Round 3 of the Australian Government's Priming Grants Program will support 38 Australian entrepreneurs to connect with international partners.
They include 23 Australian researchers who seek partnerships with overseas businesses, and 15 Australian businesses linking up with international researchers.
Priming Grants worth $7,000 are offered under the Global Connections Fund, and since 2016-17 have supported 152 projects with nearly $1 million.
Administered by the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, the program aims to help Australian small-to-medium sized enterprises and researchers to initiate new collaborations with international partners.
Primed to collaborate: Australia is already the second largest almond producer after the United States. Researchers at Adelaide University will now explore a potential partnership in the US to trial new water use efficient almond varieties, and varieties that don’t require bees for successful fertilisation.
For example, a project led by Dr Michelle Wirthensohn from the University of Adelaide has produced new almond varieties that cater to a changing climate and the emerging Varroa mite threat of bee populations. Supported with a priming grant, the researchers will now explore a partnership with Varieties International, a California-based company that has been working with different breeders around the world for testing, and commercialisation of successful crosses.