Participants of the 2023 Australia-India Alliance Trip.
Credit: Innovation & Collaboration Centre
As part of the ICC’s Australia-India Space Alliance program, we took seven startup companies from around the country to India to meet their counterparts. Thanks to funding provided by the Australia-India Council we were able to bring AICRAFT, Blue Dwarf Space, HEX20, ORBITAL BLUE, QL Space, Space Angel and Spiral Blue along for the journey.
Across this 10-day trip, the key aim was to allow these startups the opportunity to collaborate on critical technologies to fast-track market entry and increase their investment opportunities, something that was successfully achieved with several MoU’s entered as a result of this trip.
Deputy Director: Business Incubation, Craig Jones says, “It was a privilege to lead this incredible delegation and forge stronger bonds with India's dynamic space industry, which was made possible by the generous support of the Australia-India Council.”
Deputy Director: Business Incubation, Craig Jones receiving a gift on behalf of UniSA from Christ University.
Credit: Innovation & Collaboration Centre
Departing at the end of April we visited three key areas of southern India’s Space industry: Hyderabad, Bangalore and Trivandrum. It was a jam packed 10 days for the delegation with Hyderabad as the first stop. Here we visited the incredible facilities of Dhruva Space and Skyroot Aerospace whose facilities were cutting-edge within the space sector giving the delegation a look into new technology, futuristic space-launch vehicle design and building. We then visited T-Hub; an impressive innovation hub and ecosystem enabler where we had the chance to meet local space startups.
Next we travelled to Bangalore, visiting mach33.aero known for their innovative approach to assisting startups in the space sector, and after a beneficial tour of Christ University facilities, we were hosted by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) to hear about their incubation model that has supported Venture Catalyst alumnus, Digantara in the past.
Space startups involved in the Aus-India Space Alliance arriving in Bangalore.
Credit: Innovation & Collaboration Centre
Trivandrum was a busy last stop on the Australia-India Tour, the packed itinerary kicked off with an informative session at Technopark Trivandrum, featuring presentations from Space Park (K-Space), Kerala Startup Mission, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), BrahMos Aerospace, and GTech - Group of Technology companies, followed by visits to Vinvish Technologies Pvt Ltd, Ananth Technologies and Digital University Kerala. This snapshot of the industry showed us the real breadth of expertise and support that Kerala has to offer Australia’s growing space industry.
With a very busy itinerary, next stop was Trivandrum.
Credit: Innovation & Collaboration Centre
On the last day of engagements, we were fortunate to visit the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) - an organisation developing the country’s next generation of leaders in space sciences, space technology and space applications. We finished the tour with a visit to the National Institute For Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST), and meetings with the Minister for Commerce and Industries and the IT Secretary of the Kerala Government.
The trip was an incredible success, with many collaborations to follow up on. Founder of AICRAFT Tony Scoleri said it was a successful trip.
“We have returned to Australia full of excitement in developing trades and collaboration with many Indian counterparts,” he says.
It is also great to see two of the participating startups, Hex20 and AICRAFT, have entered into an MoU following their time in India to develop and bring to market constellations of smart satellites.
Being able to offer these opportunities to startups and assist Australian companies to become leaders in the space sector is something that the ICC prides itself on as one of SA’s leading startup incubators.
Media Contact:
Georgia Minarelli M: +61 413 314 726 E: Georgia.minarelli@unisa.edu.au
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