Smart City events to attract start-up businesses to Newcastle

Budding innovators and entrepreneurs can upload their own forward-thinking into Newcastle's future economy through a series of upcoming Smart City engagement activities.

Part of Smart Move Newcastle and a collaboration between Eighteen04 and the City of Newcastle, a series of events aim to encourage local innovation and nurture future industries.

City of Newcastle is encouraging start-ups and tech innovators to: 

• Come and hang out in the City for three days and join our Urban Internet of Things* (IoT) Hackathon, between 25-27 October to help develop solutions to common safety, waste and amenity concerns in urban environments; and
• Be a part of our Online Mobility Challenge - 27 September to 27 November - to generate new ideas around using data to encourage electric vehicle usage and other transport options.

"Scores of start-ups, emerging businesses and student ventures in Newcastle will take part in and benefit from a variety of competitive innovation challenges," Chair of Eighteen04 Gunilla Burrowes said.

"The events will also provide a great opportunity to showcase Newcastle’s excellent smart city infrastructure and platforms to a national and international audience.” 

Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the start-up engagement program would further confirm Newcastle as a smart city leader. 

“Our vision is to be a smart, liveable and sustainable global city by 2030," the Lord Mayor said. 

"While we talk a lot about smart technology and infrastructure, smart cities are first and foremost about people. 

"These fantastic hands-on engagement challenges will nurture innovation locally and show how innovation and technology can help solve urban problems and make life easier." 

“With integrated smart poles, sensor networks and data analytics platforms coming on line, we have an exceptional environment for entrepreneurial businesses large and small," the Lord Mayor added. 

"We have the capacity and are attracting the talent to develop the next generation of Smart City solutions right here in Newcastle to address challenges that many cities are facing." 

The program is part of the $13m Smart Moves Newcastle project, which received $5m through the Federal Government’s Smart Cities and Suburbs program last year. 

Through Smart Moves Newcastle, the City is partnering with a consortium of technology businesses to provide an integrated network for transport, energy and digital infrastructure to transform the city into a ‘living lab’. 

An Energy Demonstration Project in December will also showcase emerging energy-saving and monitoring technologies in the retail market, with more details to come.