SA to extend collaboration with MIT to become world-leading data economy

06 Jun 2023
An agreement between the South Australian Government and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT’s) Connection Science initiative is set to accelerate the State’s reputation as a world-leading data economy.
 
Trade and Investment Minister Nick Champion signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today with MIT Connection Science, while in Cambridge as part of his June trade mission to the United States.
 
The MoU continues South Australia’s involvement with the MIT Connection Science Trust: Data Consortium, through an agreement to evolve the MIT Adelaide Living Lab, building on previous work undertaken with the Consortium.
 
The Lab will focus on exploring and developing secure data exchange platforms in health, for net-zero and trade finance.
 
Establishing secure and trusted data is key to unlocking South Australia’s artificial intelligence expertise and economic benefits for the State.
 
Large problems facing the globe – like climate change and disease management – cannot be solved by one organisation, government or university and data is the underlying resource to solve these complex problems.
 
Greater insights about these challenges are gained when a broader set of trusted data across industry, universities and governments can be analysed to derive collaborative data insights. 
 
Trusted and ethical use of data is an essential foundation on which to build next generation data and artificial intelligence solutions.  One aim of the Lab is to implement data exchange technology to ensure safe, secure and ethical use of data.
 
Building a platform like this requires South Australia’s unique combination of artificial intelligence, Web 3 and data infrastructure capabilities, that have already attracted global, national, and local partners.
 
MIT Connection Science is a leader in using data to solve problems, so this is a unique opportunity for the brightest minds in South Australia to work with leading researchers and developers in the US, to develop platforms and applications that would be of interest globally.
 
The collaboration with MIT Connection Science will be managed by the Department for Trade and Investment and is expected to involve industry and university partners.
 
Student and research exchanges – supported under the MoU – will also aim to provide local startups with access to the MIT global network and Lab projects.
 
South Australian, Tobin South, recipient of the prestigious Full Bright Scholarship, currently undertaking a PhD at MIT, will be instrumental in supporting this project and delivering economic benefits in South Australia.