DSTC appointee to drive commercial capitalisation of IT research
DSTC appointee to drive commercial capitalisation of IT research
The DSTC (Distributed Systems Technology Centre) has announced the arrival of Rob Cook as its new Research Director, an appointment which the organisation says will boost the company's drive to capitalise on IT research in the commercial arena.
The DSTC is a National IT Research and Development Centre focusing on the needs of the Government, Defence, Health, Telecommunications, Finance and Education Sectors.
Cook has extensive experience in the setting up, financing, and running of technology-based software companies, both in Australia and overseas. According to the DSTC, he is a respected IT strategist sought after by government bodies, a Fellow of the ACS, and Board member of the TeleManagement Forum. He also led the first successful bid for the establishment of DSTC in 1992 under the Federal Government's Cooperative Research Centre program.
"The combination of Mr Cook's IT industry knowledge, commercial experience and technical expertise will go a long way to enhancing DSTC's research outcomes," said DSTC CEO Mark Gibson. "His appointment is a great coup for DSTC and I'm delighted to welcome him back."
Most recently, Cook was the founding Director for Commercialisation at Griffith University, a DSTC Core Participant, to build the Office for Commercialisation and promoting several venture-capital financed spin-offs.
He returned in late 2002 from a period in the US, where he was a founder and the CEO of Astracon, a venture-funded Denver, Colorado telecommunications software company, which developed Connectivity Management software in Brisbane and partnered and licensed software to the largest companies in the worldwide industry.
"Australia has a strong track record for IT innovation. However we need to find effective ways to enhance our capability to deliver technology into world markets, and gain benefits for Australia," said Cook. "The challenge now is to establish paths to commercial outcomes for current and future DSTC innovation."
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