Sponsorship - Lab61

What does a partnership look like?

Lab61 has many opportunities for your organisation to gain value from the partnership, some of which are listed below.

An important component of the partnership is the development of a strong relationship between the students, lab61 staff, and the partners and communities who support the programs.

While several packages are available, our partnerships are most successful when tailored to accommodate the interests of our partners rather than applying a fixed approach.

Opportunities & Benefits

Staff Engagement

Tour and site visit of Robotic Skills Training Centre
Invitation to attend local robotics academy activities including closing ceremony, training programs and award events
Mentoring and volunteering opportunities in Lab61 Programs for your staff, where appropriate

Opportunities to network with other Lab61 partners and supporters, including Government level
Invitations to attend our major Lab61 events throughout the year (graduation, gala ball)

Employment Pathways

Access to our pool of students and graduates who may be potential employees for your business
Opportunities for representatives from your organisation to visit and address the students about employment pathways
Opportunities for Lab61 students to visit your various worksites and operations where relevant
Opportunities to offer work experience and school-based traineeships in their final two years of schooling within your organisation, where appropriate

Platinum Partners

* Exclusive benefits for our founding Platinum Partners

Option to be part of Governance of Lab61 through membership of the Advisory Board
Program naming rights
Lab61 youth ambassadors to attend meetings / events within your organisation
Keynote speaker opportunities at our graduation ceremony and gala ball

Marketing

Branding, marketing and collateral
Website – acknowledgement of Partnership
Social media exposure and enhanced engagement
Promotional video
Opportunity for your organisation to use the Lab61 logo and brand to promote the partnership
Access to images of our students which you might like to use in publications and marketing materials
Your organisation to be listed as an official partner in the lab61 training room

Educational Partners

Educational partners may provide a combination of financial and in-kind support, such as feedback on programs, provision of underrepresented students for participation in programs, provision of mentors and provision of facilities. Additional benefits for our educational partnerships may include:

Guaranteed places for their students on the year 5/6 and years 7-9 robotics academies run in the school holidays
Guaranteed place/s for their students on the work experience program
Bespoke 4-day Robotics Academies run during term time and exclusively for your students
School incursions (Robotics demonstration)
Use of Lab61 Logo and marketing messages in enrollment advertising
Option to be part of the governance of Lab61 through the advisory board

The Future

The Beginning

Since operating its first robotics academy pilot in 2020, Lab61 has established initial seed funding from our Founding Partner NERA and our program sponsor Fugro, which will enable us to further mature the robotics, engineering and technology training modules across the full ecosystem of programs (year 5 to post industry upskilling), and launch programs at a local scale.

With the ongoing support from government and our partners, Lab61’s long term objective is to engage 725 students annually through our four community engagement programs and three skilling & upskilling programs, with 3-5% of these attendees indigenous and 30-50% female. We aim to have 50-75% of students who go through the industry placement program securing employment with a partner company.

Our operational model is scalable:

Our Lab61 programs operate under the same philosophy and with the same approach, planning, staffing, structure and management. New academies can be established in other areas following the same model. Our long-term growth goal is to offer the lab61 programs to regional centres with high indigenous populations such as the Pilbara, expand nationally, and then adapt our reach to defence and space.

Lab61 is therefore seeking to form partnerships with government, private and educational organisations that, like us, have a direct long-term interest in influencing, educating and inspiring the next generation in the growing fields of robotics, engineering and technology through industry-led programs, hands-on experience, and equal opportunity.

What contribution can your organization make?

The development and delivery of the seven programs on offer have so far been financially supported by Nexxis. Recently, some seed funding has been received from NERA and Fugro.

As well as financial support, our partners may also help provide employment pathways, advocacy, mentoring and input to our programs to ensure they are tailored to the needs of the rapidly evolving robotics, engineering and technology sectors.

While several options for partnership packages are available, including founding partner, yearly program partner, educational partner and program sponsor, our partnerships are most successful when tailored to accommodate the interests of our partners rather than applying a fixed approach to the level of involvement. Our preference is to form partnerships for a period of three to five years which enables us to plan for growth accordingly. The operating revenue provided by our partners is an important source of funds, but our partners also:

Allow us to maintain a high degree of flexibility in program design and delivery
Help us to retain independence and position for growth
Serve as a source of influence, advocacy and advice, and
Help provide jobs for our graduates
As well as financial contribution, in-kind contributions are important to delivering on our vision. Some of our educational partners may be in a strong position to provide this support, including:

Providing feedback on our pilot programs
Providing lab61 advocacy in forums such as roadshows, networking events, podcasts news outlets or their own social media
Offering support for module development for the robotics academy and work experience programs (primary/secondary), and/or VET & micro credentials courses (tertiary)
Provision of underrepresented groups for participation in our programs (for example, female and indigenous)
Support for program implementation (for example, provision of mentors by universities for our industry placement program)
Provision of facilities to enhance learning experience (for example, use of on-campus robotics laboratory)
Lab61 is therefore seeking to form partnerships with government, private and educational organisations that, like us, have a direct long-term interest in influencing, educating and inspiring the next generation in the growing fields of robotics, engineering and technology through industry-led programs, hands-on experience, and equal opportunity.

Indigenous Communities

Lab61 are committed to providing opportunities for indigenous Australians to engage in and have access to STEM education and training.

Impact on Communities

Growing education and training locally is key to ensuring a future workforce for robotics in Australia. Our goal at Lab61 is to foster a community of future engineers that are passionate and supported throughout their journey through both education and industry.

The Groundbreakers

Our founding supporters and partners are dedicated to working with us to create the next generation of robotics and technology innovators in Australia.