VMH’s Open Day at ACMD showcased how practical training can help connect research, industry and the future medtech workforce.
Bringing a medical device to patients takes more than a promising idea. It requires people who understand how to manufacture it consistently, work within quality systems and operate in controlled environments.
That practical side of innovation was the focus of the Victorian Medtech Skills and Devices Hub’s (VMH) Open Day at ACMD on 14 October, marking the launch of its Medtech FabHub training facility.
Formal proceedings included remarks from Melbourne Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece and Connie Crisafi, Executive Director, Innovation and Medical Research at the Victorian Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions. VMH Co-Director Professor Andrea O’Connor led the event, with Professor Mark Cassidy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the University of Melbourne, also delivering remarks.
An education partner based at ACMD, VMH brings together the University of Melbourne, RMIT University and Swinburne University of Technology to develop education and training shaped by medtech industry needs.
The FabHub adds a dedicated environment for hands-on training in good manufacturing practices and cleanroom best practice, specific to medical device assembly. With its fitout complete, the facility has already begun training University of Melbourne and RMIT students.
For manufacturers, the value of this kind of training is practical: opportunities to prepare new recruits, build the capabilities of existing staff and connect with emerging talent. For universities and TAFEs, it provides a setting where students can put learning into practice and become familiar with the expectations of medical device manufacturing.
The Open Day also showcased VMH’s broader education offering, including its Medtech Academy and internship matching service, alongside glaucoma technology startup VividWhite.
Locating this capability at ACMD puts workforce development alongside the clinicians, researchers, engineers and companies working to turn unmet health needs into new technologies. It creates opportunities for education to be informed by the challenges facing innovators, and for industry to help shape the skills it needs.
Established with $5.75 million in Victorian Government support, VMH combines university expertise with industry experience to address identified workforce skills gaps.
For ACMD, the FabHub strengthens an essential part of the translation pathway: developing the people who can help take medical technologies from research into production, and ultimately into healthcare.
Congratulations to Alex White, Anita Petris, Alex Harris and the VMH team for an outstanding event.
