Published Wednesday, 11 July, 2007 at 04:30 PM
Minister for State Development, Employment and Industrial Relations
The Honourable John Mickel
FUNDING TO HELP TURN PRODUCTS OF INTELLECT INTO PROFITS
The Queensland Government has pledged $850,000 to help a new round of Smart State entrepreneurs bring their high-tech ideas closer to commercial success.
Minister for State Development John Mickel today encouraged inventors throughout the State to apply for the latest round of the Queensland Government’s Innovation Start-Up Scheme (ISUS).
ISUS round nine will assist up to ten recipients, with individual companies eligible for grants of up to $85,000.
“Turning a good idea or a new technology into a successful and marketable outcome costs money and that’s often money young companies just don’t have,” Mr Mickel said.
“ISUS helps reduce this struggle by supporting activities such as developing prototypes, refining designs, undertaking testing and other steps necessary to make a product market-ready.
“Giving innovation and technology the opportunity to flourish through schemes like ISUS helps open up new export markets for Queensland.”
Mr Mickel said 73 Queensland companies had shared $5.4 million in ISUS grants since the competitive funding program started in 2000.
“One of these is Mediasphere, a Daisy Hill-based multimedia and e-learning publisher, which received $85,000 in early 2006 to help commercialise its suite of six online education programs for home and schools,” Mr Mickel said.
Mediasphere’s flagship product BroadLEARN is a web-based computer program with written lessons, speech tutorials, games and quizzes on literacy, mathematics and science to help kids improve their knowledge.
Mediasphere Chief Executive Officer Anthony Carrucan said the funding helped the company undertake market research, secure intellectual property rights, and develop prototypes for BroadLEARN.
“We’ve since launched one of the BroadLEARN programs, Early Learning, which went on the market late last year,” Mr Carrucan said.
“The program was introduced into ABC Learning Centres not long after, and the company is now on board as a partner.
“Today, more than 1300 schools and kindergartens throughout world have purchased the software. It is used for teaching and learning in all Australian states and territories, and overseas in the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Japan and China.”
Earlier this month Mediasphere was named the winner of the inaugural Mincom Connect Award 2007 – Gateway to USA, giving the young company the opportunity to be groomed and mentored by Mincom to expand even further in the lucrative American software market.
“The ISUS funding received last year was brilliant: without it, I don’t think we would have been in a position to win the award, or establish the exports that we now have,” Mr Carrucan said.
Mr Mickel said ISUS had previously helped commercialise a range of high-tech Queensland-made products including an electronic sports training tool, a low-cost flight simulator, and technology to extract moisture from air to produce drinking water.
“The Queensland Government is committed to helping innovators take their ideas from the mind to the marketplace,” Mr Mickel said.
“Innovation drives economic growth and the creation and commercialisation of new intellectual property is critical to Queensland’s long term prosperity.”
Applications for the latest round of ISUS are open until Friday, 31 August. For more information visit www.innovation.qld.gov.au or call (07) 3225 8751
Mediasphere contact details: Anthony Carrucan, 3826 3589, 0407 588 347,
www.mediasphere.com.au
Media contact: Chris Brown 3224 7349 or Elouise Campion 3224 6784
11 July, 2007
Minister for State Development John Mickel today encouraged inventors throughout the State to apply for the latest round of the Queensland Government’s Innovation Start-Up Scheme (ISUS).
ISUS round nine will assist up to ten recipients, with individual companies eligible for grants of up to $85,000.
“Turning a good idea or a new technology into a successful and marketable outcome costs money and that’s often money young companies just don’t have,” Mr Mickel said.
“ISUS helps reduce this struggle by supporting activities such as developing prototypes, refining designs, undertaking testing and other steps necessary to make a product market-ready.
“Giving innovation and technology the opportunity to flourish through schemes like ISUS helps open up new export markets for Queensland.”
Mr Mickel said 73 Queensland companies had shared $5.4 million in ISUS grants since the competitive funding program started in 2000.
“One of these is Mediasphere, a Daisy Hill-based multimedia and e-learning publisher, which received $85,000 in early 2006 to help commercialise its suite of six online education programs for home and schools,” Mr Mickel said.
Mediasphere’s flagship product BroadLEARN is a web-based computer program with written lessons, speech tutorials, games and quizzes on literacy, mathematics and science to help kids improve their knowledge.
Mediasphere Chief Executive Officer Anthony Carrucan said the funding helped the company undertake market research, secure intellectual property rights, and develop prototypes for BroadLEARN.
“We’ve since launched one of the BroadLEARN programs, Early Learning, which went on the market late last year,” Mr Carrucan said.
“The program was introduced into ABC Learning Centres not long after, and the company is now on board as a partner.
“Today, more than 1300 schools and kindergartens throughout world have purchased the software. It is used for teaching and learning in all Australian states and territories, and overseas in the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Japan and China.”
Earlier this month Mediasphere was named the winner of the inaugural Mincom Connect Award 2007 – Gateway to USA, giving the young company the opportunity to be groomed and mentored by Mincom to expand even further in the lucrative American software market.
“The ISUS funding received last year was brilliant: without it, I don’t think we would have been in a position to win the award, or establish the exports that we now have,” Mr Carrucan said.
Mr Mickel said ISUS had previously helped commercialise a range of high-tech Queensland-made products including an electronic sports training tool, a low-cost flight simulator, and technology to extract moisture from air to produce drinking water.
“The Queensland Government is committed to helping innovators take their ideas from the mind to the marketplace,” Mr Mickel said.
“Innovation drives economic growth and the creation and commercialisation of new intellectual property is critical to Queensland’s long term prosperity.”
Applications for the latest round of ISUS are open until Friday, 31 August. For more information visit www.innovation.qld.gov.au or call (07) 3225 8751
Mediasphere contact details: Anthony Carrucan, 3826 3589, 0407 588 347,
www.mediasphere.com.au
Media contact: Chris Brown 3224 7349 or Elouise Campion 3224 6784
11 July, 2007