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Tag: Life Sciences

2026 BioInnovation Festival

The BioInnovation Festival is a five-day celebration of Western Australia’s life sciences and innovation ecosystem, featuring flagship events, regional tours, and partner-led activities.

BioInnovation Festival Conference – 11 March 2026

Connecting innovators, industry, and investors to explore the latest breakthroughs in life sciences. The program features over 50 speakers across keynotes, themed streams, and networking designed to spark collaboration and accelerate commercialisation.

Themes:

• Cross-disciplinary innovation
• Medical & Health
• Agriculture, Aquaculture & Life Sciences
• Commercialisation & Investment Readiness
• Partnerships & Ecosystem Growth

Program Highlights:

Morning keynotes, two focused streams, afternoon sessions, a “meeting of the minds,” and a Networking Sundowner. Optional Networking Dinner in the evening.

Regional Innovation Summit

The 2026 Regional Innovation Summit is bigger, bolder, and more immersive than ever.

The 2026 Summit will take place on Friday 13 March and will once again deliver a powerful experience connecting investors, innovators, industry leaders, and government stakeholders with the people and ideas shaping the future of regional innovation.
Hosted at the historic Caves House in one of WA’s most breathtaking coastal destinations Yallingup, this year’s Summit is newly designed as a roundtable-style gathering, bringing together regional and national changemakers for an interactive day of keynotes, panels, networking, and startup pitches.

Keynote Speaker – Tim Jarvis AM

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Tim Jarvis AM is an Australian environmental scientist, adventurer, author and filmmaker, best known for recreating some of history’s most dangerous polar expeditions to raise awareness about climate change and environmental conservation. At the Summit, Tim will share powerful lessons from the world’s harshest environments — insights into purpose-driven leadership, navigating uncertainty and aligning innovation with sustainability.

Speakers & Panellists: 

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This year we’ve taken it to the next level. We’ve built immersive experiences into your day where you can taste wine aged on the seafloor, explore ancient bush medicines and ocean innovation, witness autonomous farm technology in action and experience an immersive art light display where biology, data and creativity collide.
 
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The Regional Innovation Summit is a BioInnovation Festival Satellite Event, supported by City of Busselton, South West Development Commission through the Innovative Industries of the Future (iiF) program, GreenTech Hub, Department of Energy and Economic Diversification through the CONNECT Sustainable Industries program and nbn® Australia. The Caves House Cleanser Sundowner is brought to you by Creative Tech Village.

Digital Health Summit

The WA Digital Health Summit takes place on 17 – 18 March at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Western Australia is accelerating towards the vision of a connected, patient-centred health system.

We will focus on achieving better health outcomes for Western Australians by connecting all the pieces together across health systems from primary care out to tertiary and the whole community.

Network with your peers in WA health and learn more about what’s happening in the State, and be inspired by the potential of a connected, digital future.

DEADLINE: iPREP 2026 Round 1 – Student EOIs

Gain hands-on experience in an industry setting, giving you the ability to apply theory and skills to thrive in a practical research environment.

Benefits:

  • An industry placement working in a team on a defined project
  • A scholarship package (subject to university approval and eligibility conditions)
  • Weekly mentoring tailored to project and team specifics
  • Weekly training in Biodesign methodology & professional skills
  • A flexible participation mode (in-person, remote or combination)
  • Connections with industry & potential employment opportunities

Learn more here

DEADLINE: iPREP 2026 Round 1 – Industry EOIs

Does your organization have a complex problem that needs a fresh, research-driven perspective? Partner with iPREP to leverage the specialized expertise of multidisciplinary PhD teams to tackle your business challenges.

Why Industry Leaders Partner with iPREP:

  • 100% IP ownership: You retain all intellectual property created during the project.
  • Cost-effective innovation: High-level R&D at a fraction of traditional consulting fees.
  • Risk-free talent pipeline: Evaluate elite researchers for your future workforce.
  • Biodesign Methodology: Teams trained in specialized problem-solving framework designed for practical, commercially relevant outcomes.

