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Business forums help Coast grow economy
A high-level business networking series designed to encourage diversification of the Sunshine Coast economy will kick off for 2011 on Tuesday 1 March.
The first of this year’s Enterprise Tuesday forums will be held at the University of the Sunshine Coast’s Innovation Centre on the theme of "Small Giants: How to be great instead of big".
ProScribe Medical Communications CEO Karen Woolley will be keynote speaker, highlighting how small Coast businesses are defined by who they are, not how big they could become.
Innovation Centre CEO Colin Graham said the monthly forums focused on fostering the growth of knowledge-based local businesses in areas such as information technology, creative industries, clean technology and health.
“USC set up the Innovation Centre in 2002 as part of its regional engagement initiative, with an agenda to help diversify industry on the Coast,” Mr Graham said.
“The University is a massive economic asset for this region but it cannot grow in isolation, and thousands of future graduates will want to find jobs locally.”
Mr Graham said the Enterprise Tuesday idea started in 2007 after a University of Cambridge staff member was seconded to the Innovation Centre.
“We were inspired by what researchers call ‘the Cambridge phenomenon’,” he said.
“That region of England now has 40,000 people working in knowledge-based jobs, with most of these opportunities created by a small core of entrepreneurs and investors who network socially and professionally.
“They get to know each other, do business together and start investing. We want to be a catalyst for that on the Sunshine Coast.”
He said the Innovation Centre forums also raised the profiles of successful local businesses whose chief markets could be interstate or overseas.
University students interested in business or entrepreneurism also are welcome to attend the forums at no cost, to build their knowledge and connections. (Limited free places are left for USC students for Tuesday 1 March.)
The Tuesday 1 March event will be held from 4pm to 6pm. For details go to www.innovation-centre.com.au.
Hot topics will include partnering with big business, building a virtual team, delivering great customer service and creating a great work culture and team.
Facilitators will include USC Adjunct Professor Peter Bycroft, managing director of Corporate Diagnostics; Genine Howard, publisher/managing editor of Profile Magazine; and Tim Eldrige, founder of Eldridge Marketing.
– Julie Gatehouse