Australia’s iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, traditionally reserved for elite athletes and avid sporting fans, will host a first of its kind hackathon aimed at transforming the way people interact with venues later this month.
Spotless Hack at the ‘G will bring together innovators, creators and entrepreneurs in a two-day event to launch new ideas in Internet of Things and data technology.
The joint initiative between ASX-listed Spotless Group and global startup accelerator Startupbootcamp will see winning teams walk away with $10,000 cash.
Other prizes include a six month spot at Startupbootcamp plus access to Amazon Web Services and the SIGFOX network and its IoT development kits.
Spotless general manager of brand innovation and technology Julian Fogarty says the hackathon will help them discover new solutions for their customers.
“Change is occurring at a rapid rate, and we understand how important it is to enable diverse, entrepreneurial and customer-centric thinking across our business,” he says.
“Many emerging trends, such as the ‘Internet of Things’, are quickly becoming disruptive forces in our industry and for our customers, and we want to be at the forefront of developments.
“We are not only looking at how we can best leverage our own insights and ideas but [we are] also eager to work closely with the broader innovation ecosystem of suppliers, clients, startups, universities and research institutes.”
Fogarty hopes the event will also open the door for emerging startups to build links into the corporate sector.
“We believe events such as this lead to greater engagement between corporates and startups,” he says.
“In order for Australia to have a thriving innovation ecosystem we believe corporates need to do more to connect and partner with startups, and Spotless is keen to play a key role in this process.”
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Dinushi Dias is a freelance journalist and a former StartupSmart reporter and multimedia content producer. She is the co-founder of Melbourne-based production house Dinushi & Power.
