Because good ideas grow best in good company.
Innovation doesn’t start with technology. It starts with humans.
Practical support and real conversations with people who know your name and care about your business.
Here at the UNE SRI, we work with and support early-stage businesses, and businesses that want to grow. That support includes mentors and coaching, events, and programs like the SRI Mini MBA and CSIRO ON Prime. We help you connect with our community and find the right people with the right knowledge to help you get to where you want to be.
SRI is run by a small team of humans who know your name, listen to your story, and care about whether your idea becomes something real and useful.
And because we live and work in the New England North West, we see first-hand what regional businesses are navigating: the opportunities, the constraints and the realities of building outside a capital city. We make time for real conversations over coffee, create connections that actually make sense, and design programs around what our community tells us they need.
Ready for the next step?
If you’ve got the first spark of an idea or you’re ready to scale your business, here at the SRI, we can help you with programs, events, mentoring, and a community that makes growth feel possible.
Whether you're just starting or looking for the support to grow, we're here to guide you every step of the way. Apply here to become a SRI member.
Our team
Cameron Turner
Director
Cam is our big-picture thinker (quite literally – he’s more than likely the tallest in the room too!), opportunity spotter and enthusiastic champion of good ideas. After swapping Brisbane's humidity for Armidale's cooler climate, he's brought more than three decades of experience in innovation, entrepreneurship, research translation and business growth to the region.
Whether he's working with researchers, founders, businesses or community leaders, Cam is at his best helping people uncover opportunities, challenge assumptions and turn ideas into real-world impact. He's passionate about translating clever research and practical know-how into solutions that create genuine value for communities and industries, ultimately helping our region to thrive.
Richard Monk
Regional Connector, Armidale
Richard is our Regional Connector in Armidale, driven by a lifelong passion for storytelling, creative collaboration, and community growth. With decades of experience across media, health, science communications, and training, he knows how to bring people together. If we had to name just one of Richard’s superpowers, it would be his talent for cutting through the clutter, forging genuine connections, and helping local ideas move from concept to reality.
Jess Bradbery
Regional Connector, Tamworth
Jess is our Regional Connector in Tamworth, the first call for founders who want to talk through an idea, find clarity, or spark new connections. She uses her marketing and storytelling background to shape events, conversations and connections that turn loose ideas into something SRI members can act on with confidence.
Lisa Goldzieher
Operations and Community Manager
Keryn Hutton
SRI Community Administrator
Keryn is a professional with a strong background in agricultural sector and livestock genetics. Holding a Bachelor of Science (BSc), Keryn has contributed to research and technical development within UNE and CSIRO ecosystem, including work associated with the Animal Genetics and Breeding at the Agricultural Business Research Institute (ABRI). Keryn is deeply connected across our community and is keen to help you and your business thrive.
Entrepreneurs in Residence
Entrepreneurs in Residence provide tailored support for founders who are moving beyond the early idea stage and into growth. With expertise in strategy, scaling and funding, they offer focused, one-on-one guidance to help you navigate what comes next.
Sam Duncan
Founder & CEO GeXLab
Sam first stepped into the SRI as a founder and has stuck around as someone who naturally helps others do their best thinking. With roots in ag-tech and a mind that moves easily across industries, Sam helps people shape ideas that actually work in the real world.
Edwina Sharrock, OAM
ex Birth Beat founder and CEO, Non-Executive Director and Investor
Edwina is a founder-turned-mentor who built, scaled and sold her health startup from Tamworth. With a heart-led, whole-person approach to business, she supports founders to grow with confidence, drawing on her experience in health innovation and her ability to translate big ideas across industries.
Armidale
Tamworth
Moree
Narrabri
We work across Armidale, Tamworth, Moree and Narrabri to support founders throughout the New England North West. With dedicated staff in Armidale and Tamworth, and partnerships with local coworking spaces in Moree and Narrabri, we deliver events, programs and opportunities that bring regional innovators together.
What we offer
Leverage Program
LEVERAGE is a 12-month program for entrepreneurs to grow their business. It simplifies strategy, creates engaged teams, improves execution, and increases cash flow through experiential learning. Learn more.
HATCH
HATCH provides you with confidence and support to get your business up and running. Using Lean Canvas principles, you’ll test your ideas and identify your path-to-market, and articulate the must-do steps along the way. Learn more.
Experts in Residence
One-on-one monthly access to a team of experts who have deep domain knowledge in areas critical to startup growth. Tap into the best know-how around how to commercialise your product or service, build your tech, access global markets, lift your customer engagement, bust problems and seek investment. Learn More.
Research + innovation
MAKING AN IMPACT GLOBALLY
The University of New England operates at the intersection of learning, research and innovation with an international reputation for fostering partnerships that facilitates positive change. At UNE SRI, we link the world-class research and expertise at UNE with our founders across the New England North West. It’s what sets us apart. Excited about the possibilities? Get in touch.
Connected to UNE. Open to everyone.
The SRI is the University of New England’s start-up incubator, but our work extends far beyond campus. Our programs and community are open to anyone in the region with an idea or a growing business, while still offering founders access to UNE’s research expertise and networks when they need it.
For UNE students and researchers, we provide structured pathways to explore the commercial potential of their work. We also collaborate with UNE throughout the year on events and initiatives that showcase emerging research, regional innovation and alumni who return to share their expertise