Innovation in Melbourne
Innovation in Health
This three-part video series was shown at the 2019 Melbourne Entrepreneurship Gala, and explores our history of innovation in Health, the rise of Health Tech, the possibilities of tomorrow, and importantly how we ensure we realise our potential.
Global health care spending is expected to reach USD $8.7 trillion by 2020, up from USD $7 trillion in 2015, and in Victoria our health sector has a gross contribution to the Victorian economy of over $30 billion p.a.9 and is our states largest and fastest growing source of employment.
To learn more about the state of Health Tech in Victoria, explore the 2018 Startup Genome Report on the Launch Vic website, which confirms that Melbourne is one of the most important global health and life sciences ecosystems in the world.
Part 1: Where are we now
Melbourne has a rich history of innovation in Health. Cochlear, CSL, Illumina are all organisations who’ve paved the way delivering medical breakthroughs that have helped build our reputation for excellence on the global stage.
More recently the rise of Health Tech has seen the speed of innovation rapidly increase and in Victoria one in five startups are in health, wellbeing or sports and it has been documented that those in health and wellbeing startups attract more VC funds than other sectors.
With the Victorian health sector delivering a gross contribution of over $30 billion p.a. to our states Victorian economy it is critical we understand what we need to do to ensure this growth continues.
In this video series we explore where we are today, the possibilities of tomorrow, and how we realise our potential.
Part 2: The possibilities of tomorrow
Global health care spending is expected to reach USD $8.7 trillion by 2020, up from USD $7 trillion in 2015, and in Victoria our health sector delivers a gross contribution to the Victorian economy of over $30 billion p.a and has become our states largest and fastest growing source of employment.
Underpinning health innovation and entrepreneurship at Melbourne is our exceptional health innovation ecosystem, network of skilled workers, quality education providers, leading research institutes, a sophisticated health system. Anchored by the University of Melbourne, the Melbourne Biomedical Precinct has biomedical capabilities unparalleled in Australia and amongst the world’s best. With over 10,000 researchers, over 40 hospitals, research, teaching and biotechnology organisations, our ecosystem provides a fertile environment for health innovation and entrepreneurship.
The future of health will look very different to how it does today and we speak to those at the front line of innovation in this sector to understand what’s on the horizon and how we can realise our potential.
Part 3: How do we realise our potential
Melbourne is the fifth fastest-growing startup ecosystem in the world, and with over 2300 startups and growing at 23% per annum, the culture of entrepreneurship continues to thrive in this city.
It is critical however that we understand how best to support these brilliant emerging entrepreneurial minds, and as an ecosystem build the culture, capabilities, and infrastructure needed to support this growth.
From Accelerators (like the Melbourne Accelerator Program) and Incubators to help startups grow and scale, to investor programs like VC Catalyst to help mature our understanding of venture capital and be best positioned to support these innovations, it is critically important we recognise this opportunity and invest accordingly.
Community, collaboration, diversity, and inclusion, and an overarching belief that together we can achieve so much more when we pay it forward were all themes of this years Melbourne Entrepreneurship Gala and are all relevant as we explore this final video.