TECHNOLOGY - 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, TECHNOLOGY Tagged With: CECAP, Clinician entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship

Clinician Entrepreneurship Program wraps as a big success

The Clinician Entrepreneurship Change Agents Program (CECAP) has wrapped with a strong story of success!

From high demand leading to extra cohorts for the clinician workshop series, to novel ideas implemented and expanded across Queensland Health, CECAP has demonstrated the appetite for innovation amongst diverse clinical professionals and the power of entrepreneurial education to inspire them with confidence to be change agents in our healthcare system and aspiring healthtech entrepreneurs.

Developed within the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct, and led by Griffith University in partnership with Gold Coast Health, CECAP was supported by the Queensland Government through an Advance Queensland Regional Futures Grant. Initially planned to offer three workshop programs, demand saw five programs delivered, including the final one which was taken to Townsville.

Outcomes included Senior Occupational Therapist Hannah Kennedy from Gold Coast Health securing a $330,000 grant from the Queensland Technology Futures Fund to take her Virtual Reality (VR) for Pain Management program across six health and hospital services throughout Queensland. Hannah has recently been announced as Gold Coast Health’s Emerging Researcher of the year.

Dr Jeremy Fernando, a junior doctor at Gold Coast Health, pivoted from his original CECAP idea to establish a new health tech startup, Zendu, which provides purely digital, clinician-quality physical rehabilitation at a fraction of the current cost, without requiring referrals or clinician availability. He’s now been accepted into the Precinct’s signature LuminaX Healthtech Accelerator for 2025.

BIG thanks goes to Professor Naomi Birdthistle of Griffith University for her leadership of such a successful initiative.

Check out our wrap video and gallery below.

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.