Staff innovation bridges research and industry
A new AI assistant is helping UNE academics identify real-world opportunities for their research by connecting expertise with industry needs - with data-driven insights.
The Industry Engagement Discovery Tool, developed by Kyle Mulrooney from the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences faculty with support from LabNext70, addresses a persistent challenge: how do researchers find the right industry partners when they can't always see where their work fits?
"There's a lot of really great work going on that could be relevant to industry, but oftentimes I think that gap's a bit difficult to bridge for academics," Kyle explains. "They can't see the pinch points that are out there for various industries."
Four steps from expertise to engagement
The assistant guides users through a structured four-step process designed to keep academics in control at every stage.
First, it builds an academic profile by analysing uploaded CVs and biographies, then asking follow-up questions about research areas, previous industry engagement, and future interests.
Next, it identifies aligned sectors. If researchers already have industries in mind, the tool explores those. If not, it suggests up to five relevant sectors based on their expertise and clarifies whether they're interested in applied research, commercialisation, or industry-funded basic research.
The third step discovers research opportunities through targeted web searches of relevant sources, or by analysing documents provided by the user. Results are categorised into sector challenges, innovation gaps, emerging priorities, and early-stage research questions.
Finally, it helps define a research opportunity and engagement plan, framing industry challenges into formal research questions, discussing potential collaborators and methodologies, and even drafting outreach materials like introductory emails or concept papers.
Practical application in policing research
As an example, Kyle's work in rural crime and policing illustrates the tool's capabilities. When pointed toward NSW Police as a potential partner, the assistant conducted web searches to locate strategic plans and annual reports, then synthesised key organisational challenges including cyber-enabled crime, recruitment and retention issues, and domestic violence response.
The tool connected these challenges to Kyle's expertise in AI and workforce development, producing a draft one-page proposal and initial contact email for further refinement.
"The tool should not move on to the next step until you tell it to," Kyle emphasises. "That was really important ... that we can control this tool. It won't lead us. We tell it when to move on to the next step when we're happy with what it's produced."
Built for ease of use
The assistant was developed in collaboration with the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and has been piloted by several academics, with feedback incorporated into the current version.
Shannon Tyrrell from LabNext70 provided technical support throughout development, ensuring the tool leverages Madgwick's capabilities including Google Search integration.
"You could spend five minutes doing this or you could spend five months doing this," Kyle notes. "Obviously the more information it has, the better. But the steps … (mean) you're in control at every stage."
The tool is now available to UNE staff through Madgwick.