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·¬ÇÑÉçÇø Connect has been launched at a media event at the University’s Douglas campus in Townsville.

·¬ÇÑÉçÇø Connect is the ‘front door’ for potential partners seeking assistance with research, projects, and bringing ideas to life. It will also provide a gateway to ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø's unique facilities, research stations, and innovation centres.

·¬ÇÑÉçÇø Provost Professor Chris Cocklin said ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø Connect will link business and industry with ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø’s world-leading research, and make it easier for them to partner with the University.

“·¬ÇÑÉçÇø has a strong track record in the delivery of high-quality research that benefits our industry and community partners in northern Queensland and beyond.

“·¬ÇÑÉçÇø Connect will be the front door through which industry - government, business and the community - can engage with the breadth and depth of ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø’s research and commercial expertise and resources.

“We want to deepen our engagement with northern Queensland and make it easier to do business with ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø. This is part of our long-term strategy to build ‘innovation with impact’ in northern Queensland through partnerships with industry.

Director of ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø Connect Rochelle Finlay said the University plans to double the number of its collaborative industry partnerships over the next three years, which will deliver significant economic, scientific and environmental benefits for northern Queensland.

“·¬ÇÑÉçÇø has rich expertise in a wide range of disciplines: from bio-tech, to the Internet of Things, to aquaculture, and we offer an extensive network of testing and research facilities. We want to partner with business and governments to share this expertise.

“·¬ÇÑÉçÇø Connect can assist industry to develop strategic partnerships and connect business with diverse expertise and resources from across ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø and our global networks. This includes research and development partnerships, professional and consulting services, and access to our research students, who can spend time working with industry to help solve their problems,” Ms Finlay said.

·¬ÇÑÉçÇø has a proud history of successful partnerships with local, national and international businesses and industries.

In January, ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø announced a partnership with global food and confectionary giant Mars Incorporated to work together on a range of research projects including coral reef restoration, cocoa pollination and farm diversification.

·¬ÇÑÉçÇø PhD student Samantha Forbes, whose cocoa research is funded by Mars Inc., and who will lead Mars Sustainable Solutions’ 'Farm Income Diversification' program from July, said the partnership with ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø aims to increase the sustainability and resilience of the tropics’ communities and ecosystems.

“By partnering with ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø research teams, we have an exciting opportunity to conduct world-class research, with positive and meaningful impacts on the people and environments of the tropics, particularly the Great Barrier Reef and agricultural systems."

“We are committed to investing in the future and promoting a better place for future generations. The collaboration with ·¬ÇÑÉçÇø provides a platform for students to be directly involved in research with globally important applications, as well as other broader benefits that may come from the partnership as a whole,” Samantha Forbes said.