Tag: innovation

Local Business wins a 2023 Innovator of Year Award

Congratulations to Leisure Technologies Pty Ltd for winning the Rio Tinto Growth Innovation Award at the Innovator of the Year Awards 2023 for their WiTi product. 

The award recognises the company’s WiTi Technology, which is a caravan anti-theft and braking system. The WiTi Technology is a world-first caravan anti-theft and braking system. The system uses a combination of sensors and GPS technology to detect when a caravan is being towed away without the owner’s permission. The system then activates a braking system to stop the caravan and sends an alert to the owner’s smartphone.

WiTi is a local business that is based in Joondalup, Western Australia. The company was founded in 2018 by Tony and Andre who have built their business and the manufacturing capabilities with Australia, making it a proud Australian Made business.

The award was presented by the Hon. Stephen Dawson, Minister for Innovation and the Digital Economy and Neil Freeman, Innovation Manager at Rio Tinto at the State Government Innovator of the Year Awards on Tuesday 21 November 2023.

Congratulations to WiTi for their outstanding achievement we look forward to supporting their growth here in the City of Joondalup.

Joondalup Innovation Hub

In November 2017 Edith Cowan University (ECU) Joondalup was announced as the location of the Western Australian Government’s first Innovation Hub.

Leveraging ECU’s reputation as a world leader in cyber security research the initial focus of the Joondalup Innovation Hub is cyber security. An investment of $800k from the State Government’s New Industries Fund was committed to bring together public, private and research sectors headquartered at the ECU Joondalup Campus.

Speaking at the launch of the New Industries Fund in Joondalup alongside Premier Mark McGowan and Innovation and ICT Minister Dave Kelly, ECU Vice-Chancellor Professor Steve Chapman welcomed the Hub.

In September 2017 ECU and the State Government were announced as principal partners in a Government supported $50m Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre (CRC). In June of that year, ECU also became one of only two designated Academic Centres of Cyber Security Excellence in Australia, receiving almost $1m in Federal Government funding.

In April 2018 the Federal Government, in cooperation with State Government launched the CRC which will focus on three key areas:

  • Ensuring the security of critical infrastructure by developing innovative approaches, tools and techniques to predict, prevent, detect, and respond to cyber threats
  • Enabling Australian individuals, businesses and industries to access cyber security solutions which build national and international confidence in Australia as a safe and trusted place to do business and access cyber space
  • Building the next generation of industry, government and research cyber security leaders, and increasing maturity, capability and collaboration in the sector.

The CRC now benefits from $140m in funding from 25 industry, government, university and research participants, and includes the $50 million from the Australian Government over seven years and $5.6 million from the McGowan Government over seven years.

In summary, the Joondalup Innovation Hub brings together ECU’s cyber security expertise, the Australian Security Growth Network, AustCyber, and now the Cyber Security CRC.

Business collaboration opportunities

Businesses operating, or with an interest, in the Cyber Security and ICT industry are encouraged to contact the Edith Cowan University Security Research Institute for collaborative opportunities.