“The Go8 has developed a new search engine to raise the visibility of what universities can offer the business and wider community in addressing problems requiring advanced know-how.

 

“The Go8’s Knowledge Gateway is a searchable database linking directly to researcher expertise.

 

“Not only will it assist industry and government in quickly locating experts in a particular field, but it will also help potential research students find a PhD supervisor.

 

“We need to lift our game as universities by making our knowledge outputs and the expertise of our researchers more accessible.”

 

The Go8 has worked closely with Funnelback Website and Enterprise Search to develop the Gateway. Funnelback is an Australian company which grew out of Australian research based at the ANU and CSIRO and now has 25 staff and offices in Canberra, Sydney, Brisbane, London and Wellington.

 

While developing the tool, the Go8 has also received advice from Enterprise Connect, the Australian Government initiative which provides support to small business with acquiring knowledge, tools and expertise to improve productivity.

 

“The Go8 is to be congratulated for its leadership in this area. I feel confident this initiative will enhance communication and collaboration between universities and industry,” said Business Council of Australia Policy Director, Patrick Coleman.

 

The Gateway uses key words so users don’t need to be familiar with academic terms and it identifies individuals and institutions with strength in particular research disciplines.

 

The Go8 is currently in discussions with other universities and research institutes about broadening the scope of the Gateway beyond the 70 per cent of Australian research conducted by Go8 universities.

 

Australia’s Knowledge Gateway is freely available at: gateway.go8.edu.au