Space and Government
Join Briony Sturgess and our Space Cafe Australia host Annie Handmer for a conversation on space and government.
On 14 February 2022 a new National Space Industry Hub, backed by NSW Government, was launched at Cicada Innovations in Tech Central. The Hub aims to boost the growth of Australia’s space sector by providing mentoring, incubation and support for start-ups. NSW is currently the location of more than a third of Australia’s space start-ups. In the previous edition of Space Café, we spoke to Troy McCann about the challenges of getting started in the Australian space sector. In this episode, we look at another perspective – government – to understand how space fits into a broader policy and funding landscape.
Briony Sturgess, Associate Director, Space Investment Partnerships at Investment NSW, has worked on space issues with government since 2017 . She understands better than anyone just what is involved in navigating internal bureaucratic processes and securing government support for the growing space industry. We will hear from Briony about her own pathway to working in the space sector, her perspective on the growing space economy and ecosystem, and how NSW government has supported this development. We will also discuss the challenges she faces day-to-day, and get a sense of the complexity of managing competing priorities behind the scenes, while also providing services and assistance to organisations and individuals who want to ‘make it’ in space. Finally, we will hear Briony’s vision for the future: what NSW has planned for the space sector, and where she sees Australia fitting in the global space economy.
Briony Sturgess is the Associate Director for Space Investment Partnerships in Investment NSW. She has been working with the NSW Government to support the space sector since 2018, during which time she developed and is now implementing the NSW Space Industry Development Strategy. As part of the strategy, her team has launched the National Space Industry Hub, a space qualification mission (Australia’s first rideshare satellite), the Space Research Network and the NSW Node of the SmartSat CRC. Prior to joining NSW Government, Briony was an adviser to the Commonwealth Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science. She was closely involved in the review into the Australian space industry and the establishment of the Australian Space Agency.
Annie Handmer has recently completed her PhD in Science at the University of Sydney. Her research traces the social history of Australian space science projects in order to better understand international and interdisciplinary cooperation, the social construction of achievement, and the nature of the military-industrial-academic complex in Australian space science. In addition to her academic studies, she is on the Advisory Council for the Space Industry Association of Australia, a member of the Space Generation Advisory Council ‘Ethics and Human Rights in Space’ Project Group, the Space Law Council of Australia and New Zealand, program consultant to the Australian Youth Aerospace Association ASTRA Committee, and is also the host and creator of the Space Junk Podcast.
SpaceWatch.Global is a Europe-based digital magazine and portal for those interested in space and the far-reaching impact of the space sector.
This Space Café Australia will be conducted in English on 10th March 2022 at 6:30 am CET.
Reserve your place today.
