Australia should look for competitive niches

Smaller countries like Australia should implement a well-defined strategy for the development of small technologies including micro- and nanotechnology, according to small technology commercialisation expert Kees Eijkel, in Melbourne to participate in the Healthy Opportunities from Small Technologies conference this week.

Eijkel is president of MANCEF -- the Micro and Nanotechnology Commercialisation Education Foundation -- an organisation that brings together stakeholders in the emerging small technologies industries to share experiences and insights through conferences and other forums.

But in order to compete with the US, Europe, Japan and other countries allocating large scale funding for nanotechnology research, Australia needs to focus on developing specific niches and partnerships with larger organisations in other countries, Eijkel said.

"You need to see where your chances are -- the industries in which you have strengths," he said. "You can grow a new area but it's best not to pick a crowded space -- strategy needs to be very good in an area with a lot of a competition.

"The fact that you are a small country forces you to focus and define your strategy and that's going to help you in the end."

Eijkel said that to be successful at developing these technologies, academic institutions, government and business needed to work together. He praised the efforts by Australian governments including Invest Australia, AusIndustry and state government departments including Victoria's Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development -- which has committed AUD$30 million to establish the Nanotechnology Victoria initiative -- in putting together policies and programs to assist the development of small technology-based industries.

But he stressed that it would take to time for small technology industries to establish themselves, and said it was likely that due to the diverse nature of technologies and applications in micro- and nanotechnology, small and medium enterprises were likely to become the mainstays of the industries.

"The technology needs to mature to interest bigger companies -- it can take 10 years to get to that point. SMEs are crucial to this stage of development," he said. "And -- because its not a generic technology base bit many applications each with a different technology basis -- it's likely to remain an industry of SMEs."