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Friday, 3 November 2017

Fine-tuned negotiation skills and a creative mind are important attributes for research consultants who manage complex contracts with industry partners. It can at times be perplexing as the two parties navigate the commercial minefield.

To assist this process the Office of Research Enterprise now provides a consultancy and expert opinion service through Research Partnerships Adviser, Alex Attwood.

If you want to partner with industry, this is the man you need to speak to. He will provide expert advice to create a seamless process so both parties achieve a win-win arrangement.

Prior to joining UWA in July, Alex worked with Australia’s leading provider of expert opinion services, UniSearch (UNSW), from the UWA campus for over three years.

An accountant by profession and UWA graduate, Alex is ready to assist staff with industry engagement by managing the commercial process for consultancy projects.

“I fully understand the difficulties that researchers and academics face when working with industry.  My role is to ensure they receive assistance with scoping the work, costing and writing proposals and that the engagement is correctly documented and managed properly.

“I invite UWA researchers to contact me to help them work through their consultancy needs, and generally I will guide them through the consultancy, from start to finish.

“Our UWA researchers have expertise in law, medicine, sciences, biological sciences, agriculture, sciences, maths and engineering. All this, combined with our unique facilities, are a valuable resource for our research partners.

“Currently I’m assisting 12 projects navigate the commercial process, but we have the potential to do more to increase our outreach, relevance to industry, and remain highly competitive in the consultancy business,” Alex said.

He originally hails from the United Kingdom and migrated to Australia when he was 13 years old with his construction worker father, mother and two siblings. He grew up during the era when the Beatles were at the height of their popularity.  His love for their music remains today, as does his passion for cruising and all things in sport, especially golf, which brings out his competitive nature.

Send Alex an email to discuss your research consultancy needs further, contact him at [email protected] or call him on extn 4713.

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