In a world where threats to sovereignty are evolving quickly, silos have become the enemy of research, says the director of the University of New South Wales Defence Research Institute, retired vice-admiral Paul Maddison.

He was commenting on the work of the NSW Defence Innovation Network (NSW DIN), now in its third year and one of the four – soon to be five – state-based defence technology networks that unite universities as they mesh with the defence sector and industry suppliers. NSW DIN encompasses seven universities.