Breakthrough Fellowship Program aims to help researchers become founders

State government-backed venture fund Breakthrough Victoria has announced a new $7.5 million Breakthrough Fellowship Program, aimed at supporting researcher entrepreneur talent.

According to a statement from the organisation on Friday, the program aims to cultivate “the next generation of startup founders from Victorian universities and medical research institutes” and is predicted to “establish up to 50 new startup companies and create at least 50 jobs”.

The fellowship program will see BV invest “up to $150,000 per startup”. Each startup must focus on commercialising research conducted by the founders or associated university professors. 

“This program bolsters Breakthrough Victoria's strategy to back high-potential research and ensure it doesn’t lose momentum in the critical early stages,” said acting CEO Lauren Morrey (pictured.)

Applicants to the program must be current undergraduates, postgraduates, or recent graduates from a Victorian university or medical research institute. Investments will be made after successful graduation or PhD completion.

Between $60,000 and $90,000 from the investment must be used as a salary by a fellow. Remaining funds will support additional hiring or product development.

Cited is a market gap for entrepreneurial researchers, with a post-program review of University of Melbourne’s PhD Innovators program – led by the Melbourne Entrepreneurial Centre’s Professor Colin McLeod – 89 per cent of participants were interested in becoming venture founders though faced a scarcity of investment opportunities.

“When we engage with leading international universities and investors, we consistently hear that many thriving founders are fresh graduates, both at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels,” said McLeod.

“However, after spending 3 to 5 years immersed in their studies, these many new graduates can struggle to find the time and financial resources to bring their ideas to market.”

Other figures cited by BV include an internal analysis by University College London finding the optimal time for starting companies is at the PhD level, particularly when multiple PhDs collaborate on varied research topics to uncover commercial possibilities.

The new program is funded by the $100 million Breakthrough Victoria – University Innovation Platform: a partnership announced in September last year. It is co-funded by Deakin University, La Trobe University, Monash University, RMIT University, Swinburne University and the University of Melbourne on research commercialisation.

Further information can be found here.

Picture: credit Breakthough Victoria

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