Antipodean academics look to China to establish R & D centers
As more educational and scientific institutions look to forge bonds with China, Shenzhen in Guangdong province is preparing to welcome the Monash Technology Transformation Institute.
The unique venture is thought to be one of the biggest commercialization agreements of its kind, whereby the Monash University, the Chinese government and commercial partners are dedicated to carrying out “research and development to bring targeted intellectual property to an investible stage”.
Monash University’s deputy vicechancellor (enterprise) Ken Sloan, who is responsible for providing leadership and strategic support for the university’s industry partnerships, says the deal announced recently will “increase the range, reach and commercialization potential” of the university’s research.
He adds that the establishment of MTTI will further solidify the university as a “significant player” in the translation and commercialization of medical devices, materials and engineering inventions relating to medicine, including electronics and software developed by its researchers.
The MTTI partners Monash University with the Shenzhen State High-Tech Industrial Innovation Center, the Pingshan District People’s Government, the Shenzhen Junye Yungu Investment Development Co Ltd, and Changjun Capital Investment Management (Shenzhen) Co Ltd.
Yungu Investment was established by Tianan Junye to partner the MTTI initiative as part of Pingshan district’s move to position itself as a major biotech and medical research center for the GuangdongHong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
“With the focus on medical devices and related discoveries, we have an incredible opportunity to produce medical products, not just for the domestic Chinese market, but the world,” Sloan says.
Monash is one of Australia’s leading universities with a campus in Malaysia and a research and teaching center in Prato, Italy.
It also has a research center in Mumbai, India, in partnership with the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.
In 2012, the university was given a license to develop a joint graduate school with Southeast University in the Suzhou Industrial Park in Jiangsu province. The Southeast University-Monash University Joint Graduate School is the first Australian graduate school, to win a license to operate in China.
China is the biggest emerging pharmaceutical market in the world, worth over $137 billion last year, according to IQVIA, a healthcare information company, and it is expected to reach between $140 billion and $170 billion by 2023.
The global market for medical devices is growing at an equally impressive rate and is expected to reach $400 billion by 2023, according to data from Lucintel, a global management consulting and market research firm.
Sloan says the first projects are now being assessed and MTTI is expected to make an announcement in the coming months.
He says MTTI complements BioCurate, a joint company which Monash University and the University of Melbourne founded to incubate therapeutic and related discoveries in Australia.
While the investment, reported to be in excess of A$100 million ($70.3 million), will come from Chinese venture capital, the research and development work will come from Monash University.
“Shenzhen sits in the Greater Bay Area, which has a population in excess of 70 million people. As China continues to grow, health and wellbeing will become ever more important,” Sloan says.
The Greater Bay Area comprises nine cities in Guangdong province (Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Foshan, Huizhou, Jiangmen, Zhaoqing, Zhongshan, and Zhuhai) and the two special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao.
Monash University is not alone in seeking out investment potential in China for its research.
The University of New South Wales, in Sydney, has a pipeline of investment with more than 30 Chinese industry partners valued at over A$180 million.
“The majority of the funds are invested in contract research as part of the Torch Innovation Precinct,” a spokesperson for the university says.
“The precinct is a great example of bilateral cooperation where research and education are the catalyst for economic and social impact via the translation of new technologies into production.”
The UNSW Torch Innovation Precinct was launched in August 2016, opening unprecedented collaboration between UNSW-led Australian research teams and major Chinese companies.
The Torch precinct at UNSW was the first to be established outside of China, modeled on China’s successful Torch program that promotes the co-location of businesses, universities and research organizations within dedicated science and technology parks to drive innovation.
Since 1988, China has developed 150 Torch precincts throughout the country that generate 7 percent of GDP, 10 percent of industrial output and 16 percent of export value.
Deloitte Access Economics has estimated the Torch precinct at UNSW could boost Australian GDP by A$1.1 alone.
On April 16, the University of Melbourne announced it received funding for a Joint Research Centre with the Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology, under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, to develop flexible graphene electronics.
Graphene, a single layer of hybridized carbon atoms, was first isolated from graphite in 2004, and it is the thinnest material known, but is exceedingly strong, light and flexible.
This unique combination of properties makes graphene an ideal platform for flexible electronics.
The joint center will enable Chinese and Australian scientists to work together on the development of flexible electronics applications including low-cost flexible solar cells for portable power generation, low-cost perovskite solar cells for the Australian market and new near-infrared technologies including photodetectors and nighttime imaging systems, the university says.
Others involved in the project are Wuhan University of Technology, Nanjing University, Monash University, and industrial partners GreatCell Solar, Agilent Technologies and Chongqing Moxi Technology Co Ltd. billion in its first decade