When Senator Helen Polley was invited to visit the HITLab at the University of Tasmania, she was not prepared for what she found. The laboratory is headed up by Dr Aaron Quigley who has moved to Tasmania from Ireland to take up the position. The HITLab is a newly formed teaching and research facility within the School of Computing and Information Systems at the University of Tasmania. The mission of the HITLab Australia is to build advanced human-computer interface technology that unlocks the power of human intelligence.   The laboratory also has a commercial arm, which is managed from Queensland.

The Senator was completely blown away with the work demonstrated to her by some of the students in the laboratory. “The fantastic research and teaching that is being done at this facility is to be commended and I feel very privileged to have been invited to witness the work first hand.     If Tasmania is intending to enhance or extend its ideal as “The Intelligent Island” then we need to support and promote the work that this facility is producing.”

The research and teaching that is being undertaken at the Lab will assist with educational and health outcomes for the State. The HITLab offers students an opportunity to stay in the State to complete their studies. The research tasks that they are undertaking will also flow into our health system. Students are already collaborating with the School of Nursing to create practical outcomes from their studies. The aim of Dr Quigley is to retain his students in the State so that they can commercialise their ideas and continue to work from Tasmania.