THE Mornington Peninsula and Frankston’s first entrepreneurship and technology festival starts on Friday with a business breakfast and a three-day “hackathon”.
The event is a joint venture between the technology business hub Frankston Foundry, Mornington Peninsula Shire, Frankston City Council and sponsors including the state government’s start-up investment body LaunchVic.
Kate Gittings of LaunchVic said the region’s first hackathon, PeninsulaHACK, aimed to “build solutions for regional problems such as high youth unemployment and job availability”.
The three-day hackathon, 6pm Friday to 6pm Sunday, will see about 150 entrepreneurs, businesses and community leaders from Frankston and the peninsula “discuss and explore opportunities around the gig economy and the future of work”.
(The gig economy is the term for a labour market of short-term contracts or freelance work rather than permanent jobs.)
About 15 teams will pitch their ideas to a panel of judges, with winning teams taking a share of $6000 prize money.
Other events include free and low-cost public workshops and talks covering topics such as the internet of things, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and virtual reality.
Speakers at the breakfast will include the state Minister for Small Business, Innovation and Trade, Philip Dalidakis; LaunchVic CEO Dr Kate Cornick; and technology entrepreneurs.
Details and bookings: www.peninsulahack.com.au
