Innovation. Excellence. Industry
From medical research to information and communication technologies to creative
industries, Brisbane's got growing global appeal when it comes to accessing thought
leaders and all things new and interesting in traditional and emerging knowledge
sectors. Backed by the Queensland Government's investment in the Smart State vision,
Brisbane is home to a new generation of innovators and industry makers. And for you that means
on the ground industry support and first-class key note speakers.
Information & Communication Technology
Queensland’s information and communication technology (ICT) industry is a key growth sector within the state’s economy. With 5600 businesses employing over 77,300 people, it produces an estimated total sales value of $23.6 billion (a $2.5 billion increase since 2004).
Queensland is home to the largest e-Security R&D community in the southern hemisphere. Areas of specialisation include threat and vulnerability assessment, security policy development, data encryption, secure communications and transactions, forensics and intrusion detection. World-leading firms RSA Security and Internet Security Systems have both located in Brisbane to take advantage of this cluster.
Attracted by the availability of highly-skilled and creative labour, software development multinationals – Oracle, SAP, Sun Microsystems, Red Hat, Boeing, IBM and Mincom – are investing in Brisbane. KPMG ranks Australia first among 11 developed countries for competitiveness in this industry.
Life Sciences
Significant growth is being achieved in the Life Science’s sector following the Queensland Government’s $1.5 billion injection into the industry. Couple this with Brisbane’s impressive infrastructure and talent base, and it is easy to see why outstanding opportunities exist in the fields of agri-food, biomedical, biopharmaceutical and human therapeutics, diagnostics and clinical trials.
Brisbane is a recognised centre of excellence – home to not only the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR), the largest medical research institute in the southern hemisphere, but also the Clive Berghofer Cancer Research Centre, one of the world’s foremost research facilities in this field.
The University of Queensland is host to the Pharmacy Australia Centre of Excellence, Australia’s leading facility for pharmaceutical research, education and drug commercialization; while Griffith University partners with global giant AstaZeneca in the Natural Drug Discovery arena.
A quarter of modern medicines are derived from natural compounds making Brisbane and Queensland gold mines for biotech companies. Queensland comprises of 19 terrestrial and 17 marine bioregions and five world heritage sights covering 40 million hectares. Just one hectare of the Daintree Rainforest in North Queensland contains more species of native plants than the whole of North America, and about 80 per cent of those species can be found nowhere else on earth.
This collaboration of tertiary education with the private sector delivers a world-class pool of scientists, engineers and technical staff. In fact, Australia has more PhD graduates in biotech-related disciplines per capita than the USA or UK.
Creative Industries
Queensland Government estimates that their Creative Industries are worth $3.4 billion annually and generate approximately $1.1 billion in annual export sales. A $60 million Creative Industries Precinct at the Queensland University of Technology is dedicated to the co-location, development and promotion of the creative industries in Brisbane.
Brisbane is the unquestionable hub of games development in Australia. Low production costs, fresh creative talent and a high development environment (compared with other centres globally) are draw cards for publishing giants Sony, Electronic Arts, Nintendo and Microsoft. Established games developers based in Brisbane include THQ Studios Australia, The Creative Assembly (Sega), Krome Studios, Tantalus, Fuzzy Eyes, Halfbrick and Auran.
The convergence between creative industries and ICT will continue to be a focus for sourcing investment into Brisbane from major markets such as the UK, USA and Asia. Games development, digital media and digital content will provide outstanding opportunities.
Innovative Manufacturing
With turnover exceeding $40 billion annually, exports of nearly $10 billion and over 180,000 workers – Queensland’s manufacturing sector is booming. Brisbane is the only region in Australia where manufacturing is expected to grow in employment and output over the next 20 years. Highly innovative in nature, the industry has concentrated on specific niches – advanced manufacturing, machinery and equipment, plastics and metals, packaging and recycling, and marine – to ensure this growth.
Companies have access to the highest quality labour. Brisbane’s major universities have over 15,000 students enrolled in engineering technologies and a further 40,000 are enrolled in manufacturing-related courses at TAFE in Queensland.
Strong industry growth means manufacturers enjoy well established infrastructure as well as solid plans for future road and rail development. The Queensland Manufacturing Institute supports and promotes the sector through R&D and training, whilst earmarked industrial land across Brisbane will provide development opportunity into the future.
Precision manufacturing is a growth sector for the city. Following the population explosion, residential construction growth has fuelled demand for fabricated metal and plastic products. EGR Plastics, world’s leading designer and manufacturer of thermoformed automotive accessories, supplies to companies such as General Motors and Ford Motor Company. While Alphapharm, one of Australia’s largest pharmaceutical companies has its research, production and packaging facilities in Brisbane. In 2006, it supplied more than 2.5 billion tablets and capsules to some 5,000 consumers in Australia, as well as to consumers in more than 60 export markets.
Brisbane has also emerged as a major centre for the production and maintenance of the rapidly expanding super yacht market. With over 252 marine companies and more than 43 per cent of the national industry’s turnover, Queensland is Australia’s largest boat building state.