Swinburne Knowledge Contact Details

Bruce Whan is Director, Swinburne Knowledge, Swinburne University’s commercialisation unit, and is CEO of Swinburne Ventures Ltd. Under his management, SVL has established or become involved in 22 startup companies, and he is currently a director of several of these companies, most of which require active involvement. The companies cover a range of markets and technologies, and have attracted cumulative investment of over $17M. Total operating revenues from currently active companies exceeds $4.5M.

He has been actively involved in innovation for over 20 years, and is also Chairman of INNOVIC, which evaluates new products and technologies, then plans and implements commercialisation strategies to attract investment and to optimise the likelihood of market place success. He was INNOVIC’s CEO for nine years, assisting and incubating several startup companies. He also runs educational programs in commercialisation for researchers, being involved with Swinburne’s Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship for many years.

Previously he was General Manager, Training and Innovation, for the Strategic Industry Research Foundation, developing and delivering innovative industry training, together with a range of consulting and related activities. A mechanical engineer, he also has extensive industry experience, holding a range of research, technical, operational and management positions.

Seth Jones joined Swinburne Knowledge, the commercialisation unit at Swinburne University of Technology (SUT), Victoria, Australia, in January 2002. He has managed 20 projects half of which involve intellectual property, coordinated 8 government grant applications, facilitated 7 investment agreements, helped establish 2 spin-outs, completed 1 license and applied management skills in commercial, academic and industrial relationships. Seth mentors student teams entering the Swinburne Venture Cup, a business planning competition. He is a powerful communicator with a capacity to instill a clear vision and share best practices across the businesses and groups he services. As needed he facilitates subjects in the Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship.

He has 10 years commercial experience within a range of business areas including human resources, market research, demographic marketing, academia and sporting tourism working with consulting, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, IT/Telecommunication firms, universities and retail industries on a variety of commercial projects. Applying his analytical experience in these diverse areas included the development of strategic plans for potential multi-store franchises and territory management regions. At Accenture and Pacific Dunlop he specialised in organisational and operational change, financial risk analysis and knowledge management of customer groups.

At Durham University, Seth’s third year honours degree project in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry formed part of a 1991 publication in the Journal of General Microbiology. He subsequently studied circadian regulation of gene expression in a semi-succulent plant, at the University of Glasgow, and received his doctorate in biochemistry in 1996. Whilst at Glasgow he was awarded a University Blue. After gaining some industry experience Seth diversified his repertoire of skills, completing a Master of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at SUT, in 2003. He participated in the national Mootcorp Australia Business planning competitions of 2002 and 2003 where InVision Medical Technologies Pty Ltd attained second place. In the role of Academic Advisor, in 2005, Seth helped Ultrafish obtain position of runner up.

He is a Director of OCAL Pty Ltd (Oxford Organisational Consulting Associates) and Purple Panda Pty Ltd. OCAL Pty Ltd is involved in individual and organisational change, with a focus on integrated management development and leadership programs, and Purple Panda Pty Ltd is creating Asian language learning and translation tools. The latter is an SUT commercial venture. Seth held a similar role at BR (Vic) Pty Ltd, a Franchise of the Brain Research Company that focused on commercialising brain function analysis, until operations were closed. Seth maintains a working relationship with Mycrolab Pty Ltd, a start-up business specialising in portable, fully integrated chemical and biochemical diagnostics. He helps in promoting and identifying potential sources of early stage funding.

Membership of the Australian Professional Ski Instructors association (APSI) and involvement at the Powerhouse Rugby Union Football Club (PRUFC) help Seth maintain a healthy balance in life.

He is an active family man and takes great delight in watching his daughters Zara and Harriet explore the world.

Rebecca Dodds
Executive Officer

The Executive Officer manages the administrative processes of the Unit.

Organising the Swinburne Venture Cup is a major component of the EO's role