Digital Enterprise Lab celebrates first Innovation Challenge with revolutionary solutions

Partnering with Salesforce, the global leader in customer relationship management (CRM), teams were able to use the Heroku Platform for app development to develop their solutions during the hackathon-style event. Throughout the day, teams were given access to masterclasses, mentoring, and space to develop their concept before pitching to a panel of industry experts.

Gold Coast Airport, one of the key event partners, provided a unique opportunity for participants to develop a solution for a client, and then pitch to experts in the field.

Beau Tydd, Queensland Airports Limited General Manager of Technology and Innovation, said the event allowed the organisation the opportunity to both support the community and explore innovative new ideas that could be implemented at the company’s airports, including Gold Coast Airport.

“This was a fantastic event with amazing pitches and innovative ideas. It is great to see the Gold Coast technology industry leaders coming along to support, network with and mentor the teams,” he said.

Winners were announced in three categories including innovation, technical concepts, and pitching. The prize for Best Innovative Solution was awarded to Bond CommIT, with the prize donated by Australian Computer Society (ACS). Southern Cross University Coders took out the prize for Best Technical Solution, donated by Wipro And Team AI won the prize for Best Pitch, also donated by ACS.

Alex Hendry from the School of Business and Tourism at Southern Cross University, was the team mentor for Southern Cross University Coders. The team developed an app that measured congestion at key points in the airport, allowing customers and airport staff to have more accurate ‘door to airport gate’ travel times.

“While having a good idea was essential, the most important part of the process was to work out exactly how the app could be implemented, what technology would be used, and then to build a prototype,” he said.

“For some of my students this was their first opportunity to apply the skills they learnt at university to a 'real world' programming project and use enterprise software like Salesforce Heroku. They all found the challenge invaluable and the team consensus was that the innovation day was one of the most important experiences they have had while studying at Southern Cross University. It was also a lot of fun.”

Professor Dian Tjondronegoro, IT Discipline Leader in School of Business and Tourism at Southern Cross University, was the driving force behind the Digital Enterprise Lab.

“The event marked a key milestone in establishment of the Digital Enterprise Lab and reinforces Southern Cross University's commitment to providing opportunities for regional tech start-ups to develop and connect with international networks,” Professor Tjondronegoro said.

The Digital Enterprise Lab is based at the Gold Coast campus and is a hub for research, experimentation and educational focus on digital technology driven innovations. Supported by the Southern Cross Enterprise Lab in Lismore, the hub provides end-to-end facilities for entrepreneurs in business ideation, design thinking and digital technologies, as well as providing boardroom and incubation spaces.