Australia's leading organisation for digital health innovation and commercialisation, the Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) – a significant $200 million investment to develop a digital health ecosystem across Australia – has launched in the MIT bigdata Living Lab at Lot Fourteen.
The Digital Health CRC, which received $55 million in Federal Government funding, also opened its new commercialisation hub – Digital Hive – otherwise known as Digital Health Innovation Ventures.
With South Australia's globally renowned capabilities in artificial intelligence and data analytics combining with the state's strengths in both healthcare and medical research, the state has established world-leading credentials.
These credentials have supported the attraction of some of the world's most innovative and forward-thinking companies, many of which are based at Lot Fourteen – such as Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Accenture, the Australian Institute for Machine Learning and MIT bigdata Living Lab.
Premier Steven Marshall said South Australia's world-class credentials have been showcased via the state's health and medical system, including SA Health, SA Pathology and Local Health Care Networks, with the critical role they have played in how the state has navigated the global COVID-19 health pandemic.
"Digital health innovation presents the most significant potential driver for transformative change in healthcare in decades," Premier Marshall said.
"The establishment of the CRC in Adelaide enhances the position of the South Australian digital health ecosystem as a world leader, providing an opportunity for hundreds of hi-tech jobs and tens of spin-out companies to be created in the local economy."
The Digital Health CRC is headed up by global digital health entrepreneur and thought leader, Dr Terry Sweeney, who has more than 22 years' industry experience and has returned to Adelaide.
Formerly the Global Director of IBM Health Watson, Dr Sweeney, who is an adviser to the G20, has led billion-dollar digital health initiatives, which shows the value of digital health projects and the impact they can have on the state's economy.
CE of the Digital Health CRC, Dr Terry Sweeney CMG said Adelaide is the perfect location for the CRC.
"South Australia's ecosystem is the perfect fit for the Digital Health CRC's innovation centre and new commercialisation hub, Digital Hive," Dr Sweeney said.
"We have all the right ingredients here – a highly skilled workforce, a stable and open government, a unique precinct combining the best of health and medical research with innovation and entrepreneurship and international organisations such as Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services on our doorstep."
Minister for Trade and Investment Stephen Patterson said the Digital Health CRC will accelerate the implementation of emerging digital health solutions and technologies for South Australia, nationally and internationally.
'The CRC's innovation in health will offer significant economic and business development opportunities in South Australia and nationally, as well as improving the health of our community.
"Through the Growth State priorities, which has identified health and medical industries as a rapidly growing sector that has the potential to inject $5 billion into South Australia's economy by 2030, we have a unique opportunity to become a world leader in digital health innovation, right here in South Australia."
Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PWC) has forecast that artificial intelligence will add 14 per cent and $21 trillion to global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2030, identifying health and life sciences as the sector with the greatest potential to benefit.
The Digital Health CRC and first-of-its-kind commercialisation hub will build on South Australia's thriving health ecosystem and digital health industry.
"The global health pandemic of COVID-19 is accelerating innovation around the world in digital health and artificial intelligence and we want South Australia to be at the forefront, leading an industry that is worth $200 billion globally," continued Premier Marshall.
For further information about the Digital Health CRC, visit www.digitalhealthcrc.com
