The Premier officially opened the facility at a launch event attended by government, university and industry representatives.
UTS Vice Chancellor and President Andrew Parfitt, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and IT Peta Wyeth, NSW Premier Chris Minns and Anoulack Chanthivong MP officially open the UTS Vault. Photo by Oscar Colman.
The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) has welcomed NSW Premier, the Hon. Chris Minns MP to the UTS Vault, a first-of-its-kind secure collaborative research and innovation facility at the forefront of cybersecurity, data protection and defence technology.
“The UTS Vault is a valuable resource that is unique to New South Wales. It will strengthen our cybersecurity and defence technology capability, while reducing national sovereign risk and growing the state’s cybersecurity talent pipeline,” said the Premier.
“The NSW Government committed $7.285 million to the facility and I’m pleased we’ve had a role in advancing this state’s economic complexity for the industries of the future."
The UTS Vault is a purpose-built, Department of Defence compliant facility which enables collaboration between private sector tenants, academia and government to advance research and commercialisation in world-leading cybersecurity and defence technology.
The launch of the UTS Vault will be a catalyst for growth in cyber security and defence technology research, development, startups and security-cleared, industry-ready talent in NSW.
Tenants using the UTS Vault’s facilities will be able to connect to the highly secure Australian Defence Network if required, and access other general-use facilities at UTS including Tech Lab, ProtoSpace and Rapido.
The World Economic Forum recently reported that the world needs more than three million cybersecurity experts and industry is struggling to fill the gap. Sectors such as electricity, payments and hospitals are most at risk due to shortage of skilled professionals.
UTS Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Andrew Parfitt, says the heightened security offered by the UTS Vault enables stakeholders to solve problems, innovate, test, and develop cutting-edge technologies while safeguarding critical intellectual property.
“The UTS Vault is a great example of the sort of enabling infrastructure a university can provide with the support and backing of the NSW Government. In the race for highly skilled Australian jobs in a diverse range of sectors – defence, cyber, telecommunications to name just a few – a facility like the UTS Vault is a valuable asset for NSW.
“UTS is delighted to deliver this critical infrastructure in the heart of Tech Central. Unlike similar facilities built by private companies, the UTS Vault will benefit a wide range of partners including startups, government departments and other universities.
"The UTS Vault will also provide world leading education and hands-on experience for students and those in industry seeking to re-skill,” said Professor Parfitt.
The Tech Central precinct is home to the largest innovation ecosystem in Australia, with significant businesses and institutions in the fields of quantum technology, health, med-tech, bio-tech and the creative industries, as well as 160,000 students across TAFE and the university sectors.