Industry engagement

Industry Partners

The Coleman lab is interested in engaging with industry, government and community organisations to solve real-world problems, and to create new technologies.

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We are working with BTF-Biomerieux to develop enhanced versions of their BioBall™ technology for quality control in food processing.
We have acted as consultants for the Environmental Defender’s Office, to provide expert advice on groundwater microbiology and pollution issues.
We have worked with Environmental Earth Sciences Inc. to investigate the feasibility of microbial methods for chloroform bioremediation.
We have helped Orica Australia Ltd to understand the microbiology at their Botany site, and to map the distribution of pollutant-degrading microbes​.
We are working in an ARC Linkage project with Tetratech-Coffey, to investigate microbial methods for remediation of polyfluorinated aliphatic compounds (PFAS).
We have worked with the Casino Tannery to investigate methods for bioremediation of chlorinated phenols

Project types and Costs

Our industry collaborations can take different forms, depending on whether the work is lab-based or not, whether it employs other workers or students, whether it generates novel intellectual property, and how much time commitment is needed.

Broadly speaking, these collaborations are described as ‘consultancy’, ‘testing’, or ‘research’, and they may be done as direct contracts between the University of Sydney and the industry partner, or formulated as part of larger grants which also include government funding (e.g. ARC Linkage). Estimated costs for different kinds of industry partnerships are given below (note that these are only indicative; different projects will vary substantially).

Consultancy only

A consultancy not involving lab work, which generates a report based on literature review and expert opinion.

$2000-$5000 depending on time commitment

Lab-based (Undergrads)

A lab-based project that uses Honours students or Graduate Diploma students as the hands-on workers. This is the most cost-effective way to answer a serious research question.

$10,000-$20,000, depending on consumables (1 year)

Lab-based (postgrads)

A lab-based project that requires more intensive research via a Masters or PhD student.

$50,000 – $150,000, which includes a student stipend and consumables funding (1.5 – 3.5 years)

Lab-based (short-term)

Short-term lab-based studies can also be done via hiring a research assistant. These are more expensive per unit of time than student projects, but can be cost-effective if the research is straightforward.

~$50 per hour excluding on-costs and consumables

Arc linkage grant

Acting as the partner in an ARC Linkage grant is a great way to leverage funds, and allows us to employ a postdoctoral fellow to perform the hands-on work. These workers are experts, and can tackle difficult problems etc.

A cash contribution of ~30% from the industry partner is typically needed, which is approx. $150,000 for a 3 year project.

​All industry contracts are managed via the University of Sydney Commercial Developments and Industrial Partnerships (CDIP) office.

Interested in working with us?