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the 2024 Mayor’s Technology and Innovation Awards
APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED
If you are a Gold Coast high school student with an innovative, technological idea waiting to be discovered, the Mayor’s Technology and Innovation Awards are for you!
Applications for the 2024 Mayor’s Technology and Innovation Awards are now closed. Judging of the submissions is currently underway and we look forward to sharing the finalist teams with you very soon!
Phase 1 – Form Your concept
In your team of two or three, work together to come up with an innovative idea or technology that supports the City of Gold Coast’s City Vision through three themes:
• The best PLACE to live, visit and stay
• PROSPERITY built on a strong diverse economy
• PEOPLE contribute to a strong community spirit
As a first step, watch our Ideation Information Session, which gives an overview of the awards and provides you with the tools to form your killer idea for your entry. Once you’ve watched the video be sure to review the selection and criteria in the School Handbook as a guide to forming your idea.
Your idea could be a new idea for health, conservation, transport, agriculture, cyber security, construction, energy, lifestyle, or anything that solves a real world problem.
Think Global, Act Local. The possibilities are endless!
phase 2 - Enter the awards
There is no limit to the number of teams a school can enter, however each team must comprise of either two or three students in years 8-12.
To enter, simply:
• Respond to the four selection criteria on the entry form, outline your innovative idea and the technology it uses to solve a community problem.
• Assign your School Coordinator who will be the contact for all correspondence relating to your school’s participation in the awards.
• Upload your signed Parent/Guardian Consent Form for each student entering the competition.
Dates:
• Entries open: Monday 8 July 2024, 9am
• Entries close: Friday, 2 August 2024, 9am
Phase 3 – Finalist selections
An expert panel of judges will score each entry against the judging criteria and the ten teams with the highest scores will be announced as finalists.
Finalists will move onto the mentoring phase of the awards, where they will further develop their idea or concept and be mentored by some of the best entrepreneurial and technical minds of the Gold Coast.
Finalist Teams Announced: Friday 9 August 2024
Phase 4 – Mentoring workshops
In the mentoring phase of the awards the finalists will take part in three mentoring sessions:
• An intensive one-day finalist bootcamp at Cohort Innovation Space
• An online mentoring session for each individual team
• An online pitch practice and feedback session for each individual team
Bootcamp: Thursday 22 August 2024 (TBC) from 9am – 3pm
Location: Cohort Innovation Space, Southport
Online check-in and pitch practice sessions from 23rd August to 2nd October 2024
Phase 5 – Pitch and Awards night
The Final Pitch and Awards Night is each team's opportunity to present their idea to a broader audience and convince the judging panel that their idea is the best!
Ahead of their 5-minute pitch, each team will be given a dedicated display area to showcase their idea to the judging panel and audience. Once each team has pitched their idea, judges will be given the opportunity to ask questions before tallying the scores. Finally, the winning teams will be announced.
Prizes
• First Place: A $5,000 cash prize for the winning school, a tech talk by Cohort Innovation Space at the winning school, a $1,000 JB Hi-Fi voucher for each team member
• Second Place:
A $500 JB Hi-Fi voucher for each team member
• Third Place: A $250 JB Hi-Fi voucher for each team member
• People's Choice Award: A $250 JB Hi-Fi voucher for each team member
Full details on Pitch and Awards Night, including judging criteria can be found in the school handbook.
Date: Thursday 3 October 2024 (TBC)
Location: Bond University
2023 Mayor's Technology and Innovation Awards
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY
Experience Gold Coast acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we are situated, the Kombumerri families of the Yugambeh Language Region.
We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging, and recognise their continuing connections to the lands, waters and their extended communities throughout Southeast Queensland.