First BridgeTech Symposium to be held at Iconic Luna Park

09 November 2018

The BridgeTech Program will be holding its main event of the year, the BridgeTech Symposium, for its inaugural cohort at the stellar location of Luna Park, Sydney.

At the iconic setting on Sydney’s harbour, the 80 participants who have been taking part in the BridgeTech Program to train in the complexities of medical device commercialisation, will congregate amongst the rollercoasters to hear from leading MedTech entrepreneurs.

Participants will hear talks and case studies from Australian and international leaders who are at the forefront of this exciting sector. Amongst the line-up of over 25 speakers are:

  • Carl Van Himbeeck, Head of Platforms and Technology, Cochlear International
  • George Faithful, VP of Regulatory and Government Affairs, Stryker
  • Dr Thomas Gaass, Senior Scientist MP, Siemens Healthineers
  • Michael Nilsson, Director, The Hunter Medical Research Institute

Other speakers at the 3-day program will include founders and CEOs of medical device startups, IP advisors, regulatory experts, business development professionals, clinical trials specialists, funding experts and investment groups who each play their role in the process of the medical device commercialisation.

Building on the online training modules and the seminar series, the BridgeTech Symposium augments the theoretical part of the program with a practical, interactive and collaborative workshop.

The symposium aims to provide a real-world experience for participants that is achieved with the inclusion of the ‘Commercialisation Experience’ – a group pitching session that is delivered to roaming industry professionals who give invaluable feedback on their approaches and proposed ‘deals’.

The BridgeTech Program is a unique program that draws upon its consortium members to provide input and advice in the construction and delivery of this highly selective and competitive course.

The BridgeTech Consortium is made up of universities, industry associations, MedTech companies and investment groups who are working together in a collaborative effort to propel the future of this burgeoning sector to further success on the Australian and international stage.

Prof Lyn Griffiths, Director of The BridgeTech Program and Executive Director of QUT’s Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation said, “With the inclusion of 20 companies, universities and industry associations, it is clear that we are serious about driving the growth and expansion of this exciting field of life science”.

"It is through new technologies, medical devices, personalised medicine, refined diagnostics and digital health advancements that we will see a revolution in the Australian, and international healthcare system.

"This really is the future of healthcare and we’re training tomorrow’s experts here at the BridgeTech Symposium on how to make new developments succeed."

The medical device sphere is a rapidly growing part of the Australian & international life science sector with metrics released from the MTAA (Medical Technology Association of Australia) that forecast an international growth rate of 4.5% annually and that in Australia there were over 500 medtech companies in 2015.

Furthermore, metrics from MTPConnect – the Medical Technologies and Pharmaceuticals Industry Growth Centre – showed that the MTP sector accounted for around 62,000 jobs in research (22,650) and industry (39,500) in 2016.

The BridgeTech Program is supported by MTPConnect who are providing industry matched funding to run the program in order to continue to build the knowledge base of the sector and further upskill an already thriving industry.

The BridgeTech Program also receives input from the BridgeTech Consortium who aid in the delivery and design of the course, including:

  • Cochlear
  • Agilent Technologies
  • Siemens Healthineers
  • Magnetica
  • Stryker
  • Hydrix
  • IDE Group
  • AusBiotech
  • MTAA
  • Life Sciences QLD
  • The University of Newcastle
  • Gadens
  • The Actuator
  • ACTI
  • Flinders University
  • The University of Western Australia
  • The University of Melbourne
  • Macquarie University
  • University of New South Wales
  • MTPConnect
  • Queensland University of Technology