The Australian Clinical Entrepreneur Program (AUSCEP) will equip healthcare professionals with the skills to transform their ideas into products and businesses to enhance patient care.
Medical Research Minister Stephen Dawson welcomed today's launch of the new national program, which aims to fast-track the innovations of budding clinical entrepreneurs guided by established healthcare innovators and industry leaders.
The 12 month program is administered by the University of Western Australia and the University of Melbourne, working with a range of healthcare industry partners and a network of professionals from across the sector.
The McGowan Government is pleased to support the new program through funding from the Future Health Research and Innovation Fund, along with financial support from the Federal Government's Medical Research Future Fund deployed by MTPConnect.
The launch of AUSCEP is being held at the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research at the QEII Medical Centre in Western Australia. It is also being launched at Melbourne Connect in Victoria and Microsoft's Australian Headquarters in New South Wales.
As stated by Medical Research Minister Stephen Dawson:
"The launch of AUSCEP is another major step forward in showcasing Western Australia's world-class medical innovation ecosystem.
"It's through collaborative programs like AUSCEP that we can initiate change and develop and implement innovative ideas to enhance patient care.
"I recently led a delegation to the US which highlighted the incredible innovation that is taking place globally in the health and medical life sciences sector.
"The visit made it clear that WA's medical and health innovation sector is globally competitive, and with ongoing support through programs like AUSCEP we will see our local talent continue to make significant step-changes in healthcare provision."
As stated by AUSCEP Co-Clinical Lead Dr Carlo Bellini:
"We are incredibly pleased to launch the Australian Clinical Entrepreneur Program. The quality of applicants is testament to the talent we have in Australia - healthcare professionals who are passionate about innovating healthcare and improving patient outcomes.
"Selecting the first cohort has meant a lot of difficult decisions. We strongly encourage everyone interested to connect with the AUSCEP ecosystem and become involved, and apply for the second cohort in 2023."
