Australia’s Economic Accelerator - Ignite - Research support

Key dates

AEA Ignite Round 3

Information Session with AEA Priority Manager Peter Milic: 13 January 10am - 11am: https://uqz.zoom.us/j/81602339012
Proposals open in RMS: 21 January 2026
UQ Information Session: 22 January 2026 10am - 11am https://uqz.zoom.us/j/89442878079
Notice of Intent due to UQ Research Office: 27 January 2026
Applications due to UQ Research Office: 11 February 2026
Applications close: 5pm AEDT 4 March 2026

Overview

Australia’s Economic Accelerator (AEA) will promote research translation and commercialisation capacity through the establishment of a new funding program to invest in priority-driven objectives aligned with the National Reconstruction Fund. The AEA is part of the Australian Government’s University Research Commercialisation Action Plan and will initially run over ten years from 2023 to 2032.

The AEA is designed to build a pipeline from discovery research through to commercialisation, ensuring Australia reaps the benefits of investment in research within the university sector.

About the AEA Ignite grant opportunity

Ignite supports early-stage--TRL 3 to 5--research commercialisation through competitive grants of up to $500,000, for between three and 12 months, for universities to complete laboratory testing to establish “Proof-of-Concept”. This is the point at which basic research is complete, and testing has verified the concept, process, or prototype, at the laboratory scale.

Please note that any AEA Seed funding previously awarded to projects will count towards the total $500,000 project cap on AEA Ignite grants.

UQ Information Session

The UQ RO held an Information session for all prospective AEA applicants will be announced. The slides and a recording of the previous session are available on our Presentations and slides page.

How to apply

Internal notice of intent process

Researchers intending to submit an application are required to submit a mandatory internal UQ Notice of Intent (NOI). NOIs will be collated centrally and distributed to Faculties and Institutes to provide maximum support to the UQ research community.

Step 1. RMS updates and scheme reading

Important: AEA Ignite does not use standard RMS. You and your collaborators will need an account set up in the Department of Education RMS portal.
Update your full profile in RMS ‘Person Profile’. If any team members are new to RMS and need a login/password, start early.
Familiarise yourself with the key Department of Education and UQ documentation.

Step 2. Completing the application

Complete the application in the Department of Education RMS portal. Please note that this is a separate RMS portal from the Australian Research Council RMS.

Step 3. UQ R&I internal review and feedback

Ahead of internal review, ensure all online components are complete and valid, generate a whole Application PDF for your records and select 'Submit to Research Office' in RMS-Education to submit the application.
To initiate review, email your completed Application Certification Form to UQ R&I at grants@research.uq.edu.au
Internal review by UQ R&I/feedback provided

Step 4. Final submission

Final submission by UQ R&I to the Department of Education.

Readership and researcher support

Before applying, we recommend you:

Familiarise yourself with the framework for Applying for Competitive Research Grants at UQ.
Contact your faculty or institute research manager for advice on peer readership programs.
Subscribe to the UQ R&I Mailer to stay up to date with round developments.
Access the UQ R&I Grants Library, a helpful resource of past successful proposals.
Read the UQ R&I Grant writing advice and strategy website for tips on preparing your application

Key Documents

Department of Education

Scheme Guidelines, Templates and Frequently Asked Questions are available from the Department of Education website .

Australia’s Economic Accelerator - Ignite