The Rockhampton node of the National GovHack competition will again run this September (6th – 8th). GovHack is Australia’s largest open government and open data hackathon, attracting in excess of 1000 participants each year.
The competition is a three-day event in which teams of people try to solve real-world problems from publicly available government data sets by “Hacking” together a solution or concept. The type of solution or concept is unspecified, but the most common are web applications, mobile applications, or visualisations. During the weekend participants will join teams, decide on competitions to join and create a project page, proof of concept and a video that tells how the data can be used.
You are cordially invited to enter (registration is free) and help the Rockhampton node and contestants continue to cement our reputation as one of the top, most innovative, successful and awarded regional nodes in Australia.
The GovHack competition furnishes generous cash rewards at both the local, State and National levels, free food and drinks covering the whole weekend (excluding breakfast) as well as a great weekend spent with likeminded people intent of creating innovative solutions to a wide range of “challenges” supplied by both Government organisations and commercial sponsors.
The weekend starts 6pm Friday, September 6 at the SmartHub Rockhampton, when the available data will be revealed and ideas are tossed around on how the data could be applied to solve economic, social or environmental issues. Individuals at this point are drawn to the different ideas and form teams to develop an innovative use for the data and maybe even a prototype.
Over the next 2 days it is a full on assault to have a pitch prepared for the judging on Sunday afternoon. Deadlines, team dynamics, idea doubt, sleep deprivation; all play a part in preparing for pitch time. Along the way mentors provide expert help, coffee and food, to polish the idea or suggest modifying the idea ready for the pitch. At the end participants feel immense satisfaction, whether they win or lose, as each cheers the other teams pitches. You’ve got to experience it to understand it, there is a tremendous feeling of achievement from all involved.
From a GovHack weekend an idea might lead to a start-up venture, which could result in new jobs being created here in Rockhampton, boosting our local economy; this is why the Central Queensland University, Rockhampton Regional Council and Livingstone Shire Council come together to sponsor and host the annual event. But, we need a mixed bag of skills to form a well-rounded team. We need a wide range of personalities and skill sets comprised of hackers, programmers, marketers, ideas people, designers, engineers, entrepreneurs, videographers, designers, digital media creators, story tellers, analysts, journalists and/or anyone interested in bringing an idea/concept to life