Students from the winning 2022 Mayor's Telstra Innovation Awards team were recently treated to a trip to Brisbane and the Gold Coast to meet with some of the state's innovative thinkers and entrepreneurs.
The aim of MTIA is to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship by assisting students in the Bundaberg Region to unlock their problem-solving potential and take their big technology ideas to the next level.
Earlier this year Erin Bowie, Kelaney Dobesch and Bella Maher from Bundaberg Christian College were crowned winners of the 2022 MTIA event for their Spill idea.
Spill is a wellbeing app designed for people to talk freely about, or “spill”, their feelings and frustrations in the form of posts for other users to see.
As part of their prize the group recently had the opportunity to present the winning idea to QUT, Telstra and Queensland Government's Health and Wellbeing sector.
Bundaberg Christian College GATEway Coordinator Amanda Kelk said…..
“The trip was so much fun, a once in a lifetime opportunity for our students to connect to people who could advise them on ways they can grow their innovative idea, Spill,” she said.
“Their mental wellbeing app is an idea they are continuing to grow, and one day the team aims to bring it to the world in the hope they can have a positive impact on others.”
MTIA winners take advice from the experts
As part of the trip members from Health and Wellbeing Queensland provided students with an overview of various programs that they are currently developing and will be delivering over the next few months.
They provided students with some useful information on marketing and communication strategies, importance to research and working with partners.
Students also met the team at QUT Entrepreneurship and QUT Translational Research Institute Australia.
Dr Mark Adams discussed his work in uncovering potential new treatment targets and diagnostics for a range of diseases/cancer.
At the Telstra 5G Innovation Centre on the Gold Coast, students were able to find out more about next generation mobile technologies in Australia.
Amanda said the experiences would be remembered by the students for a long time to come.
“They got to see first-hand the latest technological advances at Telstra which was mind-blowing, they heard inspiring stories from QUT Entrepreneurial students that are making a huge impact on society at a young age, and they gained greater insights from the amazing team at Qld Health and Wellbeing to discover the amazing programs they offer and ways in which the teams’ app can best support positive health outcomes,” she said.
“The team found the entire experience to be incredibly rewarding, especially being offered the chance to talk about issues that are important to them, such as mental wellbeing for teenagers.
“The team has a heart for those struggling with poor mental health and want to empower other young people to actively improve their mental health so they can live their best lives.
“Each of the tours and people they met opened up their eyes to a world of possibilities.”
Find out more about the Mayor's Telstra Innovation Awards here.
