A senior research commercialisation officer from The University of Western Australia (UWA) has won Business Events Perth’s 2021 City of Perth Aspire Award.
Dr Bayode Ero-Phillips (pictured, centre) has been awarded a $10,000 grant to cover the cost of travel, accommodation, and registration expenses to attend the 2022 Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) Annual Meeting.
AUTM is the non-profit leader in efforts to educate, promote and inspire professionals to support the development of academic research that changes the world and drives innovation forward.
Dr Ero-Phillips is currently a Senior Research Commercialisation Officer at The University of Western Australia, a position in which he translates research outcomes into tangible business opportunities.
City of Perth Lord Mayor, Basil Zempilas congratulated Dr Ero-Phillips on his great achievement, saying the Aspire Award was a brilliant opportunity to showcase the expertise of Western Australians on a global platform.
“The City of Perth is a founding member of Business Events Perth and a key component of our 20/21 sponsorship is the Business Events Perth Aspire Program,” he said.
“This great program supports Western Australian researchers, academics and professionals to attend international business events to further their professional development, collaborate with industry leaders and highlight Western Australian expertise on a global platform.
“The Aspire Awards foster opportunities for these global industry events to be held in Perth in future years, which in turn generates numerous economic benefits, trade and investment opportunities for our city.”
Business Events Perth chief executive, Gareth Martin said Dr Ero-Phillips’ work was a great example of the innovation taking place in Western Australia.
“Dr Ero-Phillips’ skill in creating opportunities from research that might otherwise go unused is a testament to his considerable insight and vision and opens up lucrative avenues for trade and investment in Western Australia,” he said.
“We look forward to supporting him to showcase this before other experts in his field when he attends the AUTM Annual Meeting when international travel resumes,” Mr Martin said.
Dr Ero-Phillips said he was honoured to receive the City of Perth Aspire Award, and grateful to the City of Perth and Business Events Perth for their support and generosity.
“The AUTM Annual Meeting is arguably the largest gathering of technology transfer professionals worldwide; this award will give me an opportunity to showcase UWA’s intellectual property and research strengths to an international audience of potential technology investors/research partners at this conference,” he said.
In 2020, two Western Australian molecular geneticists from Murdoch University, Research Associate Craig McIntosh and Research Officer Kristin Ham, jointly won the City of Perth Aspire Award.
Dr McIntosh has subsequently been an integral part of Perth’s successful bid to host the International Congress on Neuromuscular Diseases (ICNMD) 2024, which is expected to inject upwards of $4.3 million into the Western Australian economy.
