Innovation and Investment Summit attracts overwhelming response

Published Monday, 18 April, 2016 at 09:39 AM

JOINT STATEMENT

Premier and Minister for the Arts
The Honourable Annastacia Palaszczuk

Minister for Innovation, Science and the Digital Economy and Minister for Small Business
The Honourable Leeanne Enoch

The Queensland Government’s first ever innovation and investment summit has reached capacity with an overwhelming response from across the State eager to collaborate and generate new ideas.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said interest in the Advance Queensland Innovation and Investment Summit being held in Brisbane on 27 to 29 April was testament to the potential for new jobs and new investment through innovation.

“So many new ideas and innovations are being developed every day and this Summit provides a fantastic platform for us to collaboratively work together and showcase them to the world,” the Premier said.

Ms Palaszczuk said the Advanced Queensland Innovation and Investment Summit will focus on strengthening local, national and international connections. Keynote speakers include Co-Founder of Apple Computer Inc. Steve Wozniak.

“The Summit will connect business leaders, investors, entrepreneurs, government and industry leaders and help to create more momentum around commercialising Queensland ideas,” she said.

Modelled on the Palaszczuk Government’s successful North Queensland Economic Summit in Cairns last year, the Innovation and Investment Summit will include a Startup Festival.

Both the Summit and the Startup Festival are oversubscribed. There are more than 700 registrations for the Summit and more than 500 for the Startup Festival.

“The opportunities are immense. The innovation is State-wide, but the potential is global,” the Premier said.

“My Government is supporting 50 regional startup community members to the Summit to bring their ideas, to meet with other innovators and prospective investors.”

The Regional Queensland Startup Ecosystem Report identified more than 80 startups were operating in regional Queensland employing an estimated 450 people working in and building these scalable technology businesses.

Minister for Innovation, Science and the Digital Economy Leeanne Enoch said the Summit provided a unique opportunity for local innovators and entrepreneurs to develop new relationships, business leads and collaborations, to help grow and scale their businesses.

“The Summit will be a flagship event uniting the Queensland startup and entrepreneurial community and a key platform to showcase local innovations, strengthen national and international connections and ignite collaboration,” Ms Enoch said.

“Supporting entrepreneurialism and the development of startups is a key priority for the Advance Queensland initiative and connecting our regions into the summit will play a vital role in growing and diversifying our regional economies.”

In addition to a two-day program that will bring together some of the world’s best visionaries in technology and innovation to inspire Queenslanders, the summit will open with an interactive culinary event featuring some of the world’s best chefs.

Internationally renowned Iron Chef Hiroyuki Sakai will travel to Queensland to showcase the State’s high-quality produce with his signature innovative style alongside much loved Queensland celebrity chefs Matt Golinski and Alastair McLeod.

Ms Palaszczuk said the culinary innovator, best known as a competitor on the long-running Japanese television show Iron Chef, will officially launch the summit at a dinner on Wednesday 27 April in Brisbane and tickets were still available.

“The summit will bring together some of the world’s brightest visionaries in technology and innovation, so we’re thrilled to have Chef Sakai inject his culinary flare into the opening night to set the scene for the following two days of the event.”

Ms Palaszczuk first met Chef Sakai on a trade mission to Japan in October 2015.

Chef Sakai, who will be bringing four of his top chefs from Japan, said he was looking forward to returning to Queensland and working alongside some of the State’s most passionate chefs.

“I’m excited about coming back to Queensland and exploring more of the amazing local produce,” Mr Sakai said.

“I’m also looking forward to working with Matt and Alastair to create an innovative menu that will give summit diners an experience to remember.”

To purchase tickets to the Welcome Dinner and for more information about the Advance Queensland Innovation and Investment Summit, visit www.qld.gov.au/advanceqld.

The Queensland Government would like to acknowledge and thank the following partners who are helping to make the Advance Queensland summit possible: Morgans, Virgin Australia, Ernst & Young, QIC, Next Hotels Brisbane, Cisco, Dimension Data, KPMG, Microsoft, Griffith University, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), The University of Queensland (UQ), Brisbane BMW, Symphony Hill Wines and Ballandean Estate Wines.