July 25 2017
South Australia’s most innovative minds will converge at the University of South Australia’s City West campus on 28-30 July, ready to hack their way through hundreds of data sets as part of GovHack SA 2017, an international competition where participants discover innovative uses for recently released open data that are of benefit to the community.
Hosted by the Innovation and Collaboration Centre* (ICC), GovHack expects to attract over 3000 participants to 40 locations across Australia and New Zealand, simultaneously competing for the most innovative creation.
Jasmine Vreugdenburg, Manager ICC, says that GovHack SA 2017 showcases South Australia’s technical and creative capacity to deliver innovation, presenting a novel forum for UniSA, business and government to foster and develop South Australia’s new talent.
“Supporting innovation and creativity is key to growing South Australia’s economy and the ICC through GovHack is intent on delivering just this,” Vreugdenburg says.
“GovHack attracts people from across the community—from digital natives and gamers, to historians and artists—all looking to create something new in a collaborative environment.
“It’s exciting to watch participants develop and test their ideas over the weekend. Last year we saw competitors invent applications to help connect the community with local gardens; a website which used satellite imagery to identify bushfire risks; and many other creative and innovative solutions. This year I know we can expect more ideas that are both ingenious and creative.”
The outputs from the competition can include apps, visualisations, games or art, with competitors required to create a project page, proof of concept and a video that tells the story of how government data can be reused.
UniSA Vice Chancellor, Professor David Lloyd, says the University is delighted to be sponsoring an event that nurtures entrepreneurial ideas and innovation.
“As Australia’s University of Enterprise, innovation is at the heart of what we do,” Prof Lloyd says.
“By supporting GovHack SA 2017, we’re supporting innovation from the ground up.
“GovHack connects the community, government and business, and it’s this kind of collaboration that encourages and contributes to our entrepreneurial ecosystem.”
There are prizes for winning entries in various categories. All South Australian entries will be in the running for state prizes presented at a South Australian awards event and those winners will be in contention for national awards.
Open to all, GovHack SA 2017 is a free, 46-hour, weekend-long event running from 7pm Friday 28 to 5pm Sunday 30 July 2017. Opening Night will be held in the Allan Scott Auditorium, 55 North Terrace, UniSA City West campus, with subsequent days in the state-of-the-art Innovation & Collaboration Centre, Level 4, Catherine Helen Spence Building, Fenn Place, UniSA City West campus.
Contact for interview:
Jasmine Vreugdenburg, Manager, Innovation and Collaboration Centre, University of South Australia
P: +61 8 830 20927 | M: 0408 856 858 | Jasmine.Vreugdenburg@unisa.edu.au
Media contact: Annabel Mansfield mobile: 0417 717 504 email: Annabel.Mansfield@unisa.edu.au
