Sunshine Coast Council is proud to partner with Telstra to deliver the Sunshine Coast Telstra Innovation Awards. Students in Years 9 to 12 at high schools within the local government area are able to apply.
The competition helps bring creative ideas to life. It connects students with mentors to develop skills relevant to industry and critical thinking.
The Awards focus on ideas that:
- use innovation principles
- are creative uses of technology
- are easily expanded or upgraded
This could be a new app, design and engineering project, gaming technology or robotics. It could be a smarter phone, watch or digital camera. It could be a new idea for transport, health, agriculture, cyber security, conservation, construction, energy or recreation. It could be the use of existing technology in a new way to solve a community, environmental or business challenge. The possibilities are endless and that is what makes these Awards so exciting.
The Sunshine Coast Telstra Innovation Awards 2021 aim to:
- Nurture the knowledge of the young people in our region.
- Encourage students to be innovative & collaborative by encouraging teamwork between students, giving students an opportunity to present their ideas and concepts to a wider audience; and recognising the efforts and achievements of students.
- Highlight the importance of study in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) fields for the future of the Sunshine Coast – building a knowledge-based economy.
- Foster a culture of entrepreneurship amongst young people in the region through connecting them to opportunities e.g. access to mentors in the business community and other support channels. This provides students with valuable experience and knowledge regarding entrepreneurship at a local level; and incentivising students to take risks by making their own decisions to explore different opportunities.
Prizes and awards
- Over $10,000 in prizes shared between first, second and third placing teams
- Award for Emerging Entrepreneur of the year
- School trophies for the top three placing teams
- Certificates for all finalist teams
Key Dates:
- Tuesday 2 February (Term 1, Week 2) – Competition opens
- Thursday 1 April, midnight – Phase 1 competition entries close
- Thursday 22 April – Finalist Teams announced and Phase 2 of the competition begins
- Thursday 29 April (4pm – 6pm) – Mentoring session 1 (Held online via Zoom)
- Thursday 6 May (4pm – 6pm) – Mentoring session 2 (Held online via Zoom
- Thursday 20 May (4pm – 6pm) – Mentoring session 4 (Held online via Zoom)
- Thursday 10 June, midnight – Phase 2 competition entries close
- Wednesday 23 June, 6.00pm – Live Pitch and Awards Ceremony.
More information
If you have any questions, please contact BusinessDevelopment@sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au