Celebrating a decade of dairy innovation

Established in 2014, the ARC Dairy Hub was funded through the Australian Research Council (ARC) Industrial Transformation Research Program (ITRP), that supports university researchers to partner with industry in priority areas for Australia. Led by the University of Melbourne and in collaboration with the University of Queensland, the ARC Dairy Hub partnered with Dairy Innovation Australia Limited members to address challenges faced by Australian dairy manufacturers. Working with $8.1m in cash and $5.3m in-kind support, the collaborators developed new knowledge and tools.  Together with industry, they also evaluated the industrial application and the commercial potential of these advances to support future growth of the industry.

This kind of long-term research application eventually led to the ARC Dairy Hub transforming into what was colloquially known as Hub 2.0 - the Dairy Innovation Hub. Building on this new, national research and innovation, the Hub led by the University of Melbourne attracted further industry investment through Dairy Innovation Australia Ltd to further progress and apply innovative capability in select research areas identified by the industry as key priority areas. This approach, which involved precompetitive projects, competitive application of findings to member companies and a small number of competitive projects, ensured a coordinated approach to research and industrial translation to maximise benefits from the research for the Australian dairy manufacturers, both for the benefit of individual member companies and the sector as a whole.

Hub members included Bega Cheese, Saputo Dairy Australia and Dairy Australia, who were part of an Industry Advisory Committee (IAC) and chaired by FIAL (Food Innovation Australia Limited) funded at the time by the Commonwealth Government under the Industry Growth Centre Initiative.  There was also significant outreach with non-member companies through the Dairy Australia Manufacturing Workforce Webinar Series and the Dairy Manufacturers Sustainability Council, to ensure that research was applicable across the sector.  Engagement meetings, site visits and case studies also aligned the research with industry priorities.

The first ARC Dairy Innovation Hub produced a significant research output with over 90 publications, 34 global collaborators and worked with 22 external companies. This provided the needed foundation for the Hub 2.0 to identify the practical applications and apply these learnings in key areas of interest to the industry. Developing into 4 further research themes and 26 projects with 13 pilot scale trials, the opportunity to identify the research potential and the subsequent industry application demonstrate the value in long-term applied research projects.

One of the standout achievements includes the development of new methods for freezing and thawing dairy products, reducing waste and improving product quality. This practical research, carried out across Victorian and Tasmanian regional sites, has resulted in significant cost reductions and increased sustainability. The Hub’s work with factory-scale samples, sometimes up to 1,000,000 times larger than those traditionally studied in academia, emphasises the practical, real-world impact of their research.

As a supportive network for researchers and industry partners, the Hub has fostered the careers of staff at various levels. Dr Lydia Ong and Dr George Chen both joined the Hub as postdoctoral fellows and have progressed through the program, working alongside researchers and industry networks. They also became key members of the team,  translating research projects into applicable upgrades for the industry.

The opportunity to establish industry partnerships and develop research over the length of a decade highlights how blue-sky thinking can build and apply key skills that have a demonstrable economic impact. The potential and proven increase in sustainability, improved productivity and the return on investment shows the value of academic and industry connections.