George Feast

George is the CSIRO SME Collaboration Nation Lead and is based in Melbourne, Australia.

SME Collaboration Nation aims to double the number of SMEs (small-medium sized enterprises) that engage with publicly-funded research by 2025 by increasing facilitation and reducing the barriers for SME entry into CSIRO and universities.

George's role involves engaging with Government, university and industry stakeholders to create national-scale leadership and systems to increase SME engagement and drive the Australian economy forward through innovation. George also provides leadership to the CSIRO Kick-Start program which helps start-ups access dollar-matched funding to undertake a project with CSIRO.

George has been at CSIRO for 10 years starting in the Manufacturing division of CSIRO, having completed his DPhil (PhD) in Organic Chemistry at the University of Oxford.