Innovative dentistry program RipeGlobal has been named the recent 2021 Hinkler Innovation Series award winner at the annual breakfast event.
The Hinkler Innovation Award honours the spirit and legacy of Bert Hinkler by recognising an Australian whose pioneering spirit has contributed both locally and globally to innovation and entrepreneurship.
Dr Lincoln Harris, founder of RipeGlobal, was congratulated by Mayor Jack Dempsey after he was presented with the prestigious award yesterday.
Headquartered in Bargara, RipeGlobal is the first company in the world to make dental education globally accessible, inclusive, affordable, democratic, and travel-free.
“We have students all over the world, dentists who are learning to do new or improved procedures using our Cloud simulation technology,” Dr Harris said.
“To be recognised today is very rewarding, on behalf of the team who just work so hard, it is nice to see their hard work awarded.”
The RipeGlobal program challenges traditional education by using technological advancements in analytics-supported learning, trademark simulated laboratories and a seamless integrated learning platform.
Dr Harris identified the obstacles that international border closures would bring to the global dental education industry which demands continuing education requirements in order to maintain the license to practice dentistry, typically very expensive, and heavily dependent on travel.
He said through innovation, RipeGlobal was able to offer more opportunities in an easily accessible way to those in the industry.
“Innovation is important because it is what allows us to have better things that cost less and that's the simple answer,” he said.
“A phone would cost a million or a billion dollars without innovation and so no one would actually have one.
“The fact that we can have dentists all over the world learning education at a much lower cost and with better outcomes is due to innovation.
“It's about pushing the boundaries with what you have now.”
Mayor Jack Dempsey congratulated Dr Lincoln Harris and the RipeGlobal team at the Hinkler Innovation Series breakfast yesterday.
He said the award-recipient was the epitome of what the Hinkler Innovation Series promoted and encouraged within the community.
“Innovation is a driving force in the way our community is shaped, how its grows and what our future looks like,” Mayor Dempsey said.
“Dr Lincoln Harris and his team have worked hard on experimenting and building upon new ideas in order to deliver opportunities for others.
“Congratulations for recognising a gap in your industry and for working towards a better solution to educate and support students all over the world.”
