#SharksDen Review: Showing researchers another way…

by Paul Mignone

It is considered tradition when submitting a PhD to provide a quote to sum up your research journey. On submitting my PhD a couple of months back, I used the following quote to summarise my nearly five year journey of discovery (and drama).

“One of the best lessons children learn through video games is standing still will get them killed quicker than anything else.”

- Jinx Milea

From working in engineering (both internationally and locally), to having my own business, pursuing a materials engineering PhD and working with Resbaz, Jinx’s words sum up my last ten years perfectly. In short, I haven’t stopped moving in my career. I’ve pursued new and interesting experiences that have made me both a better engineer and person. More importantly, these experiences have given me the skills and inspiration required to address the challenges facing Australian researchers today.

The inspiration for #SharksDen…

It is no secret that the current landscape for research (and research funding) is challenging for Australian researchers. Government expenditure on science and research in Australia (as a proportion of GDP) has fallen by more than a quarter since 1993. In addition, a recent National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) survey showed that only 17% of Australian researchers have ongoing employment. This challenge is even greater for early career researchers (ECRs), with the chance of securing an ARC grant for early career researchers (known as a DECRA) sitting at approximately 10%.

In such a competitive environment, ECRs will need to find new and innovative ways to secure research funding (e.g., private endowment, startup grants, Thinkable.org etc.). They’ll also need skills, training and an innovation community to adapt their research and skills in more commercial ways. In short, we need early career researchers to be a little more ‘Shark’, constantly moving and adapting to Australia’s research funding challenges.


Cue in #SharksDen… 

While the Research Bazaar has had many successes building research communities around programming languages, CAD and 3D Printing, I’m passionate about engaging researchers in a way where my skills and experiences in the private sector could be used to help them ‘future-proof’ their working careers. With the help of my (awesome) boss, David Flanders, ResBaz has created an innovation community for researchers, helping them find ways of ‘translating’ their research into valuable commercial products and services.

The #SharksDen is an innovation training program which brings early career researchers together with students, professional staff, entrepreneurs and private sector employees. Over five evenings spread out over the month of July, participants in the program did the following:

Day 1 - Team formation and idea generation techniques (Day 1 summary).

Day 2 - Learning 3D modelling and design with TinkerCAD (Day 2 summary).

Day 3 - Learning how to use 3D printers (Day 3 summary).

Day 4 - How to pitch for startup funding (Day 4 summary).

Day 5 - Teams presented their products to a professional panel (Day 5 summary).

The #SharksDen presentation evening at Carlton Connect…

By the time of the #SharksDen presentation evening had arrived on July 29th, there were four teams ready to pitch their innovative products to the panel:

  1. Artistic Instrument Designing Co., presenting their bespoke guitar components.
  2. Next Gen Cover, presenting their next generation, multi-function phone cases.
  3. Radiance, presenting their low-cost bike light.
  4. Fit’n’Click, presenting their bespoke computer mouse for esports and other emerging industries. 

The panel brought together a blend of experience in startups, 3D printing and 3D modelling, which consisted of the following members:

Mr. Rohan Workman: Director of the Melbourne Accelerator Program.

Mr. Matthew McKnight: Senior Technical and Design Specialist for Autodesk.

Ms. Grace Carey: Managing Director at Gynaecologic Pty Ltd.

Mr. Dinesh Kantheti: Designer of 3D printers and founder of 3inter.

A massive shout out to all four members for volunteering their time to be on the panel! Each team presented a four minute pitch to the panel, articulating the benefit and profitability of their products in the market. While competition was very tight, the winner was determined to be Fit’n’Click with their customised mouse design. A special mention goes out to the runner-up team, Radiance, for getting a working prototype up and running in only four weeks! A special thank also you to goes out Marcella, Dejan and Nicole for handling the media and catering at the #SharksDen presentation evening.

What the #SharksDen researchers say…

Despite being a voluntary program we were amazed how all four teams worked hard and passionately together to produce their final products. The quality of their designs and pitch presentations were well above our original expectations (a big shout out to Gil and Wen for helping out at the classes!).

Since the event, attendees (and teams) have expressed interest in working on their products further, with some planning to apply for the Melbourne Accelerator Program in 2016. The researchers who participated in #SharksDen also felt that their new skills and experiences would help them in their working careers.

Gene Venables, a research officer at the University of Melbourne said the following (link to the full guest article):

“It has changed the way I think about products I use, and I’m sure it will influence ideas that I conceive in the future…Over the five weeks I worked with a group of talented people from a variety of different backgrounds. I hope to foster further collaborations and I am excited to venture into deeper water with my new skills.”

Khalid Abdulla, a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne said the following (link to the full guest article):

“I feel that I have learned a lot from taking part in the challenge. In particular the different roles which need to be filled in a small startup company, the different requirements which need to be satisfied for a product to be novel and successful, and finally the importance of, and some handy hints for pitching. As a researcher it’s important to remember that doing the research is only part of the job, it is also necessary to communicate/sell the research, and I think the “pitching” training was useful for developing those skills. Most importantly…it was fun.”

What next for #SharksDen?

The next #SharksDen is planned to run during the 2015 3D Printing Showcase on October 9th-10th.

Stay tuned for details!