FAQ

The Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) Program was established by the Federal Government in 1990 to improve the effectiveness of Australia’s research effort through bringing together researchers in the public and private sectors with the end users. The CRC Program links researchers with industry and government with a focus towards research application. The close interaction between researchers and the end users is the defining characteristic of the Program. Moreover, it allows end users to help plan the direction of the research as well as to monitor its progress.  Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) grants support medium to long term industry led collaborations.  

In April 2019, it was announced that the SmartSat CRC was successful in receiving Federal Government Funding to the value of $55 million through the Department of Industry, Science & Technology’s CRC program.  

While there is no standard contribution for any individual partner, we anticipate that contributions would be in the range of $100,000 to $1 Million per annum. The final amount will depend on the individual partner and the amount of benefit they expect to derive from the CRC.

SmartSat is critically aware of the need to support and engage the many start-up companies in the Industry.  To that end, SmartSat is in the process of establishing a separate company, to represent the start-up community and allowing them to come together and participate as a collective Core Partner, within in the SmartSat CRC.  

This company will be known as the Australian Space Industry Start-up Company (ASISC), will be an incorporated entity, have its own Board of Directors, and will provide benefits to its “members” from a number of initiatives to support their growth and development by providing;

• mentoring by more experienced industry executives, and support for start-up managers to gain valuable board experience by participating on the board of an incorporated entity;
• opportunities to sit on the SmartSat CRC Industry Advisory Board;
• various education, training and networking events;
• opportunities to participate in, and inform, SmartSat CRC projects and activities. 

SmartSat is in the early stages of establishing ASISC, and will take the opportunity to develop a clear value proposition over the next 12 months.  SmartSat are offering interested parties the opportunity to ‘join’ ASISC on an obligation free basis (i.e. $0) for this period.  After this time they will have the opportunity to consider fully the opportunities ASISC provides, including any formal membership structure and associated benefits.  Joining ASISC will enable all start-up organisations to participate in the SmartSat ecosystem. 

For more information please contact

Dr Tim Parsons
Chair – Start Up Cluster Steering Committee
CEO – DeltaV
Australian NewSpace Alliance
M +61 417 463 972
[email protected]
www.deltavspacehub.com

The higher degree program aims to deliver up to 70 industry-ready PhD and Masters by Research graduates over the ten year period of the CRC.  The program includes industry placement and mentoring programs and career management training 

If you are interested please go to Education – Study with Us

Other components of our Education Program may include a Schools STEM program linking to the national science curriculum.  Email [email protected] to enquire about how the CRC can link in to your STEM program. 

The CRC has partnerships with many universities in Australia and overseas. Please email [email protected] to discuss your needs and we will do our best to find you the right candidate for your project.