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Victoria Strengthening R&D Ties With Jiangsu

09 February 2020

The Andrews Labor Government is funding research and development partnerships between five Victorian research organisations and five innovative organisations from Jiangsu Province - Victoria’s sister state.

Minister for Small Business, Innovation and Trade Philip Dalidakis met with the Jiangsu Department of Science and Technology to finalise round one winners of the Victoria-Jiangsu Program for Technology and Innovation Research and Development (VIC-JS TECH) grants during his recent visit to Nanjing.

Victoria and Jiangsu signed a Technology and Innovation Agreement in 2015, with the VIC-JS TECH program identified as a key initiative that will help develop new technologies that will change the way industries operate across the globe.

The two states have a long history of collaboration having enjoyed a sister state relationship since 1979 and this week began a sporting rivalry when Victoria’s Melbourne United basketball team took on the Jiangsu Dragons.

The game, Victoria’s first basketball match against a Chinese team, opens the door for Victoria to share its world-leading expertise in sporting venue design and sports medicine, science and technologies, positioning the state to be a major contributor to China’s Five Year Sports Development Plan.

Victoria and Jiangsu also share academic links with the seventh cohort of Victoria’s Hamer Scholars currently studying in China. Minister Dalidakis took the opportunity to meet with 10 students currently studying at universities in Jiangsu under the scholarship that strengthens Victoria’s Asia connection.

More than 200 Victorians have participated in the Hamer Scholarships Program across Asia since its launch in 2012, 115 of those in China, with alumni now leading businesses throughout the region thanks to the cultural, business and people skills they gained during the program.

China is Victoria’s largest two-way trading partner worth more than $23.3 billion and contributing massively across all of the state’s key industry sectors.

Quotes attributable to the Minister for Small Business, Innovation and Trade Philip Dalidakis

“We’re committed to building collaborative partnerships between Victoria and Jiangsu Province’s high-tech and innovative economies”.

“The Andrews Labor Government is supporting Victoria’s strong R&D sector so it can connect with the brightest minds in our sister state and create new economic opportunities, businesses and jobs.”

Reviewed 26 June 2020

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