UTS Tech Lab is applying three simple engagement principles to build a connected community to enable research, innovation & commercialisation for the Australian space ecosystem.
Opened in 2018, UTS Tech Lab is a purpose-built facility that disrupts traditional university approaches to research. It has been specially designed for future-focused, large scale, deep-tech research projects to enable world-leading research outcomes, and to bridge the gap between academia and industry.
Unlike traditional models of research, the UTS Tech Lab model accelerates impact by first starting with industry-driven real-world problems and then builds solutions using a unique set of collocated equipment and facilities.
This solutions-based, technology-led approach for industry engagement focuses on taking a technology that works in a controlled laboratory environment to demonstrating its functionality in a live environment to drive uplifts in Technology Readiness Levels 4 to 7.
Encompassing 18,000m² of collaborative, mostly open-plan research space, Tech Lab houses a variety of specialist laboratories – including one of Australia’s largest fully anechoic antenna chambers, acoustic chambers, an Industry 4.0 Testlab, and the Robotics Lab.
Approximately 8,000m² of the space is dedicated to the Defence and Space community, geared to support the advancement of the Australian space ecosystem.
UTS Tech Lab’s mission is ambitious: accelerate outcomes and impact by connecting industry with researchers, students, technicians and facilities so that together they can mature deep-tech efficiently.
This mission is guided by three principles.
Industry First: industry partners are deliberately placed at the core of all Tech Lab activity –their needs, challenges, and priorities drive which research questions are pursued and ensures that no time is wasted searching for pathways to translate research for commercial use after the research has been completed.
The university and industry partner work together to ensure commercial outcomes are generated as efficiently as possible.
Enable the Ecosystem: UTS Tech Lab strives to optimise its activities for the benefit of creating a strong and self-sustaining Defence and Space ecosystem. Facilities are made available to support prototyping and testing, both for co-locating partners and for companies who only require the specialist equipment for specific components of their mission.
Supporting efficient access to equipment and other shared resources at Tech Lab is key to a robust, vibrant and growing space ecosystem.
Everyone wins: Collaboration not competition underpins the UTS Tech Lab operating model. Creating impact and outcomes at scale requires creating conditions and structures that enable all parties to benefit from their contribution. Accordingly, the team at Tech Lab take the time necessary to ensure that high levels of commitment, trust and transparency are present when entering into agreements, again contributing to the success of the entire space community and ensuring outcomes are achieved sooner.
An increasing number of industry partners are already benefiting from UTS Tech Lab’s unique approach. As the dedicated area for Defence and Space is activated across the latter half of 2023 and into 2024, big outcomes are certain to be generated from the growing partnerships between industry and the university.
