CSIRO takes on Silicon Valley

By on 30 January, 2017

Australia’s preeminent science and technology body will set up a new office in San Francisco.

 

Australian Foreign Affairs Minister, Julie Bishop, yesterday announced a plan to boost innovation overseas with the landmark opening of a CSIRO office in the United States.

The new office to be known as CSIRO US will be strategically placed in San Francisco to promote Australian innovation and drive scientific and industrial engagement in the United States.

It is expected the new CSIRO office will open in the Bay Area of San Francisco, alongside the world’s most influential tech companies. The move aims to capitalise on the CSIRO’s existing strong relationships with science and industry leaders including NASA, Bayer LLP and Boeing.

CSIRO Chief Executive Dr Larry Marshall described the move as a ‘no brainer’: “To accelerate innovation rates in Australia we need to accelerate international engagement, especially in regions where there is a significant opportunity to return value to Australia. From this point of view the US is a no brainer,” he said.

“Our focus is firmly on bringing benefit back to Australia and that philosophy will be applied to everything we do in the US. We’re looking forward to igniting Aussie innovation in such an exciting, dynamic market.”

The launch of the new office will follow the February 2016 launch of the Government’s innovation Landing Pad in San Francisco. The US office will be CSIRO’s second international office following the 2011 opening of CSIRO Chile.

 

Nigel Warren, the General Manager of CSIRO Global, anticipates that CSIRO US will take CSIRO’s breakthroughs to a new global scale.

“Australia’s capacity to bring world-leading technologies to the market is unquestionable, but we need to realise that potential at scale. CSIRO US will provide a gateway to a market with big economic potential,” Mr Warren said.

“CSIRO will support the Australian government and partner with the research sector and business – playing the role of Australia’s innovation catalyst on a global scale.”

“This means we can amplify the impact of CSIRO technology and open the door for other Australian researchers, businesses and start-ups to realise more commercial value from their great innovations by taking them into a bigger market.”

CSIRO US is expected to open its doors in the first half of 2017 and is seeking local researchers and international collaborators to get involved.

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