INVEST - Gold Coast Health & Knowledge Precinct

Filed Under: BUSINESS, HEALTH, INVEST, TECHNOLOGY

From Research to Reality: GCHKP Talent Leads the LuminaX 2025 Cohort

The Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct (GCHKP) continues to shine as a national hub for health innovation, with local talent strongly represented in the newly announced 2025 LuminaX HealthTech Accelerator cohort.

Out of the 11 startups selected this year, four ventures have direct ties to the Precinct—highlighting the strength of the translational research, clinical innovation, and entrepreneurial spirit emerging from Griffith University and Gold Coast Health.

Three Griffith research ventures are among the standout participants:

BioProSep – led by Dr Stefanie Buchholz, develops and manufactures bioseparation materials that enable the efficient recovery of biologics during industrial manufacture.
SAL-Check – founded by Professor Chamindie Punyadeera, is a saliva-based diagnostic test for early detection and monitoring of liver disease, offering accessible and patient-friendly screening.
SpeakClear – created by Dr Ashley Llambias, is an offline, AI-powered real-time captioning device that makes conversations accessible to everyone.

Also joining the cohort is Zendu, a new healthtech startup founded by Dr Jeremy Fernando, a junior doctor at Gold Coast Health. Zendu was born from Jeremy’s participation in the Precinct’s Clinician Entrepreneurship Change Agents Program (CECAP) and has since evolved into a scalable digital solution offering clinician-quality rehabilitation without the need for referrals or in-person consults.

Now in its fifth year, the LuminaX Accelerator is delivered by Cohort Innovation Space and supported by Major Partners Economic Development Queensland, the City of Gold Coast, and QIC, alongside Industry Partners Griffith University, Gold Coast Health, IntelliHQ, and the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct.

The diversity of this year’s cohort reflects the evolving healthtech landscape, spanning AI, medical devices, biotech and digital health solutions. As Australia’s health innovation sector grows, the GCHKP continues to play a central role in accelerating ideas from research to reality—right here on the Gold Coast.

Discover how LuminaX is powering health innovation.

Filed Under: BUSINESS, HEALTH, INVEST, People of the Precinct, PROJECTS, STUDY, TECHNOLOGY Tagged With: Cohort, Gold Coast, Incubator, Student

Student innovation incubator set to launch in 2025

Cohort, located in the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct

Student innovation incubator set to launch in 2025

The NextGen Incubator, a new three-year student entrepreneurship program, is set to launch in the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct in 2025, following the recent funding announcement by the Queensland Government.

The student incubator will support entrepreneurial pathways for students and young innovators on the Gold Coast, tailored to bridge the gap between formal education and real-world entrepreneurship.

Craig Rowsell, Director of the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct welcomed the new initiative, which will be delivered by CoSpaces in the Precinct’s Cohort space, in collaboration with Griffith University.

“This initiative will ensure that the next generation of entrepreneurs have the support they need to commercialise their ideas and create new businesses in the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct,” Craig said.

“Cohort is the perfect place for young innovators to start their business journey – the co-working space, located in the heart of the Precinct, already supports a new generation of innovators, and is a launchpad for health and technology start-ups.

“The students will have the chance to meet and learn from some of the top talent who work in the Precinct, providing them with a solid foundation to chase their entrepreneurial dreams.”

The NextGen Incubator will offer hands-on workshops, coaching, a pre-accelerator program, 1:1 mentoring, and networking opportunities with industry leaders and investors. Participants will also gain access to events such as pitch nights, hackathons, and expert panels.

CoSpaces CEO Ben Howe said the team had identified a strong need for a program of this kind on the Gold Coast.

“The incubator will not only benefit young people and students, but many other regional stakeholders including startups, academia and the ecosystem organisations,” Ben said.

“By accelerating student and youth pathways into entrepreneurship, the incubator will foster collaboration between students and industry, provide mentorship to bring innovative new products to commercialisation stage, and accelerate the regional adoption of entrepreneurship on the Gold Coast.”

The NextGen Incubator project has received $300,000 funding under the Queensland Government’s Advance Queensland’s Regional Enablers Program (REP) and will run from 2025 to 2028. Information on how to apply to be part of the program will be released in the coming months.

Filed Under: BUSINESS, INVEST, LIVE, PROJECTS Tagged With: Australia, City of Gold Coast, Economic Development Queensland, Economic outlook, economy, Gold Coast, work and study

Australia’s fastest growing economy

New buildings under development at the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct

Gold Coast, Australia's fastest growing economy

The Gold Coast is Australia’s sixth largest city and fastest growing economy. It is a hub of opportunity, transforming into a global destination and home to more than 666,000 people.

Strategically located on the edge of the Asia-Pacific rim, with access to two international airports, the Gold Coast is perfectly positioned as a destination for business, investment, study, research, sport, events, tourism and lifestyle.

With a robust economy valued at $45.38 billion, and an ambitious strategy that encourages innovation and sustainable growth, the Gold Coast’s future is full of promise.

The City of Gold Coast’s Gold Coast Economic Report 2024, released earlier this week, shows that Gold Coast is Australia’s fastest growing economy post-COVID, and is outperforming expectations.

The report shows that Gold Coast’s sustained growth is higher than other benchmark economies such as greater Perth, greater Brisbane, greater Adelaide, ACT, Australia, Queensland, greater Sydney, and greater Melbourne.

Moreover, in year ending June 2023, GRP growth, GRP per capita, growth in tertiary qualifications, and job-to-worker ratio have exceeded projections.

Gold Coast is the place to be for businesses, with the Gold Coast forecasted to experience high medium-term growth and to outperform Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. The technology sector is also expected to grow by almost 40% by 2028.

Need more reasons to do business on the Gold Coast?

Top 10 reasons to do business on the Gold Coast

1. Australia’s fastest growing economy
Post-pandemic, the Gold Coast Economy has experienced an average annual growth of 5.5%, ahead of Brisbane (4.5%) and Sydney and Melbourne (both 2.5%)

2. Fast-growing knowledge economy
The value of our knowledge sector is growing 10% faster than the Australian average.

3. Entrepreneurial culture
5,000 new knowledge economy businesses were added in FY2021-22.

4. Low unemployment
The Gold Coast is tracking about 1% below the Australian average.

5. Education options
Home to three universities and some of Queensland’s best secondary schools.

6. Transport
Serviced by two international airports—Brisbane and Gold Coast—and Queensland’s first light rail system.

7. A tourism destination
In 2023, the Gold Coast welcomed more than 12.2 million visitors, generating $7.8 billion in visitor expenditure.

8. Natural beauty
The city boasts 52km of coastline and 100,000ha of nature reserves, world heritage sites and substantial rainforest (as well as more waterways than Venice!)

9. Perfect climate
The Gold Coast averages 10 hours of sunshine a day on almost 300 days per year.

10. Great dining and arts scene
The Gold Coast has a year-round calendar of cultural events, live performances and gallery exhibitions and is home to 24 Australian Good Food Guide-hatted restaurants.