Geobusiness
About the program
The Geobusiness research program, led by Professor Rohan Bennett from the Innovative Planet Research Institute, is an emerging initiative where universities, government organisations and businesses collaborate on training, research, policy and practices to ensure sustainability and resilience for the future preservation and commercialisation of the geographies and environments where we live and work.
Swinburne’s sector partners in business, higher education, NGOs and government will cooperate via the platform to use global geodata and geotechnologies – including remote sensing and GPS – for research and development of innovative solutions to create a more sustainable planet.
Geobusiness and Sustainable Development Goals
‘Geo’ meant ‘earth’ to the Ancient Greeks. With that word, we continue to share an unbroken bond, especially with the land. It impacts our ability to raise our families in safety, access food and water reliably, and use resources. It is where we live, work and develop our futures.
It is not surprising that most of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) relate to or rely on the safe, secure, sustainable and equitable access to land. These include the goals of zero hunger, responsible consumption, climate action, equality and justice.
In particular, geobusiness advisory services and solutions ensure land rights and uses are mapped and responsibly governed – ensuring Goal 1: End poverty and Goal 2: Food security are met.
Geobusiness activities relating to commercialisation and data infrastructure contribute to Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth and Goal 9: Industry innovation and infrastructure.
Geobusiness training and education partnerships contribute to capacity development through Goal 4: Quality education, Goal 5: Gender equality and Goal 10: Reduced inequalities.
Our research subthemes
GeoCommercialisation
Professor Jerome Donovan and Dr Eryadi Masli focus on identification and transformation of geospatial innovations into scalable business solutions.
GeoCapacity Development
Dr Cheree Topple deals with combining Swinburne’s education and training ecosystem with its world-leading geospatial and business R&D.
GeoData Infrastructures
Dr Mark Dale works with industry to design, build and create the underpinning geospatial data infrastructures demanded by modern business and government.
The Asia Pacific Platform for Innovative Planet
Our current flagship initiative is The Asia Pacific Platform for Innovative Planet (APPIP), which is a collaborative network of universities focused on building sustainability and resiliency action across the Innovative Planet Research Institute's four research programs – energy frontiers, sustainable mobility and connected transport, future cities, and geobusiness.
APPIP will be the basis from which a partnership of universities and broader stakeholders will establish a community of innovative and socio-technical practice sharing educational, research, and research commercialisation opportunities across the region.
| Collaboration activities | Details |
|---|---|
| Joint education programs | Undergraduate, postgraduate and research degrees |
| Educational activities | International study tours, study abroad options, cross-country applied industry projects for students, shared learning materials and joint lessons |
| Joint research projects | Co-development of research publications with funding applications targeting national and international funding |
| Regional research commercialisation forum | Shared "masterclass" events on research commercialisation and internationalisation, networking, as well as cross-border investing, pitching and industry matching |
The Platform is expected to roll out over three phases from 2025, capitalising on our strong connections with institutions in Japan and Indonesia.
| Phase | Region |
|---|---|
| 1. Pilot | Japan and Indonesia |
| 2. Growth and Consolidation | Indonesia (extended), Vietnam and Thailand |
| 3. Scale | Asia-Pacific rollout |
Explore our other research programs
Have a question?
For more information, please contact our research program leader Professor Rohan Bennett at rohanbennett@swinburne.edu.au.