Tech Transfer Talk
Podcast
The podcast that discusses the many facets of technology transfer with industry leaders
Welcome to Tech Transfer Talk!
Recent Episodes
Episode 63 – Notes on Innovation in Music with Peter Tregear
This month it was a great pleasure to reconnect with Peter Tregear, both school and college colleague, to explore the world of innovation and in turn technology transfer in music. This was a thoroughly engaging discussion for me, with my less than amateur music knowledge and skills being rekindled, and perhaps reimagined, as Peter took us from Sumer to synthesised music. It also took me back to some of our more profound discussions on theological and indigenous concepts of tech transfer with John Bloomer and Chris Matthews respectively.
Episode 62 – Building the Tech Transfer Club with Lisa Birrell and Greg Harper
I had the opportunity to unpack the NorVic Foods ecosystem with Lisa Birrell (who was CEO) and Greg Harper (who drove the genesis of the initiative). With the ongoing conversations in Australia around innovation ecosystems (which we have had with John Howard), the need for better industry engagement (which we have had most recently with Jane Fitzpatrick) and the challenges of building regional ag innovation systems (discussed sometime back with Elena Kelavra), this presented as a coming together of these threads.
Episode 61 – Tech Transfer, Innovation, and the Future of Chemicals with Victoria Meyer and The Chemical Show
In our first joint podcast, I joined Victoria Meyer and The Chemical Show to explore technology transfer and innovation in the chemical industry. The chemical industry is where I got my start, with Dow Chemical and subsequently Akzo Nobel, and I have maintained my deep interest in and passion for the sector over the years. The opportunity to continue this through the biobased economy, industrial and agricultural biotech, made for a really contrasting foundation to Victoria’s journey in petrochemicals at Shell, Amoco, Lyondell Basell and Clariant.
I got asked a really fundamental question being ‘what is tech transfer’ and from there, we started to explore productisation, the challenges of valuation and risk, and the need to demonstrate products and the ability to scale.
Episode 60 – An Analyst’s Perspective on Innovation Demand with Dennis Voznesenski
I had the chance to catch up with Dennis Voznesenski, who hosts a regular Commonwealth Bank Agri Podcast. Dennis is an Agricultural Economist and author of War and Wheat: navigating markets during global conflict and is a frequent commentator on Australian agricultural markets and dynamics. With a general sense in Australia that we struggle for demand side innovation, I felt a conversation with Dennis who is focussed on industry would make for an interesting set of perspectives.
Dennis shared insights on the current challenges facing Australian farmers, particularly regarding rising costs of fuel and fertiliser due to global events. It was interesting that he framed the innovation opportunity around cost of production as he described Australian farmers as price takers and as such, this is what they could control.
Episode 59 – The C is for more than Commercialisation with Jane Fitzpatrick
I had the chance to follow up with Jane Fitzpatrick on her powerful closing remarks at a panel session at the National Innovation Policy Forum last year. Jane is CEO of the Australian National Fabrication Facility, and her organisation sits at the intersection of science, innovation, translation and market pull. Given the challenges we’ve been highlighting on the podcast around the industry pull, and the recent Strategic Examination of R&D (SERD) report, Ambitious Australia, it seemed a great time to build on her comments last year.
We opened a little unusually, in that we started where we left off from Podcast 55 (2025 National Innovation Policy Forum Review: Coordination and Translation) with Jane O’Dwyer, revisiting Jane’s compelling observations around skills and experiences for tech transfer, and how these contrast with the training and, at times, interests of researchers. It was interesting to hear how ANFF had sought to build on the engagement with its client base and ecosystem, seeking to provide tech transfer support.
Episode 58 – Bringing Products to Market with Jarett Abramson
I had the great pleasure of catching up with Jarett Abramson, who was ‘between gigs’ since his departure from Provivi and his imminent (and arguably eminent) commencement at BASF in Europe.
The journey started for Jarett with writing patents on cranberry juice extract and we explored how that path to market unfolded. In his private practice, he found himself working across a number of industry sectors, but fate kept bringing him back to the ag industry. When moving from the private firm to private sector (being initially Dow Pharma then Dow Agrosciences, the latter now part of Corteva Agriscience), he reflected on the change in culture.
Episode 57 – Science Meets Parliament 2026 – Science Meets the Economy: Opportunity and Risk with Jasmine Chambers and Steve Rodda
In our annual podcast leading into Science Meets Parliament, we had the opportunity to discuss innovation, tech transfer and research translation with Jasmine Chambers, Science & Technology Australia President and Professor Stephen Rodda, Pro-Vice Chancellor (Industry & Innovation) at UNSW.
Episode 56 – Khaki is the New Green and Resilience is the New Carbon with Jim Lane
In our first recorded abroad episode for 2026, I had the opportunity earlier this month to catch up in person with Jim Lane in Digestville, located in Key Biscayne, Florida. I hope that many of you recall that we catch up with Jim intermittently and since our last chat with him in November 2024, much has changed in the world of the biobased economy, and yet many themes remain the same!
Episode 55 – 2025 National Innovation Policy Forum Review: Coordination and Translation with Jane O’Dwyer
Following the National Innovation Policy Forum (NIPF) in November 2025, I had the opportunity to reflect on the event with Jane O’Dwyer from Cooperative Research Australia (CRA) in mid-December.
We started with the raison d’être of the NIPF to increase the linkages between industry, the innovation system and policymakers. To this end, as patrons of NIPF, David Thodey and Catherine Livingstone have been catalysing the thinking over the past few years as the conversations and ambitions of NIPF evolved. The NIPF to date has moved from describing the problems to seeking government and industry-shaping innovation policy and looking to ways to improve technology transfer, commercialisation and translation. When we recorded, there was great anticipation that SERD would offer insights in to how the federal government will respond to these opportunities.
About Us
What Tech Transfer Talk is All About…
Tech Transfer Talk is a series of podcasts discussing aspects of the many facets of technology transfer. Cameron Begley, Managing Director of Spiegare Pty Ltd and Director of Agtechcentric Pty Ltd explores a range of technology transfer and commercialisation experiences, challenges and insights with a range of guests from around the world. Through these conversations, the insights from our guests hopefully help those listening in their endeavours in taking science from the bench to the world.
Hosted by…
Cameron Begley
Managing Director of Spiegare Pty Ltd and Director of Agtechcentric Pty Ltd