Curtin Institute for Data Science · Established 2016
Messy data, an unproven AI idea, or research that needs to become working software. Bring the problem and CIDS will help find the method, scope the work and build it with you.
Trusted by teams across research, government and industry
You have a business, operational or technical problem and need capability you do not have in-house.
You need trusted, independent expertise with research rigour behind it.
You need specialist AI, data science, HPC or research software capability for a grant or active project.
You need to validate an idea, prototype quickly and access expertise that would otherwise be out of reach.
Real examples of the work CIDS has shaped with partners
BHP + Resources Technology and Critical Minerals Trailblazer
A phased automation project validating drill patterns from aerial imagery, and drill tables, replacing hazardous manual checks with faster, higher-coverage evidence.
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Harrier Project Management · SeaGIS · In-Situ Marine Optics · Business Research and Innovation Initiative (BRII)
AFID uses computer vision to automate fish detection, identification, and length measurement from underwater video, making fisheries monitoring faster and more scalable.
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Curtin enAble Institute
A digital conversational agent using rule-based AI and the Method of Levels therapy framework to help young people explore problems, consider new perspectives, and work towards resolving difficulties.
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Curtin University · Swinburne University of Technology · Macquarie University
ADACS provides astronomy-focused training, software support, and data and computing expertise. In 2021, the Curtin node supported the SMART survey by developing a web app to help researchers rapidly inspect and rank pulsar candidates, reducing approximately 100,000 detections to around 4,500 through machine learning.
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School of Media, Creative Arts and Social Inquiry · Centre for Culture and Technology · Faculty of Humanities · Research Office at Curtin · Curtin Library · Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute
COKI uses big data and cloud computing to analyse open knowledge and research trends, helping institutions better understand open access, funding and global research.
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Curtin University
The Carpentries training equips Curtin researchers, staff and students with practical coding and data science skills through hands-on workshops in tools such as Python, R and Git.
More about this projectThe track record
180+
projects completed
Since 2016
$30M+
collaboratively acquired funding
$10.2M to CIDS in 2024
Behind the figures is a permanent team of data scientists, data engineers, research software developers and project managers working across research and applied delivery.
120+
partner organisations
In 2026
47
publications
Since 2026
25+
CIDS-led training programs
From 2026
45
industry events
In 2026
10+
research software developers
Professional in-house team
2016
established
Australia's largest university-based data science institute
How it works
The process stays simple even when the project gets complex.
Bring the problem, opportunity or idea. No specification needed.
We work through your needs, your data and the possible approaches.
We define outcomes, team, resources, timeframe and budget together.
We explore direct funding, grant pathways and in-kind contributions.
We connect the right mix of CIDS specialists, Curtin researchers and external expertise.
Research, develop, test and translate through to something usable.
Consultancies deliver. Universities research. We do both, in one team.
Data scientists, data engineers, more than ten professional research software developers and a dedicated project management office, plus access to Curtin researchers across health sciences, humanities, business and law, and science and engineering.
Whatever your problem touches, we can usually find someone who has spent a career on it.
Signals
In-house HPC, GPU and AI development infrastructure, national supercomputing access through the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre and the National Computational Infrastructure, secure data environments and commercial cloud on AWS and Azure.
Relevant computing resources can be considered during scoping and, where appropriate, offered as an in-kind contribution to your project.
Signals
Consultancies deliver and universities research. We do both in one team. That means methods you can defend under scrutiny, built by people who care whether the thing works in production, with our project management office running the full life cycle so the project is managed, not just staffed.
We also connect beyond CIDS, including close collaboration with Curtin's Centre for Optimisation and Decision Science for mathematical modelling across mining, energy, logistics, agriculture and manufacturing.
Signals
94 projects completed since 2020 with 114 partner organisations in 2024, alongside more than 60 research projects across health sciences, humanities, business and law, and science and engineering, across mining and energy, transport, manufacturing, agriculture and aquaculture, astronomy, arts and culture, government and not-for-profit.
Most of our projects started as a question rather than a specification, so a problem that resembles yours has usually been through here already.
Signals
Most partners come to CIDS with a question, not a finished plan.
We can help shape the project concept, collaboration model and technical route.
We can identify grant, industry, government and research funding pathways.
We can connect Curtin researchers, CIDS specialists and external partners.
We can provide technical input into applications, scope and deliverables.
If there is strategic and technical alignment, we can support a collaborative application.
We bring together the expertise, technology and research capability to determine the right way forward.
Curtin Institute for Data Science