Given that so much of our public policy discussions in relation to Queensland’s future are occupied by the Brisbane 2032 Games deadline, it’s refreshing to look beyond that timeline – and consider the position of Queensland’s economy, and our society, in the post-Olympic period.

In my view, to truly capitalise on the once-in-a lifetime opportunity of hosting the 2032 Games, we have to invest in things that will generate economic activity and broaden the industrial base of Brisbane, SE Queensland, and our whole state.

In particular, that means encouraging local entrepreneurship and innovation, which is so vital to the creation of new knowledge-based industries, globally competitive businesses, and high-quality jobs.

The most successful innovation centres globally are characterised by a venturing spirit, but also a public policy environment that incentivises clever collaborations.

Or, as Australia’s former Chief Scientist Ian Chubb so astutely put it, when it comes to innovation: “it takes three to tango”. In other words, we need to cultivate tripartite partnerships – between government, industry, and universities – to seize the opportunities that will be up for grabs, here in  Queensland, over the coming decade.

Importantly, it does feel like there’s been plenty of recent progress in our local policy environment – and encouraging signs for the future.

Late last year, for instance, the global pharmaceutical company, Sanofi, announced that they would establish their Indo-Pacific base in Brisbane. In partnership with the State Government, Griffith University and UQ, they are standing up a Translational Science Hub to advance cutting-edge opportunities in vaccine and drug development. 

Meanwhile, the State Government has been developing a strategy for a thriving downstream battery industry here that draws on the strength of the emerging industrial base in this area, as well as QUT’s role in the National Battery Testing Centre and the breadth of R&D capability across multiple other Queensland universities.

And upstream, UQ and JCU are supporting the State’s vanadium common-user facility in Townsville as we seek to keep more of the critical minerals value chain in our local economy.

We are also seeing very close collaboration between our local universities across other sectors, including next-generation aerospace, defence, transport capabilities and deep tech. This ‘Team Queensland’ approach is an important factor in the recently launched ‘Queensland Quantum and Advanced Technologies Strategy’.

At UQ, we’re genuinely excited by the opportunities to partner with the Queensland Government, our university colleagues, and industry, to support and enable the growth of our great state over the coming decade.