A new partnership promises fresh opportunities for Southern Cross University’s students and crucial support for Gold Coast enterprise.
The Gold Coast Innovation Hub, which exists to support start-ups and new businesses across the city, is shifting its operation to the University’s Gold Coast Campus.
Both parties agree the move represents a natural alignment of their organisations’ goals.
While the arrangement will deliver access to outstanding facilities, Gold Coast Innovation Hub CEO Sharon Hunneybell says it was about more than bricks and mortar.
“We see tremendous opportunities in being able to access the creative and intellectual capability of Southern Cross University’s experts and the collective talent of the student body,” she says.
“We are really proud of the track record of the Gold Coast Innovation Hub, which operates as a not-for-profit, run by founders for founders. But we see this co-location as having the capacity to really turbo charge how and what we deliver.”
Southern Cross Vice-Chancellor Professor Tyrone Carlin says the co-location supported a number of the University’s aims, including the delivery of outstanding student opportunities alongside its history of working in partnership to support business and industry.
“We’re excited about the prospect of our next-generation entrepreneurs working with some of the brightest and boldest business innovators on the Gold Coast,” Professor Carlin says.
“And we are intensely interested in supporting the local economy in ways which deliver jobs and prosperity.
“In an increasingly competitive global marketplace, innovation is going to be key to how businesses survive and thrive for generations ahead.”
The co-location will allow the Hub and University to work together in the delivery of workshops and special events.
A Start-up Weekend is already planned for June, with more to follow during the year.
“The co-location will enrich the experience of our students, but also inform us on the graduate attributes required to succeed today,” says Professor Mike Ewing, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Business, Law and Arts.
“We already run a very comprehensive placement program for students, with plans to further enhance it, and this will open even more opportunities, including mentoring and input to student research projects.
“It will also provide vital research opportunities for academic staff and doctoral students, to work with start-ups and address some of the challenges they face,” he says.
Mahikala Niranga, a business PhD candidate, is thrilled the Innovation Hub has relocated to the University’s Gold Coast campus.
“The Innovation Hub provides plenty of opportunities not just for business but for Southern Cross students too,” Ms Niranga says.
“It’s also a great way to connect with industry through networking and workshops.”
