GLASSHOUSE Christian College students are among a select group of bright young entrepreneurs rising to the challenge of the Mayor’s Telstra Innovation Awards.
GCC students are among a select 13 finalists named in Years 9 to 12 across multiple Sunshine Coast schools.
The awards program presents a rare opportunity for student teams to bring their creative ideas or business solution to life.
Finalists will now advance, after the opening phase of judging, to connect with some of the region’s most successful industry leaders and mentors to further develop their concepts.
GCC’s concept is to use drone technology to clean and rejuvenate hard-to-reach solar panels.
Sunshine Coast Council Mayor Mark Jamieson said the awards supported the development of ideas that used creativity, innovation or technology to solve a community, environmental or business challenge.
“We’ve had an incredible entries response this year with an increase in schools participating, which includes all schools returning from last year and a great mix of new schools joining the program,” he said.
“The calibre of applications has been fantastic and it’s great to see the program is building with double the entries from last year.
“From aquaponics to smart life jackets to automated biowaste systems, our future leaders have put forward an incredible array of ideas, many of which align to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which could one day strengthen and enhance capabilities in our region.
“And whether they got through to the next stage or not, we have been so impressed by all the entries this year and thank these students for their innovative thinking and confidence to participate in programs like this.”
Finalists and their amazing ideas (in no particular order):
Burnside State High School
• Yabbieponics: Repurposing intermediate bulk containers to make fish tanks that can house and grow fish and crustaceans that feed the plants.Caloundra State High School
• Accessible Sunshine Coast: A website designed to show accessibility in Caloundra for tourists, visitors and locals, including areas that are bad for sensory sensitivities.
Chancellor State College
• A-BITE: An improved, renewable
energy cycle, using smart technologies
to innovate the capture of under-
utilized bioenergy from the
Maroochydore Smart City food waste.
Glasshouse Christian College
• Solbot: Solbot uses drone technology to
dispatch autonomous cleaning robots
to rejuvenate the efficiency of solar
panels.
Matthew Flinders Anglican College
• MyPark Finder: An app that can be
downloaded on all mobile phones which
assists people in locating car parks.
Mountain Creek State High School
• Forever Alive: A smart, self-watering pot
plant system to prevent plants dying
from incorrect watering.
Suncoast Christian College
• Send It Siren: A bicycle alarm to detect
movement, sounding an alarm to scare
thieves while also alerting the owner.
• Sunny Stations: Solar powered electric
scooter charging stations, in the shape
of a palm tree.
• The Fape: A fake vape that runs off
saline solution with 100% chemical free
inhalation.
Sunshine Coast Grammar
• Handi-Shoppa: An accessible shopping
cart designed to assist disabled and
elderly people.
• JobsLaunch: A job-seeking app
designed specifically for teenagers on
the Sunshine Coast.
• MelodyMatch: A song recommendation
algorithm to change how we listen to
and experience music.
• Reel Health: An attachable reel system
for a 12-lead ECG machine.
More than 10 mentors have already been confirmed, including Andrew Bradley – Professor in Computer Science at UniSC, Dominic Vrolijks – Founder at Sunshine Coast Maker Space, and Tim Kelly – Founding Director at Manufacturing Excellence Forum.
At the conclusion of Phase 2, each team will then put forward a second submission, with all finalists invited to participate in a Live Pitch and Awards Ceremony on July 20, 2023 for their chance to win more than $10,000 in shared prizes.
Sunshine Coast Council is proud to partner with Telstra and Study Sunshine Coast to deliver the 2023 Mayor’s Telstra Innovation Awards exclusively to high schools within the Sunshine Coast Local Government Area.
For more, visit https://www.studysunshinecoast.com.au/mayors-telstra-innovation-awards-2023