Partner news: How CERI supports your tech journey

INCITE Awards partner CERI has welcomed a new cohort of WA tech innovators into its Concept to Creation (C2C) program - with registrations for 2027 now open!

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Shanelle Tennekoon, developer and founder of SmartWheel, received a Merit in Research & Development Solution of the Year at the 35th INCITE Awards from CERI's Min Sheen Tan. Photo: Cohesion/WAITTA

This 11-week program run by the Centre for Entrepreneurial Research & Innovation (CERI) helps participants turn an idea, research project or technology into a real venture.

The partnership between CERI and the INCITE Awards is built on a shared purpose - providing pathways for further developing WA technology innovation talent.

That connection shows up in the latest C2C cohort. Two finalists from the 35^th INCITE Awards, Merit recipient Shanelle Tennekoon of SmartWheel and Lead Judges' Choice Award winner Pattricia Ruth Das of AI Safety Guard, are taking the next step from recognition to commercialisation via C2C.

Programs Executive Min Sheen Tan, who presented the 2026 INCITE Awards' Research & Development Solution of the Year on behalf of CERI, leads the program. INCITE alum NoisyGuts' Dr Josephine Muir is a featured speaker in the program.

Over the first phase of the program, participants focus on the practical foundations of building a start-up. Participants learn from experienced founders and industry experts as they pitch their work in three minutes, form a team, and get to grips with the essentials of managing people. They also explore how to protect intellectual property and build a brand.

Later sessions cover customer discovery, value propositions, business models, financial fundamentals, negotiation and commercialisation. The program ends with a pitch.

"Participants also join CERI's wider community of founders, mentors and experts. Those connections last well beyond the final session," Min explained of C2C. 

Thanks to the Malka Foundation, an independent judging panel will award $5,000 grants to the three strongest pitches. That gives each founder early-stage funding without giving up equity.

Participants from one of CERI's latest bootcamps. Photo: CERI

Programs like Concept to Creation give local innovators the skills and networks to build something here. They also give our state's innovation community another avenue to keep growing.

If you have research, technology or an idea with commercial potential, CERI's 2027 programs could be your starting point. Sign up for CERI's 2027 programs on CERI's website.