Macquarie Park is now Sydney’s second largest business district, when measured by economic activity.

It is home to more than 70,000 employees, an expanding community of residents and an emerging network of start-ups, scale ups and innovators. And it’s not stopping there. Designated as a priority precinct by the NSW Government in 2020, the next 20 years will see more than 20,000 jobs created and more than 7500 new homes built.

Macquarie Park Innovation District (MPID) was formed in 2016 as a way to connect and capitalise on opportunities, with the City of Ryde and some of the Park’s biggest names involved such as Optus, Abbott, Konica Minolta, Cochlear, NAB, AMP Capital, Fujitsu, Orix, Johnson & Johnson, and of course, Macquarie University (among many others).

Now five years on, MPID continues its transformative journey and has joined with Connect Macquarie Park to form Connect MPID. Connect Macquarie Park is a non-profit organisation established in 2013 to drive better services and act as an advocate for its members, primarily around transport and congestion issues. Both organisations recognised the potential in the Park to drive sustainable and inclusive economic growth through collaboration and innovation.

MPID has already come so far in just five short years – it was instrumental in establishing the Macquarie University Incubator as well as the first Venture Café in Australia and holding number of student and industry focussed events like hackathons. This work helped secured Macquarie Park as one of four priority innovation districts identified by the NSW Government, as well as increasing partnerships between the University and surrounding industry partners. By combining forces, Connect MPID will be in a position to work collaboratively with businesses, Government and other stakeholders to achieve its future objectives as an independent sustainable organisation.

“Macquarie Park’s future is as an Innovation District,” says Paul Hogan, Executive Director of Corporate Engagement, who is leading Macquarie University’s efforts to establish Connect MPID.

“With so much investment in new facilities in the Park, we want to see a transition from a traditional business park to a networked, vibrant innovation ecosystem where people and ideas find their way out of the big buildings and into the parks, cafes and street. This transformation means attracting research-intensive companies, building new spaces for start-ups and scale-ups as well as more amenities for people; open spaces, places to connect, and a better night-time economy.”

The Connect MPID collaboration will also bring synergistic partnerships to drive better services to businesses in the Park. Paul Hogan and the Connect MPID team have been working with Mark Ames – originally the General Manager of Connect Macquarie Park – who will be leading the newly merged organisation. Macquarie University’s Director of Property, Mark Broomfield will also be a board member leading the direction of the new group.

For staff who would like to find out more about this thrilling new chapter, the website for Connect MPID has lots of exciting information, and outlines how it will deliver services and support across the Park in the future: www.connectmpid.com.au

To discuss any specific opportunities or ideas for partnerships and collaborations, contact Paul Hogan: paul.hogan@mq.edu.au.