A safe social networking website called “Social Bar” was last night named winner of the second annual Mayor’s Telstra Technology Award.
Following presentations by the 12 finalist teams from eight schools at Bond University, the Varsity College team took out the major prize, winning a raft of prizes for their school, along with individual prizes from HP.
Varsity College also claimed second place with “Queuemi”, a café order system app, while Somerset College took third prize for its Swell Clock – an alarm clock that only wakes you when ocean conditions are perfect for your choice of water sport.
Mayor Tom Tate congratulated the winning team, along with all the finalists for their outstanding efforts.
“The quality of the ideas put forward this year were amazing - and a credit not just to the students, but also to their schools,” he said.
“The entries were a real indication of the kind of knowledge capacity that exists in our city. We need to keep nurturing this intellectual talent to diversify our industry sectors and help secure our economic future.”
Cr Tate also thanked the sponsors - Telstra, HP and Bond University - for their generosity and support.
Winner of the Telstra People’s Choice Award was Aquinas College with The Smart Card - an intelligent driver’s license, aimed at learner drivers, which digitally logs the required hours needed by learner drivers to obtain eligibility for their “P” plates.
Telstra Area General Manager for the Gold Coast, Darren Clark, said Telstra was delighted to once again support the awards.
“Technology and innovation are core parts of our business and the Mayor’s Telstra Technology Awards is a fantastic opportunity to foster new ideas and future leaders,” Mr Clark said.
“It is also a great example of what can be achieved when we work other organisations to support local innovators.”
Bond University Vice Chancellor Tim Brailsford said the team at Bond had enjoyed helping the young students hone their ideas and were impressed by the talent and creativity they displayed throughout the competition.
"To see these young people thinking in such an entrepreneurial way has been inspiring and is a great indication of what they are capable of achieving," said Professor Brailsford.
Sean Girvin, Vice President, Sales, Enterprise Services at HP South Pacific, congratulated this year’s winners.
“It’s a privilege to see such innovative ideas being developed by the top young minds in the city. HP is delighted to be involved in a program inspiring the use of technology and creative thinking to help make the world a better place."
Details of the entries are as follows.
FIRST PRIZE - Varsity College: SocialBar - a safe social network for 8 -17 year olds that prevents social predators from following young children and teenagers online through the use of Student IDs.
SECOND PRIZE - Varsity College: QueueMi - an app that provides an automated order system for restaurants.
THIRD PRIZE - Somerset College: Swell Clock - an alarm clock app that only wakes up surfers if conditions are good.
The Southport School: Door ID Caller - a photo identification system at your home’s front door to help prevent break-ins.
The Southport School: Umbrella Solar Charger - a solar charger that sits atop a beach umbrella.
The Southport School: Cloud Fitbit Jar - a food container controlled by a Fitbit to help limit calories.
Pacific Pines State High School: FlexiLeg Australia - a customised, affordable, 3D printed prosthetic leg with an accompanying app.
Pacific Pines State High School: Safety Sensor - a device to ensure safety on the road for skateboarders, motorists and cyclists, triggering a proximity alert via mobile phone.
Helensvale State High School: Life Watch – a watch to achieve medical-related efficiencies, for health staff and patients.
Rivermount College: ConPlus - a unique way to connect and share a range of smart devices.
Southport State High School: CDA Machine – an all-in-one diagnostics machine for people in rural areas.
Aquinas College: The Smart Card - a card to hold details of learner drivers’ hours and basic information in an effort to reduce the road toll.
Prizes for the students in the winning team
- First Prize: 3 x HP Pavilion 15-inch Notebook PC
- Second Prize: 3 x HP HP8 G2 Tablets
- Third Prize: 3 x HP Roar Bluetooth Speaker
Prizes for the winning school
- A suite of HP educational products to the value of $10,000 (RRP)
- An eight-week Start-Up apprentice program
Telstra People’s Choice Award
- One Telstra Thanks Private Screening at a Gold Class cinema with invited guests
For information about the Mayor’s Tech Awards, please visit cityofgoldcoast.com.au/techaward