16 University of Melbourne researchers are learning how to get their research ventures investor ready as part of the 2022 Translating Research at Melbourne (TRAM) Air program.
One of Melbourne Entrepreneurial Centre’s (MEC) flagship programs, TRAM Air helps teams of researchers to attract investor funding for their ventures and support them in hitting investment milestones. This includes support in raising capital from commercial investors and other sources such as the newly launched University of Melbourne Genesis Fund. The 14-week program is delivered in person at Melbourne Connect by experienced company founders, industry experts, and those who make investment decisions at Australia’s leading funds, angel networks and family offices.
The program welcomes back Andrew J. Nash as TRAM’s Lead Mentor and Entrepreneur in Residence, a successful entrepreneur and investor with decades of experience in the US and Silicon Valley, and an alum of the Faculty of Business and Economics.
Andrew Rowse, Director of Programs at MEC, said the new-look program was designed around providing unrivalled support.
“Research entrepreneurs face unique, complex challenges on their journey to commercial success. TRAM Air supports the best of the University of Melbourne’s research impact community to become successful – we curate a support network around them, help them to develop critical business skills and address knowledge gaps, building their confidence and capability,” he said.
“This year, we welcome five brilliant teams into TRAM Air who will be working hard over the next few months preparing their companies for investment and supercharging the next stages of growth. These teams are addressing issues of global impact from mRNA research and prosthetics, to dry eye syndrome and global food access, as well as revolutionising the way researchers approach big data systems,” he said.
Over 14 weeks the teams will delve into IP agreements, branding, governance, team building, pitching and other important aspects of attracting investors. Teams have a dedicated mentor throughout the program, access to domain experts, desk space and a budget for key support services.
This year, TRAM Air is supporting five ventures from across the University.
| Venture | Founders | Faculty | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtetic | Ricardo Garcia Rosas | FEIT | Virtetic is developing game-based virtual reality therapeutics for people living with limb loss. Its goal is to help people transition to life with a prosthesis and regain their function and independence faster. |
| Unforgettable Research Services | Simon Dennis | MDHS | Big tech companies use big data to predict human behaviour. Researchers in universities and other scientific institutions have not taken advantage of big data sources. URS works with researchers to remove the barriers they face in accessing and analysing the data. |
| ADMiER | Laura Downie | MDHS | ADMiER (Acoustically-Driven Microfluidic Extensional Viscosity) is an in-vitro diagnostic device to rapidly and accurately identify and subtype dry eye disease from a microlitre tear droplet. ADMiER will become a workhorse for eyecare clinicians and standard of care for dry eye diagnosis. |
| Messenger Bio | Denzil Furtado | FEIT | Messenger Bio is an Australian company working to democratise access to biotechnology’s most powerful tools. Messenger Bio is building a next-gen biomanufacturing platform – starting with mRNA as its flagship product – that scientists and innovators can leverage to achieve translational outcomes, faster. |
| Grow-Hydro Solutions | Dorin Gupta | FVAS | Grow-Hydro Solutions is a unique consulting service providers to solve the crop production challenges of controlled/conventional farming for new/established businesses, and offers customised services based on combined 20 years of experience of the team to find solutions to customers’ problems. |
The program culminates in the researchers pitching their ventures to leading industry investors and representatives from the Genesis Fund at a special event in November.
Translating Research at Melbourne (TRAM) is Australia’s premier University-based research impact accelerator program. Since launching in 2016, TRAM has seen over 700 participants complete its programs and workshops, empowering researchers to change the way they approach research problems to achieve real-world impact.