Lockheed Martin Australia, in partnership with Regional Development Australia (RDA) Hunter, is investing in STEM learning for Australians in regional centres. The partnership, aimed at developing high-value, job-ready skills needed to create, and sustain, advanced technologies for defence industry, was announced at the Lockheed Martin Australia Technology Expo 2018 held at Fighter World in Williamtown, NSW. … Continue reading Partnership boosts STEM learning opportunities in regional Australia →

One of the Southern Hemisphere’s largest tunnel boring machines has arrived in Melbourne to assist in building the West Gate Tunnel. It is the first of two tunnel boring machines (TBM) to be used in the project. The TBM is 90 metres long, 15.6 metres high and weighs 4,000 tonnes – one of the largest in the … Continue reading VIC gets one of Southern Hemisphere’s largest tunnel boring machines →

Science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) skills contribute to more than a quarter of Australia’s economic activity, Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC) reports. STEM skills are associated with 75 per cent of the fastest growing occupations, innovations, and higher paying jobs. But, AMGC explains the gender distribution of people who hold STEM qualifications is highly … Continue reading Roundtable takes on gender imbalance in STEM →

Australian consumers will be able to get their hands on 5G handsets at Telstra stores nationwide by mid-2019. On January 10, the company revealed it will have 5G-capable smartphones for sale by the end of June. Telstra chief executive Andy Penn said the company has made deals with some of the largest smartphone makers to … Continue reading Telstra releasing 5G handsets to Australian market by mid-2019 →

The Australian Industry Group/Housing Industry Association Australian Performance of Construction Index (Australian PCI) dropped 1.9 points to 42.6 in December, indicating a fourth consecutive month of decline. Ai Group head of policy, Peter Burn, said sharp falls in residential building activity together with a further drop in commercial construction and a slight dip in engineering … Continue reading Australian construction sector ends 2018 with weaker demand →

Queensland University of Technology (QUT) researchers have harnessed data analytics to build an algorithm that predicts the trajectory of any object faster and more accurately than existing approaches. Professor Clinton Fookes, who leads QUT’s Vision and Signal Processing research discipline in the Science and Engineering Faculty, said in a defence environment, the tool could help … Continue reading Safer airspace created with data analytics project →

Australian businesses will continue to reap the benefits of Australia’s free trade agreements with further tariff cuts set to boost Australia’s competitive advantage in two of our major export markets. Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Simon Birmingham said the latest round of tariff cuts on January 1, 2019, under trade agreements with China and … Continue reading Australian exporters reap benefits of free trade agreements →

Trade figures for the 12 months to November 2018 show Queensland’s goods exports at $80.5 billion – a record 12-month total and 12.4 per cent higher than the $71.6 billion total for the same period a year earlier. The November figure is also up from the $79.2 billion in the 12 months to October 2018. … Continue reading Queensland experiences record-breaking export boom →

Sydney startup, Vapar, is helping Australian councils and water utilities maintain their stormwater and sewerage assets. Vapar, run by two female engineers, received a $25,000 Minimum Viable Product Grant from Jobs for NSW, part of the NSW government, to develop platform technology using artificial intelligence to automate reviews of pipeline CCTV footage. Vapar was founded … Continue reading Sydney startup helps Australian councils with water management →

Researchers from Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, have offered a glimpse into what the robots of the future could look like. In a paper published in Nature Machine Intelligence, CSIRO’s Active Integrated Matter Future Science Platform (AIM FSP) indicates robots could soon be taking their engineering cues from evolution. This concept, known as Multi-Level Evolution … Continue reading CSIRO researchers offer look at future of robots →

Swinburne University of Technology has been selected for a new national program designed to prepare businesses for the fourth industrial revolution. The national Industry 4.0 Testlabs network will involve six Australian universities, with the national network led by Swinburne’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Research and Development, Professor Aleksandar Subic, under the auspice of the Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) Industry 4.0 … Continue reading Swinburne joins national Industry 4.0 Testlabs pilot program →

UNSW scientists have shown that their pioneering single atom technology can be adapted to building 3D silicon quantum chips – with precise interlayer alignment and highly accurate measurement of spin states. The 3D architecture is considered a major step in the development of a blueprint to build a large-scale quantum computer. UNSW researchers at the … Continue reading Scientists demonstrate first in 3D atomic-scale quantum chip architecture →

The Australian government is backing Australian defence businesses to become exporters with a new dedicated grants program. The Defence Global Competitiveness Grant program will support small to medium enterprises (SMEs) to overcome barriers in accessing export opportunities. The program will provide up to $4.1 million each year to support Australian SMEs as the government works … Continue reading Grants available for Australian defence businesses →

The Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index (Australian PMI) suggests that manufacturing has slipped into negative territory for first time in more than two years. The Australian Industry Group (AI Group) Australian PMI fell 1.8 points to 49.5 in December 2018, signalling the first mild contraction in manufacturing conditions in 26 months. It is the lowest … Continue reading Australian Manufacturing Index indicates slight slowdown in manufacturing →

Australia has become the world’s largest single gas exporter, ahead of Qatar. Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Matt Canavan said for the first time ever, Australia has exported more gas than Qatar, in November 2018, and it looks like it will lead them in annual exports too in 2019. “Australia is on track for … Continue reading Australia becomes world’s top gas exporter →

The Albemarle Corporation will soon begin work on its lithium hydroxide manufacturing plant in the Kemerton Strategic Industrial Area. Kemerton, in Western Australia, is a large strategic industrial area designed for major downstream processing industries that add value to the region’s primary resources. The plant, to be constructed on an 89-hectare site, has approval to … Continue reading Work to begin on lithium hydroxide processing plant in WA →

The AUSPACK Business and Industry Conference 2019 will drill down into packaging and processing, and business growth, with the help of more than 25 national and international speakers and panellists. They will present new data and ideas through case studies, interactive Q&A sessions, keynote plenary sessions and 18 breakouts across the two streams during the … Continue reading Wide program scope at AUSPACK Business and Industry Conference →

The former managing director of IBM Australia and New Zealand and chair of the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre, Andrew Stevens has been appointed as ISA board chair.  He will be supported by Australia’s Chief Scientist, Dr Alan Finkel, who has been appointed for a further two years as deputy ISA board chair. Minister for Industry, … Continue reading Andrew Stevens appointed as ISA board chair →

The Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) has scheduled events for early 2019. The following events have been confirmed: What: Sustainable Packaging Design Training Course + Materials Recycling Facility Tour When: 13 February 2019 Where: Visy Recycling OneHunga, Auckland, New Zealand  How do you work your way through the maze of demands to change packaging to … Continue reading Australian Institute of Packaging events scheduled for early 2019 →

Toyota’s next-generation Supra sports car has been subjected to testing in Australia to confirm its suspension tuning and dynamics are suitable for the local and world markets. Chief engineer Tetsuya Tada and engineers from Japan have put a Supra prototype through its paces on Australian roads, supported by Toyota Australia’s highly regarded vehicle engineering and … Continue reading New Toyota Supra tested in Australia →