Queensland, the Australian state home to a massive IT and biotech community, has become the newest partner in the Government of Karnataka’s K-tech hub.
The Queensland Government, through Trade and Investment Queensland (TIQ) and Study Queensland, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Karnataka’s Information Technology, Biotechnology and Science & Technology Department.
This partnership enables university researchers and academics undertaking innovative work in the IT and biotech work in the north-east Australian state to share learnings and network with contemporaries in Bengaluru.
Collaboration and networking will be held at the newly unveiled ‘Q-Pod’ premise at K-tech. The MoU was signed at K-Tech, 10,000 Startups, Bengaluru by Dr EV Ramana Reddy, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary to Govt of Karnataka, IT, BT and S&T and Toni Brownie, General Manager, International Operations, Trade and Investment, Queensland Office.
Q-Pod - a Queensland-India hub for education, innovation and entrepreneurship - has been established by Study Queensland, a unit of TIQ that administers the Government’s International Education and Training Strategy to Advance Queensland. Queensland’s biotech and IT communities have played a pivotal role in addressing the state’s health, agriculture, energy challenges.
TIQ Commissioner – India, Gitesh Agarwal, said Bengaluru and Brisbane, Queensland’s capital, shared many similarities.
“Queensland’s universities, their researchers and academics are breaking international ground in these sectors. Importantly, there are high levels of engagement between our education institutions and industry to support commercial outcomes. Through this partnership, the Queensland and Karnataka governments will support greater collaboration between the regions’ tech sectors through lectures, events, and networking that achieves global outcomes,” Commissioner Agarwal said.
Education has become a strong bond between the two regions with India representing Queensland’s second-largest cohort of international students. The number of Indian students enrolled in Queensland grew by 31% during 2018-19, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The Queensland Government is a keen advocate of innovation. Government agency Advance Queensland hosts and supports start-ups at The Precinct building in inner-Brisbane. Trade and Investment Queensland has adopted a strategy to make business and trade relationships between Queensland and India easier.
The strategy aims to
• elevate the profile of the Queensland-India relationship
• build business capacity
• develop market intelligence
• foster relationships between businesses in Queensland and India
• facilitate collaborative projects