Minister Barr: ACT Government supports innovative projects at University of Canberra
- Written by ACT Government
Released 03/12/2015
The University of Canberra will develop tomorrow's sports technology and use data to tackle major health issues thanks two grants from the ACT Government announced today.
On a visit the University campus as part of Pop-up Cabinet in Belconnen, I announced the University would receive two grants of $150,000 each towards research in sport and health. The grants are from the ACT Government's CBR Innovation Fund, which supports the promotion and acceleration of innovative projects.
In collaboration with the Australian Institute of Sport, the first project will see the establishment of the CBR SportsTek Lab focusing on sports technology. It will be part of the Research Institute for Sport and Exercise at the University of Canberra, which my cabinet colleagues and I visited today. The new lab will give entrepreneurs the opportunity to work with researchers to develop new ideas in sports technology
The other will develop a new ICT system to collect a diverse range of health data to use for health research. It will combine publicly available information with individual health data from devices, such as smart phones and activity trackers, to develop new ways to prevent chronic disease. Canberra’s universities are critical to our economy – with one in eight Canberrans either working or studying at our tertiary education institutions. Canberra's place as a leading destination for international and Australian students was confirmed this week in the latest QS Best Student City rankings, coming in at 17 in the world and moving up four places on last year.
The ACT Government is proud to continually support our universities to help establish Canberra as Australia's higher education and researrch capital. This helps creates more knowledge-based jobs in the capital as the universities continue to attract the very best researchers and students to Canberra. Already this year, the Government has reformed planning regulations on the University of Canberra campus to encourage further development. The improvement of the campus will have wide ranging benefits to the Belconnen community including the creation of jobs in the construction of major projects.
Construction is due to start soon on Canberra’s newest public hospital at the University of Canberra. It was great to join my fellow Cabinet colleagues at the University as part of a broader engagement with the Belconnen community this week.
- Statement ends -
Section: Andrew Barr, MLA | Media Releases
