Essential conferences, festivals and forums for medium to small business owners…
CeBIT
Where: Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre
When: May 1–3
Cost: $25 online registration/$60 on the door
Organisers are confident this year’s event will attract even more than last year’s record 30,000 attendees. The show floor will be divided into 31 different areas, covering sectors such as business software, IT security, mobile computing and RFID, and will be home to over 700 exhibitors presenting the latest products and services. Tech theatres and workshops at the event have been designed to help visitors experience a range of business technology solutions. Guest speakers will include representatives from big guns including Google, IBM Corporation and Sun Microsystems. For further information visit www.cebit.com.au
World IP Day
Australia’s government body for intellectual property, IP Australia, wants everyone to take some time and celebrate innovation this month.
April 26 is World IP Day an initiative of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), and IP Australia are organising the campaign on the national front. Events will be organised in IP offices around the country to increase public awareness of the role intellectual property plays in bringing innovation into our daily lives. This year’s theme will be ‘Encouraging Creativity’ and IP Australia are hoping to get politicians, local identities and professionals involved to discuss their experiences, intellectual property and innovation, as well as offering advice and guidance to the public.
For more information about World IP Day visit http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au
Australian Innovation Festival
To get help boost innovation in your business, check out events at the annual Australian Innovation Festival taking place around the country from April 26 to May 27.
The festival includes seminars, workshops and design showcases centred around ‘Building Clusters of Innovation’, and covers almost every aspect of innovation.
Things to look out for include renowned thinker Edward de Bono’s discussions on creative and innovative thinking in Canberra; a tour of the unique cooling system of Alice Springs’ Adelaide House; the 2007 Australian Design Awards in Melbourne,; and commercialisation ‘boot camps’ in Sydney and Perth, run by the Australian Institute for Commercialisation (AIC).
As always, the festival focuses on the ‘four Cs of Innovation’: creativity, connections, collaboration and commercialisation, and while celebrating Australia’s intellectual capital and the innovation process, it has a practical focus as well, looking to facilitate opportunities between innovators and investors.
For full details visit http://www.ausinnovation.org