Learn more here

Emergence 2026: Life Science Sydney Investor Day [online]

Life Sciences & MedTech Investor Focus

Day 1 is designed exclusively for investors seeking access to the next wave of medical technologies, biotechnologies, and pharmaceuticals that are shaping global healthcare.

    • MedTech innovation
    • Biotechnology breakthroughs
    • Pharmaceuticals & drug discovery
    • Digital health & AI in healthcare
    • Advanced diagnostics

Online registration is available via the CapitalHQ platform:

  • Livestreams of panel sessions, keynotes, and company presentations
  • Virtual deal rooms for presenting companies
  • A virtual networking zone to connect with other attendees, exhibitors, and speakers

Learn more and register: https://emergence.wholesaleinvestor.com/home

DEADLINE: FHRI Innovation Seed Fund 2025-26 [extended]

The purpose of the Innovation Seed Fund 2025-26 is to support WA innovators to develop and commercialise their health and medical innovations through start-up companies operating in WA, creating high-value jobs and enhancing the biomedical support and manufacturing capacity of the State.

The funding will be used to support the validation of inventive concepts, the feasibility testing of proposed solutions, and the advancement of developed solutions towards the path of commercialisation within the following streams:

Stream 1 – Devices, diagnostic and digital
The innovation is a device or technology that will prevent, diagnose, treat and/or monitor a health condition that impacts the people of Western Australia. This includes but is not limited to novel equipment, digital tools, and medical implants that aim to improve the safety, effectiveness, access, timeliness and/or cost as compared with existing practice.

Stream 2 – Therapeutics and vaccines
The innovation is a drug, compound or medical biologic that will prevent, detect, or treat a health condition that impacts the people of Western Australia. This includes but is not limited to novel medicines, vaccines, immune modulators and other medical products derived from chemical or biological material that aim to improve safety, quality, access or patient outcomes as compared with existing practice.

Expression of Interest applications due: 1:00pm (AWST), Thursday 22 January 2026*
Extended to 30 Jan 2026

DEADLINE: MedTech Actuator Program

Transform your health venture
Created for ambitious Australian early-stage healthcare startups, the Accelerator is a six-month, milestone-driven program designed to accelerate the commercial strategy, team capability, and technology development.

Across two phases, the Accelerator equips founders with the skills, confidence, and practical know-how to lead their startups effectively.

Participants receive hands-on guidance from industry experts, tailored mentoring, and cohort-based accountability standups. These insights translate into real progress as teams validate markets, progress their technology, and refine their go-to-market strategy.

Clear milestones and expert-reviewed data rooms help startups track and leverage momentum and enter fundraising with confidence.

MedTech Actuator Accelerator Info Session

​Applications are open for the MedTech Actuator Accelerator, a program designed to help MedTech, BioTech, and HealthTech startups grow and scale across Australia and Asia-Pacific.

​Join Lizzie Laurence, Program Manager, and Makenzie Thomas, Portfolio Manager, to learn more about the program, hear from alumni, and get tips on making your application stand out.

​What’s covered in this session:

  • ​An overview of the program and its benefits
  • ​Alumni sharing their Accelerator experience
  • ​A step-by-step guide through the application process

​This is a great opportunity to find out if the Accelerator is the right fit for you and your startup.

DEADLINE: MedChem Australia Round 3

Empowering Australian drug discovery
MedChem Australia is a national drug discovery initiative that works with the Australian biomedical research community and guides early-stage projects through the critical value creation steps where ‘hits’ are optimised to drug candidates with enhanced commercial value and clinical potential.

MedChem Australia provides expert medicinal chemistry & DMPK capability at 80% subsidised cost to selected projects to enhance, accelerate, and enable the development of new small molecule therapeutics. Projects to receive subsidised support are selected through a competitive and independent application process. Applications are invited through annual calls, with researchers from Australian Universities, Medical Research Institutes, and SMEs eligible to apply.