Stephen Blakeney is the National Innovations Manager for the Medical Device Partnering Program, co-lead for Research Translation at the Medical Device Research Institute, a Guest Lecturer and mentor for the Innovation in Medical Device course at Flinders University, his role is co-funded by the Australian National Fabrication Facility, and he is a member of the Bridgetech steering committee. Stephen started his career as a mechanical engineer developing a system to help deliver electrodes to the brain for Deep Brain Stimulation to treat Parkinsons and he has since gone on to work on a wide variety of devices including a liver retractor for laparoscopic surgery, ophthalmic equipment, post-stroke rehabilitation equipment and more. Stephen moved into commercially-focused roles around 6 years ago, including working for the Health and Medical team at the Department for Trade and Investment where he led a delegation of health and life sciences companies on a trade mission to China and helped to support inbound investment of companies into Adelaide. In his current role he supports medical device companies around Australia, speaking to at least 50-100 medtech start-ups per year and providing advice and guidance on how to commercialise their medical devices.