Silicon Coast

An app aimed at helping motorists find a suitable car park and then remind them when they may need to move their car has won first prize in Sunshine Coast Hackfest 2015. Designed by local duo Sean Bannister, of Birtinya, and 15-year-old Jordan Josic from Caloundra, the parking app was selected as the best “hack” to come out of the inaugural three-day event that attracted some of the Sunshine Coast’s (Queensland, Australia) brightest minds and “outside the box” thinkers. “Sunshine Coast Parking will use sensors installed in car parks across the Coast, or other information, to help to turn our car…

The Department of Science, Information Technology and Innovation invites Sunshine Coast reididents to be part of the Advance Queensland Community Digital Champions Program by identifying and recognising outstanding individuals in the community. The digital world is an integral part of Queensland’s economy, one that needs to be embraced in order to create jobs of the future, attract investment, build prosperity and improve our lives and lifestyles. Congratulations to the Sunshine Coast's Mic Black, one of Queensland's 10 inaugural Community Digital Champions  The program, developed in collaboration with community, business/industry and government, aims to encourage Queenslanders to explore and enjoy the benefits of…

Parents and educators are being encouraged to have their say on the future of coding and robotics education in Queensland schools. “We know that 50 per cent of future jobs will require high level digital skills and that’s why digital literacy – including coding and robotics – is a major focus of our Advancing Education plan,” Minister for Science and Innovation Leanne Enoch said. “We want Queensland students to have a competitive advantage when they compete for the jobs of tomorrow. “Increasingly, coding jobs will be required in all sectors of society including agriculture, health care, engineering, mining, law enforcement, education…

The Advance Queensland Innovation and Investment Summit in April 2016 will put a global spotlight on Queensland innovation. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the summit was needed to help make new local, national and international connections, which the government recognised as increasingly important in this time of rapid change. “We have the impacts of globalisation, digitisation and new technologies reshaping economies around the world. We need to collectively position Queensland to prosper in this era of rapid global change,” she said. Minister for Science and Innovation Leeanne Enoch said the summit would give Queensland companies, start-ups, researchers and investors a unique opportunity to come…

The Advance Queensland navigator is an online engagement tool that offers Queensland entrepreneurs, start-up businesses and investors a platform for submitting and sharing their ideas, innovations, products and services. This is an opportunity for anyone with an original product, idea or business that contributes to Queensland to be a part of a dynamic and exciting network of innovators. Being a part of the Advance Queensland initiative and being featured on the navigator offers stakeholders the opportunity to be a part of a bigger network of successful Queensland innovators and entrepreneurs. Those who submitting their innovations or idea have an opportunity…

Any community can work on becoming smarter now, says Dr Lutz Heuser, Chief Technology Officer at the Urban Software Institute and keynote speaker at the Australian Smart Communities Summit in March 2016. “The digital transformation of our society should not stop when it comes to community and management infrastructure. Governments and businesses must start thinking now about moving into digital relationships to grow economic prosperity in their communities,” he said. Dr Heuser’s message is not about investing more money, but investing smarter. “People already engage in digital transactions. They use their smart gadgets throughout the day to shop online, check the…

Australians love their public Wi-Fi Hotspots. At 30 June 2015, an average of almost 4.23 million Aussies went online using a public Wi-Fi hotspot. To help you stay informed when using these services, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has published an informative Guide to public Wi-Fi hotspots in Australia. Key topics include: What is a public Wi-Fi hotspot? How do I find a public Wi-Fi hotspot? How do I connect to a public Wi-Fi hotspot? Is a public Wi-Fi hotspot secure? What can I do at a public Wi-Fi hotspot? What are the major types of public Wi-Fi hotspots in Australia?…

If you enjoy coding, creating solutions, being innovative and are interested in creating solutions from open data and taking them all the way to a commercial outcome, then the Sunshine Coast Hackfest is for you.  Add to the Sunshine Coast Smart City theme by creating smart applications for business and the community. Working in teams or individually, Hackfest 2015 is for people with a mixture of skills including entrepreneurs, developers, designers, digital media creators, artists, story tellers, researchers and open data enthusiasts. This is an opportunity to hack and create an outcome over an entire weekend on 20-22 November. Ideas for Hackfest 2015 Do you have…

nbn has announced its three-year construction plan, outlining where construction will have begun across the Sunshine Coast by September 2018. Access to fast broadband is designed to provide a range of benefits for homes and businesses such as improved opportunities to work from home, better access to online education tools and more options for on-demand entertainment. Areas where construction scheduled to start before end-September 2018 Estimated number of premises Expected Technology Estimated time to start construction Alexandra Headland, Birtinya, Bokarina, Buddina, Currimundi, Meridan Plains, Minyama, Mooloolaba, Mountain Creek, Parrearra, Warana, Wurtulla 24000 Fibre to the Node (FTTN) Nov-2015 Buderim, Forest Glen, Kuluin,…

nbn has successfully launched its first broadband satellite into orbit after it blasted 36,000kms into space from Guiana Space Centre in South America on 1 October. Sky Muster is one of the world’s most-advanced communication satellites and will play a critical role in providing fast broadband access to around 400,000 Australian homes and businesses. Over the coming months the satellite will undergo final technical testing ahead of its commercial launch scheduled for mid-2016. Once available, the service is expected to provide wholesale speeds significantly faster than those currently used now. nbn CEO Bill Morrow said the satellite would provide access to fast broadband for…