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Strengthen the connections between the Alice Springs and Darwin innovation ecosystems

Measure

Establishment of an initiative to strengthen innovation links between Darwin and Alice Springs.

Implemented

Summary

In October 2018, the Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade employed a project officer, based full-time in Alice Springs, to support and champion innovation in Central Australia. Since then the Alice Springs is aligning more thoroughly with Darwin and the Territory innovation ecosystem through collaboration and regular dual-purpose programs which provide benefits into the regions outside of the urban centre Darwin, examples include:

Outcomes

Innovation Passport - Central Australia

Based on the success of Darwin's Innovation Playground event, an opportunity exists to expand the concept into Alice Springs. Using the branding and connections from the initial family friendly science and technology festival held on 26 June 2021, a concept for Alice Springs was considered. Due to regional and logistical challenges a ‘pop-up’ version of the Playground has been employed to test the market.

The Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade are seeking expressions of interest for activity providers to help deliver a new innovation and STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) focussed school holiday program for Alice Springs. Aimed at primary school aged youth, the Innovation Passport will be a December and January school holiday program comprising a series of innovation, entrepreneurial and STEM related activities delivered in various locations across Alice Springs.

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Robocup

In September 2021 two half day workshops were held in Alice Springs to train participants on how to build, program and encourage educational opportunities with robots, as part of RoboCup Junior. RoboCup Junior is a national project-oriented educational initiative that supports local, regional and international robotic events for young students.

These workshops were a collaboration between the Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade, RoboCup Junior Australia, Inspired NT, Charles Darwin University and the Alice Springs Public Library, participants included teachers, library staff and robotics enthusiasts.

Planning is currently underway for a tournament to take place in Alice Springs with a subsequent aim to expand to Darwin and regional communities thereby further strengthening the intra-Territory ecosystem.

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Darwin Innovation Hub and Desert Knowledge Australia Collaboration

Following the creation and growth of the Darwin Innovation Hub (DIH) in 2017, the first steps to strengthen connections between Darwin and Alice Springs was a collaboration between the DIH and Desert Knowledge Australia (DKA) based in Alice Springs and supported by the Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade. The goal of which is to provide a second welcoming environment that encourages learning, knowledge sharing and collaboration for entrepreneurs and innovators.

Experts in the areas of digital innovation, skills and capacity building, business and regional development were invited to a workshop in May 2019 to map the next steps in developing an incubator. A diverse range of the organisations were represented at the workshop including CSIRO, Central Land Council, Indigenous Community Volunteers, Uber Air, AusIndustry, iAccelerate, Charles Darwin University, Department of Trade, Business and Innovation, DKA's Precinct partners Batchelor Institute for Indigenous Tertiary Education and the Centre for Appropriate Technology.

The department along with the DIH and DKA are using the insights generated by the workshop combined with the department's successful Darwin based initiatives and partnerships to develop models for the incubator.

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Last updated on 21 April 2022
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