Printing Industries will connect printers with academics at a breakfast event in Sydney next week, with the aim of helping industry see the opportunities that researchers can offer.
The Bridge the Gap breakfast will be held at Rydges Parramatta on Friday October 12. According to Andrew Macaulay, CEO PIAA, the association saw a need to bring printers and researchers together. "The print sector is at the forefront of innovation, adaptation and deployment of new technologies, and often our members invent new processes – for some of them it’s so natural they don’t even consider it," he said. "We would like to encourage collaboration between industry and academia for commercial outcome, and particularly as there are government grants in this area, we wanted to get them rolling."
Speakers will include representatives from the PIAA and printing industry, as well as six NSW research universities, the CSIRO, and government. Topics will cover new opportunities for printing, case studies of SMEs working with universities, data analytics, smart factories, the latest fundamental science, and accessing government funding for innovation projects.
Macaulay believes the event is well worth attending, and encourages printers to book their spot. "We’re responding to requests from members for more diverse forums, and this is one of the opportunities we’re presenting," he said. "Attendees can see how they could get hold of government grants, commercialise the processes they’ve developed internally, and find some partners from universities who are willing to help them."
Bookings close today, Wednesday October 3. For more details, visit the event page on the PIAA website.