Turning innovative ideas into commercial products
Alex Clark joins other students from multidisciplinary industries and backgrounds enrolled in the Master of Advanced Technology Enterprise (MATE) programme, focused on developing products or services with commercial application.
Supervised by Dr Brenda Chawner from the School of Information Management, Alex is leading a team to develop a platform that allows people to purchase an online package of news from several publishers.
"The market research that I undertook within the programme provided me with industry-leading insights, allowing me to engage with some of the largest news organisations in New Zealand and the United States," says Alex.
Students are given the skills and freedom to actively work on real projects while also meeting weekly with mentors, and may receive some funding towards development of their products.
Another project, in which Christina Houlihan who holds a Bachelor of Applied Science is a team member, is focused on developing a biomaterial that acts as a scaffold for bone growth. She says the MATE programme has been instrumental in guiding the exploration of the commercial potential of the medical technology.
"MATE offers a springboard into the science commercialisation realm, which has allowed me to build connections in the industry and gain experience of what I would like to do for a career," she says.
"It also sped up the process, I didn't need to go through the traditional method of getting a Master’s in Science and then a PhD in order to develop my career in science commercialisation."
For more information visit www.victoria.ac.nz/mate or contact Programme Director, Jenny Douché