Have you ever wondered how you can get involved in innovation? Have you dreamt about being a rising CEO of a startup disrupting the world and making a meaningful difference in everyday life? It doesn’t have to be out of reach; in fact, it is much closer then you think… right here in Canberra teams are forming and developing new concepts all the time.

So where do you start the life of an entrepreneur if you don’t have an idea? We spoke to our Collaborative Innovation Manager, Joel Anderson about the different collaborative programs, how you can get involved and the potential of turning your ambitious attitude into a world class solution.

What is the difference between a Collaborative Innovation Lab and a Hackathon?

Both events focus on disrupting industry thinking and creating new ideas to tackle a given challenge. A Collaborative Innovation Lab (Collab Lab) is a targeted intimate event that brings together primary stakeholders to solve a challenge.

A Hackathon usually expands over 1-2 days, is open to the public and encourages teams to participate in a grueling challenge, rapidly prototyping for a prize pool and an opportunity to take the idea to the next stage.

How do I get involved in a Collab Lab?

Depending on the challenge and the industry pursuing the Collab Lab, this can sometimes be an invitation only event due to the structure and sensitivities of the subject.

However, it does require bringing a diverse group of enthusiastic academics, entrepreneurs, government representatives and industry professionals together to gain fresh insights and to establish innovative concepts in a short time frame.

What is the impact?

A Collab lab can be completed as a fast paced half day event or a more in-depth full day format, both focusing on immediate stakeholders and industry representatives. The Collab Lab focuses on solving complex organisational or sector wide challenges in a neutral, non-threating environment with expert facilitators orchestrating the session to ensure that all stakeholders opinions are heard equally.

How do I get involved in a Hackathon?

A Hackathon is a place where passionate individuals from a variety of backgrounds including; entrepreneurs, researchers, industry professionals or students rapidly work towards creating an innovative solution to a given challenge topic. You can get involved by signing up through our website and being notified when Hackathons are seeking participants, mentors and teams.

Over the course of the event participants will be provided with access to world class workshops that cover ideation, customer validation, business model generation and pitching skills. Participants will also be exposed to leading industry mentors and facilitators to help guide their concept as they compete for a prize pool and the chance to shake up an existing industry.

Be kept in the loop about future Hackathons here.

What is the Impact

Hackathons are not only for those who work in IT, they require a diverse team of designers, industry experts, researchers and entrepreneurs to develop new technologies and high impact innovative ideas that can have a huge impact on an entire industry.

Successful teams are eligible for the Canberra Innovation Network’s lean innovation focused programs, including Idea to Impact, with the possibility for applying into the GRIFFIN Accelerator program as well as opportunities to apply for further grants and incubation support to commercialise their product.

Want to learn more?

If you are a company wanting to submit a challenge to create a Collab Lab or Hackathon; or if you are an aspiring entrepreneur or innovator and want to participate; send an email to: joel.anderson@cbrin.com.au