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Thank YOU. Here’s to the power of community.

As I reflect on the past few weeks, the incredible day that was ON Translate, and where we’re heading next, I feel overwhelmingly grateful.

Grateful to you. Grateful to every member of this community.

While we each play different roles, as researchers, TTOs, investors, industry experts and government stakeholders, we’re united by the same ambition. To translate Australia’s leading research into real-world impact. To drive meaningful change and shape the future.

And this community shows up. Time and time again. More than 400 people joined us at ON Translate and the ON Accelerate 10 Showcase, alongside strong turnouts at recent ON Prime 19 Showcases and the Canberra Deep Tech Mixer. We’re also celebrating 139 teams graduating from ON Prime and ON Accelerate this financial year. Thank you. Successful research commercialisation is fundamentally a team effort.

For over a decade, ON has focused not just on building commercial skills and generating funding, but on strengthening this community. Connecting people, shifting mindsets and helping drive a broader cultural uplift across the research sector. As Cathy Foley reflected at ON Translate, there’s been a real cultural shift for researchers. From a singular focus on publishing, to the slow normalisation of research translation. PhD students right through to senior fellows are now thinking about impact, markets and real-world application.

We’re proud to have contributed to that shift – and you’ve been central to it.

Over 10 years on, with over 8,800 alumni, 165 new companies formed, 53,000+ customer conversations reported in program, $914M+ investment capital raised by alumni and 300+ programs delivered, the impact of our work is clear.

While uncertainty remains, I have full confidence in this community and look forward to seeing how the ecosystem evolves for greater efficiency and coordination. Australia has phenomenal research – we just need to unlock its potential.

ON Prime and ON Accelerate applications are opening once more, and we’re excited for what’s next.

Let’s bring it ON!

Headshot of Tennille Eyre smiling, wearing glasses and a light blazer. Text beside her reads: Tennille Eyre, Executive Manager, ON Innovation Program.
   

ON Program events and development opportunities

There’s something for everyone! Check out the highlights below or find the full details in our What’s ON calendar. We can’t wait to see you.

  • 2, 3 July | ON Prime 19 Showcases – Sydney and Virtual: After a dynamic 9-week journey in ON Prime, research teams from across the country will come together to share their learnings, achievements, and innovative solutions to real-world challenges at the ON Prime 19 Showcases. We encourage you to attend, connect with the ecosystem, support the teams, and see firsthand how ON Prime builds capability and momentum for research translation.
  • 8 July | Applications for ON Prime 20 open now! Closing soon: ON Prime helps teams explore how their research can create impact beyond the lab, strengthen stakeholder engagement and make meaningful progress toward multiple translation pathways – not just venture creation. If someone you know would benefit, send them our way! Our next applicant briefing is Wednesday, 1 July, 12 – 1PM. Applications close Wednesday, 8 July.
  • 22 July, 6 Aug, 20 Aug | ON Foundational Skills Workshops: The ON Foundational Skills Workshops are designed to give researchers a practical, confidence-building introduction to key skills, tools and system-level understanding of effective research translation and core entrepreneurial competencies. Free, online and delivered in 1.5 hours, you can join standalone workshops or multiple events in the series.
  • 27 July | Applications open for ON Accelerate 11: ON Accelerate is a structured accelerator program for research teams to validate and develop their high-potential science-backed innovative ventures. This program focuses on business models, market validation, storytelling and capital raising. If you, or someone you know would be interested, check out our website. Applications close 31 August.

Check out the highlights of ON Translate 2026

ON Translate 2026 was certainly a day to remember. Thank you to everyone who joined us! There were thought-provoking discussions with alumni, government and industry leaders, enthusiastic conversations in our networking, and inspiring pitches from our entrepreneurial ON Accelerate 10 cohort. Check out the photo gallery, pitch recordings and session takeaways on our website.

Celebrating our TTOs

While of course, we love everyone in our community equally, we’d love to highlight Leah, our ON Ecosystem Manager’s, special shout out to the Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs). As she mentioned in her recent article on LinkedIn, our work at ON would not be possible without their collaboration and endorsement. Our recent TTO Workshop in Melbourne was a fantastic group discussion, strategising how we can move forward together. We looked at how we could create more coordination between TTOs for greater influence on policy and funding, and how universities can better tap into their alumni networks. We also explored what commercialisation looks like overseas and how we can bring that knowledge to our teams. If you want to hear more or contribute to the discussion, let us know!

Spotlighting #WithSTEMYouCan: Let’s inspire the next generation!

With STEM You Can. A young girl smiling on a purple background.

How can we make STEM cool for the young ones? #WithSTEMYouCan aims to inspire the next generation to explore the world of opportunities available through Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM). It highlights the transferability of STEM skills, diversity of STEM career paths and how STEM can be for everyone. Be part of the movement and help spark a new wave of innovators. Check out the webpage for an extensive list of resources, videos, articles and links.

Spotlighting an SME recruitment hack: Leveraging capable interns through Generation STEM Links

Generation STEM Links participants and Saphi interns Joesph and Tom.

The ability for small and medium‑sized businesses to bring in new talent has become increasingly difficult in a competitive market where time, money and resources are limited. This article explores SAPHI Engineering’s experiences with CSIRO’s Generation STEM Links program interns. It’s an interesting business solution for those in NSW to check out, with end-to-end recruitment support, along with a $2,500 grant per student on completion of placement. Read the full story.

