Our vision is to create an Asia Pacific Science & Technology Innovation “city” within Sydney’s Bays Precinct by co-locating research, business, education, academia and startup incubators to drive NSW global competitiveness and innovation efficiency.

Anchored by a strong health science and technology focus, MedTech City will leverage NSW expertise in health and medical research, digital health, medical technology and devices, and tertiary education to create the southern hemisphere’s first dynamic knowledge and innovation hub.

Bays Precinct

‘MedTech City’

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Economic • for every $1M in R&D

investment, 22 new jobs are created

• for every overseas student educated in Australia, the economy benefits by $42,000

• for every $1 invested in medical research, between $2 - $3 in health cost savings are realised

Social• improvements in

healthcare, treatments and life expectancy

• greater educational opportunities in science and technology

• urban renewal and regeneration through the creation of new facilities and infrastructure

The Bays Precinct – which will transform 80 hectares of prime Sydney Harbour property as 7 linked ‘destinations’ - is Australia’s biggest and smartest urban redevelopment.

A cutting edge, purpose designed science and technology innovation centre located within the re-imagined Bays Precinct has the potential to spur export focused, knowledge intensive education, businesses and R&D in NSW, one of the world’s most highly rated economies.

As Australia’s number one city for business, Sydney is uniquely placed to lead the Asia Pacific to successfully compete in the rapidly expanding, high value global markets for technology R&D and commercialisation.

If realised, this revolutionary initiative would deliver major economic and social benefits for NSW, including more jobs, higher investment, accelerated commercialisation of new ideas, and broader educational opportunities to tap the digital and knowledge economy.

But time is short. A handful of ‘science and technology innovation centres’ in America and Europe have either been announced or started building, cities like Melbourne and Singapore have signalled their interest, and the race to find philanthropic funding, or prestigious universities and global companies as partners, is intense.

Call for great ideas

The global research and development sector is worth $1.435 trillion a year and is growing at a rate of 7% annually.

Australia already invests an estimated $24 billion annually in research and development – about 1.6% of global expenditure, but there’s clearly room for Australia - and NSW - to play a more important global role and realise the benefits that flow.

Return on investment

“ Global vision, local win” Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group

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The MedTech City concept would be an Asia Pacific first, envisioned as a connected ecosystem of higher education, research and development, small and large science & technology businesses, and digital startup incubators with a healthtech focus, capable of successfully creating smart ideas and boosting our global competitiveness.

A knowledge creation and translation hub, MedTech City would deliver global and regional excellence in R&D at an unmatched urban location in the heart of one of the world’s most dynamic cities.

MedTech City would not only create a dynamic learning environment, but help drive science and technology breakthroughs and businesses, while spurring commercial translation of cutting edge products and inventions to the global marketplace.

With a broad R&D remit, but with a focus on health science and technology, MedTech City would provide an opportunity to attract and foster NSW health and medical expertise, knowledge and leadership in areas as diverse as:

• Health and medical research and clinical trials• Biomedical technology and engineering• Genomics and epigenetics• Biobanking• Bioinformatics• Medical devices• Health informatics• Digital, e-Health, m-Health• Analytics of health metadata• Undergraduate and post graduate education in health, science and

technology

Punching above our weight - either for the number of science and medicine Nobel Prize Winners or the creation of global healthtech companies like Cochlear and ResMed - Australia has the capacity to lead the world in creating and translating knowledge into advances that change people’s lives.

Cities like New York, San Francisco and London are already showing the way. Smart public & private sector led initiatives and contributions in education, science and technology are helping to economically and culturally rejuvenate their own iconic cities:

New York’s Roosevelt Island (image 1): New York City’s donation of the site at Roosevelt Island in tandem with nearly $700 million in philanthropy so far is creating a smart ‘campus’ anchored by a partnership between Cornell University and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology mixing higher education, research, existing businesses, and startup incubators. Open by 2017, Roosevelt Island is projected to generate $33 billion in economic activity, around 48,000 jobs and over 1,000 spin-off companies by 2046.

San Francisco’s Mission Bay (image 2): San Francisco City’s donation of land at Mission Bay in tandem with $225 million in philanthropy so far is creating the “Health Sciences Campus For Discovery, Education, and Health”. Mission Bay is home to the newly opened 289-bed University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Centre Complex and specialty hospitals, 50 bioscience startups, 9 established pharmaceutical and biotech companies, and 10 venture capital firms.

London’s Kings Cross (image 3): Inner city London is being transformed through a major regeneration project on former railway lands. Creating 2,000 new homes, commercial office space, a University of Arts for 5,000 students and the Francis Crick Institute (FCI), the initiative will create 25,000 new jobs once finished. The Francis Crick Institute – a signature initiative due for completion in 2016 – will be a national centre for medical research and innovation, supported by government funding and investment from educational institutions and charitable organisations.

‘ MedTech City’

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Further information

Stage 1: Location – Earmarking a site within the Bays PrecinctWith the Bays Precinct in the hands of NSW Government, there is a great opportunity to earmark a location for MedTech City, and to encourage private and philanthropic support to realise this exciting opportunity at a world-class site.

Stage 2: Philanthropy – Maximising local and global contributionsMedTech City has the potential to spark the same significant philanthropic interest as Roosevelt Island, Mission Bay and London’s Kings Cross. MedTech City is a prime opportunity for Australian & Asian philanthropists to step in, but its global focus also allows individual and corporate donors/investors focused on innovation ‘without borders’ to invest.

Stage 3: International Expressions of Interest – Bringing a world of ideas to guide our thinkingNSW Government’s commitment to Bays Precinct is the catalyst to initiate an International Expression of Interest process, as well as targeted trade and investment missions, aimed at securing cross-sectoral partnerships and investments with universities, business, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and research organisations.

Stage 4: Leverage Australian & Asia Pacific universities, hospitals, research organisations & the science and technology industryBays Precinct is designed to not only bring the world’s best to NSW, but take the best of NSW to the world. NSW, Australia and the Asia Pacific already boast a robust health and science technology sector, with opportunities to forge new partnerships and collaborations to help maintain NSW as the ‘innovation state’. Positioning NSW to secure a share of Australia’s Future Fund – an investment fund for the benefit of future generations of Australians - is also a high priority.

Making it happen

Timeline

SEPT 2015 – JAN 2016: INTERNATIONAL EOI

FEB 2016: FINAL PROPOSAL

2016: ANNOUNCEMENT

2018: BUILDING COMMENCES

Talent + Technology + Opportunity = Innovation