NICTA, Australia’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Research Centre of Excellence, is thrilled with the announcement of $25 million funding over five years from 2007-2012 from the NSW Government. The funding was announced today by the NSW Minister for State Development Ian Macdonald.
“The ongoing support from the NSW Government is critical to the development of a world-class, strategic research facility that puts Australia at the leading-edge of global ICT research,” NICTA Chairman Mr Neville Stevens AO said.
According to an evaluation by the NSW Department of State and Regional Development (DSRD), in its first five years NICTA has generated an estimated $168 million in benefits for NSW.
NICTA has amassed a technology portfolio of 60 patent applications and has created four new companies with more than 50 employees. Technology developed by NICTA is now in the hands of hundreds of millions of mobile phone consumers through our spin-out Open Kernel Labs.
NICTA’s researchers are developing technologies that meet the current and future needs of the community. For example, work performed by the NICTA research labs at the Australian Technology Park through the Smart Transport and Roads (STaR) project is combining advanced technologies to help solve traffic problems in Australia and around the world.
NICTA’s research in this field will lead to large economic and environmental benefits arising from better traffic control, more reliable travel times and more efficient incident management.
“NICTA’s research is about problem-solving based on breakthroughs in knowledge and fundamental innovation. It is ‘use-inspired’. It is not research for research’s sake,” NICTA Chief Executive Officer Dr David Skellern said.
“We work with industry and Government to identify problems that are best solved by ICT breakthroughs and apply our expertise to develop knowledge and technology to solve those problems.”
Dr Skellern said NICTA has a wealth of research underway in its two NSW Research Laboratories, including projects in logistics and transactions, and in financial services.
“The NSW Government has identified these as key sectors for focus under the 2006 Innovation Statement and State Plan. NICTA is applying its research efforts to drive fundamental innovation in those sectors.
“NICTA has attracted some of the world’s best researchers in these areas. This enables us to undertake leading edge research that will help underpin the growth of the ICT industry sector in NSW, and ultimately benefit NSW citizens.”
The new $25 million in funding from the NSW Government follows an earlier allocation of $20 million provided by the NSW Government to NICTA between 2002 and 2007. The new five-year funding agreement means the NSW Government will provide a total of $45 million to NICTA over the decade from 2002 to 2012.
Document(s): 
NICTA welcomes funding from NSW Government (pdf, 26KB)
Contact: Kelly Mills
Phone: +61 2 8374 5489
Email: kelly.mills@nicta.com.au