ON the radar: Opportunities in the community

Grants and awards

  • AUS-wide | Knowledge Commercialisation Australasia (KCA) Awards: KCA are recognising high-impact and innovative projects in their annual Australasian Research Commercialisation Awards. Nominations close Wednesday, 12 August.
  • NSW | Net Zero Manufacturing Initiative: Clean Technology Innovation NSW: Innovators and manufacturers looking to pilot and demonstrate lab-proven clean technologies. Accelerate your commercial readiness with funding of up to $5 million. Applications close Tuesday, 8 September.
  • ACT | Energy Innovation Fund: For research and businesses that support the development of the ACT as a hub for energy transition innovation. Funding amounts vary depending on your stream. Find out more and apply before the end of September.
  • SA | Seed-Start Grant SA: Providing early-stage startups with matched funding of up to $500k to help them commercialise an innovative product or service. Find out more and apply.
  • QLD | First Nations Innovation Acceleration Program: This program provides funding and advisory services to assist mature Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses and innovators to grow and scale. Find out more and apply.
  • WA | METS Innovation Program WA: Funding of up to $250k per project for WA based SMEs in the mining equipment, technology and services (METS) sector, to help them develop products and services in certain focus areas. Find out more on their website.
  • AUS-wide | Agrifutures Australia RD&E Investment: AgriFutures provides funding to researchers and organisations to deliver research and innovations that aim to strengthen and future-proof established and emerging rural industries. Find out more on their website.
  • WA | Cancer Council WA Research Funding: Supporting research projects that have a real impact in the community. From lab-based research, clinical trials for treatment, prevention and care research, the focus is on projects that have the potential to translate into practice. Find out more on their website.

Programs and events

  • VIC | Origin Australia 2026: Delivered by MedTech Actuator, Origin Australia is a venture-building program and pitch challenge helping emerging health founders turn bold ideas, research projects, prototypes, and early-stage startups into ventures with real-world potential. Applications close Sunday, 5 July.
  • AUS-wide | CSIRO’s Innovate to Grow – One Health: Digital, Biosecurity & MedTech: Applications are open for this free 8-week program for SMEs working on One Health solutions. The program supports participants to explore how R&D can advance their project or idea. Apply by 12 July 2026.
  • AUS-wide | The India–Australia Technology Commercialisation Challenge (TCC): Offering Australian research organisations and technology companies the opportunity to collaborate with Indian manufacturers in the renewable energy industry and accelerate the path to commercialisation. Participants are eligible for $55,000 grant funding. Expressions of interest close Sunday, 19 July.
  • AUS & NZ | The Google for Startups Accelerator: A ten-week equity-free accelerator program for Seed and Series A (or equivalent) Australian and New Zealand startups building AI&ML-driven platforms and products. Connecting founders with the best people, products and practices to help them grow, leveraging Google’s AI&ML technical expertise and global networks to support startups' success. Applications close Sunday, 19 July.
  • NSW | FLIP: A free NSW-based program for women, giving them the skills, confidence and network to take their ideas further. For women at any stage of the founder journey. Submit your expression of interest before Sunday, 19 July.
  • VIC | AI Innovation to Impact: For researchers, academics and industry professionals, join La Trobe University for this learning and networking event, exploring how AI is changing the way people, industries and communities work. On Wednesday, 22 July, 5 – 7.30PM. Register to attend.
  • AUS-wide | Nexus 2026: A start-up competition on AI-powered innovation for cities. Winners will receive cash prizes, along with a fully funded place in the Asia Market Sprint program, designed to accelerate their expansion into Asian markets. Applications close Friday 31 July.
  • NSW | Frontier: A residency for founders working out what's worth their next decade. Airtree is looking for technical and domain specialists to support, connecting them with capital, community, infrastructure and credibility. Applications open now.
  • NSW | NSW Skills for Net Zero: Decarbonisation-focused, paid internship placements for NSW-based tertiary students. Build the future of clean energy in NSW. Applications open for students and for businesses wanting to host an intern.
  • NSW | Generation STEM Links: Pairing NSW tertiary students with industry for flexible internships. Businesses can access junior talent for short or long term projects and receive support in doing so. Applications open now for both students and industry partners.

What we’re listening to

Did you know that 1 in 3 small businesses in Australia are owned by migrants? Or that migrants are twice as likely to become entrepreneurs? Their stories often go untold, but this podcast is changing this. The Making it in Melbourne podcast series brings you conversations with Melbourne migrant entrepreneurs who are reshaping the business landscape. The most recent episode features Michelle Chen, ON alumni and co-founder of Mental Jam. The ON Program team truly believes that diversity in innovation should be amplified and celebrated, so we hope you’ll give this a listen.

ON alumni in the news

We're excited to see our ON alumni making waves! From startups to groundbreaking research, you're shaping the future.

And as an extra shoutout, Mental Jam, ON Prime 18 2025, are looking for your support! They’re crowdfunding to help young people co-design a game about mental health and wellbeing. Find out more about how games can become more than entertainment on their website.

We're proud of our ON community! Got an exciting breakthrough, milestone or update? Share your latest updates and let's celebrate your success together.