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June 2024

Get ON Board!

a group of people are standing on stage, in front of screens that say 'ON Accelerate 8 Showcase', with their hands in the air and smiling

The last couple of months have been a wild ride for ON.

Earlier this month, we were in Melbourne at the ON Accelerate 8 Showcase, celebrating our ten graduating teams as they launched their ventures into market.

We also released ON Track Episode 2, featuring Darryl Lyons and his journey as a founder of Rainstick, blending indigenous knowledge with modern science.

We collaborated with Women’s Agenda to share a story of female success, featuring ON Alumni, Dr Joni Systsma, who is leading Australia’s space innovation.

To top it off, we gathered at the Tech Diversity awards for 2024 to celebrate all of you, recognising that innovation is born from diversity of thought, culture, values and perspectives.

Yet the excitement doesn't end there! We have even more opportunities to learn and connect coming up…

Want to create more impact from your research? Apply now!

Switch your idea ON with research validation

Explore the potential impact of your research with ON Prime, with applications open for a limited time! Cultivate the skills and confidence to undertake customer discovery and market validation activities, with mentors and advisors guiding you along the journey.

Dial up your idea's impact in market

For those ready to take their idea out of the lab into the market and amplify their impact, applications for ON Accelerate 9 are now open. Connect with experts and investors to validate your idea, gain experience, raise funds, and develop your high potential innovative venture. There will be an applicant briefing session to ask any questions on Tuesday, 18th June at 11am. Whether you’re 100% in or still not sure if it’s right for you, we hope you will join us to find out more.

Connect with like-minded researchers

Last chance to register - ON Prime Networking Roadshow

After nine weeks in the fast-paced ON Prime program, research-based teams from across Australia have put their research and market assumptions to the test. This is your chance to network with brilliant researchers, learn about their solutions and market pathways and discover potential collaboration opportunities. Interested in applying for ON Prime? Use this to get insight into the program and connect with those who have done it before. Registrations are essential.

Connecting ON alumni to community with The Startup Network

We are delighted to announce a new strategic partnership with The Startup Network to provide comprehensive support and resources to our alumni founders of ON Accelerate. Through the collaboration, chosen alumni will gain access to a powerful community platform, with other founders, industry experts, mentors and community supporters. To find out more about this new partnership and how you can access this as an ON alumni, please contact the ON team on@csiro.au.

ON Accelerate 8 wrap up

A few weeks ago, our ON Accelerate 8 cohort pitched to a crowd of investors at the ON Investor Demo Day in Sydney. Last week, after three intense months of learning, coaching and development, we celebrated their entrance into the market at our Melbourne Showcase. We look forward to continuing to work closely with them as they amplify the impact of their research. Check out the teams and their pitches on our alumni site and apply now to be part of the next cohort.

Community Opportunities

Pitch at SXSW 2024

Submissions are now open for SXSW Sydney Pitch 2024. This year’s theme is ‘What’s Next’, reflecting the coming wave of technologies and the aspiration to seek solutions to some of the most pressing issues facing our world today. The winner receives the opportunity of a lifetime to pitch at the 2025 SXSW Pitch Awards Ceremony in Austin, Texas! Sign up before Monday 22 July.

2024 Tropical Innovation Festival

Are you attending the Tropical Innovation Festival in Cairns this week? Make sure you check out the Research Commercialisation Symposium today where ON Ecosystem Manager, Selena Boyfield, will be speaking. Later in the week, join us in the Building Unicorns stream with our very own ON Innovation Manager, Poppy Sykes, on Thursday, 20th June. Together with Mic Black and Michael Bye, she will be talking all things research translation.

IPPIN Program

Could you turn plastic from a pollution problem into a socio-economic opportunity? Applications are now open for CSIRO's free three-month Indo-Pacific Plastics Innovation Network Accelerator+ Program. Receive personalised support and have access to a collective pool of AUD$100,000 in funding support. If you’re an early-stage venture looking to revolutionise the plastic waste lifecycle or improve the lives of marginalised communities working within the plastics sector, apply today.

Industry PhD Program

The Industry PhD program is currently looking for PhD students for an immediate start on a range of projects. Find out more and sign up for a free webinar Thursday 11 July, 12 - 1pm AEST. Learn how to join the Industry PhD program and hear from current students about the application process, followed by a Q&A.

Cicada x Tech23

Showcasing 23 of Australia’s most promising ventures, Cicada x Tech23 2024 connects visionary founders to a network of investors, leaders and big thinkers – inviting the ecosystem to support game-changing people and businesses that can revolutionise our world. With the event being held on Wednesday, 7th August, in Sydney this year, you can get involved as one of the 23 or as part of the crowd. Find out more on their website.

Industry Growth Program grants open

The Industry Growth Program is for startups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) undertaking innovative commercialisation and/or growth projects that are within the priority areas of the Australian Government’s National Reconstruction Fund (NRF) and help build Australia’s manufacturing capability for the future. Find out how you can receive extra support and grants.

Lunch & Learn: Earning media attention

Learn how founders can best leverage PR to earn the attention their startup needs to change the world. Join for a workshop and panel with Australia’s leading startup journalists, to learn from the source themselves. Held on Thursday 27th June, 12-1pm at Fishburners in Sydney, make sure to register for your spot.

Brought by _SOUTHSTART: Founders Unfiltered

Brought to the community by _SOUTHSTART, there is an exciting new podcast for your daily commute. Founders Unfiltered is an introspective series which aims to uncover the "humans behind the startups". Whether you're imagining, starting, or growing a company, this should be a great listen for candid conversations about the realities of building a business.

ON Alumni in the news

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