CORE Innovation Hub celebrated two years as Australia’s collaboration and innovation hub for the resources and energy sector, at a cocktail function in the FLUX foyer last night, and had a few announcements to make…
For those of us standing at the opening of CORE two years ago, time seems to have flown by. The innovation hub centred on Australia’s massive resources sector has since become a permanent fixture in the ‘startup central’ that is FLUX foyer down at 191 St George’s Terrace.
It has done far more than this, say its founders and operators.
In her welcome speech last night CEO Tamryn Barker admitted that “Year one was fun, year two was hard work”, and thanked her team.
She also heralded CORE’s main contribution towards what has been a transformational shift in the resources sector to become more open and collaborative in building community, culture and capability.
This has included facilitating growth and connecting companies all along the supply chain, from startups, mid-tiers to operators; delivering hundreds of technical, networking and knowledge-building events and activities throughout the year and co-creating, with industry, flexible, fit-for-purpose skills courses.
CORE’s Foundation Partners National Energy Resources Australia (NERA), METS Ignited, Austmine, WesTrac, Unearthed and Spacecubed, and more than 130 industry partners and members came together last night to celebrate this milestone at the Perth CBD hub.
CORE’s inaugural Expert-in-Residence Professor Ray Wills (see main feature photo above) provided a typically bubbly and inspirational keynote address, setting a vision and challenge to the CORE community to embrace new enterprise opportunities in energy metals.
Recognised as one of the worlds’ top 100 global leaders in sustainability and a global influencer in social media on energy, he co-authored the Regional Development Australia’s report, ‘Lithium Valley: Establishing the Case for Energy Metals and Battery Manufacturing in Western Australia’, in July 2018.
“Digitalization has taken us down a mobile path, and to be mobile you will need a battery. Batteries require 10 minerals, and WA has all 10”, said Professor Wills.
“WA is moving downstream. It’s time for us to shift the way we produce in this country and this state. This year there’s already been a $250B announcement on spending on electric vehicles to 2022. They’ll all need batteries. The value of core is to find out where these new opportunities are and how we can support it.”
Now we are Two
CORE also launched two new initiatives on the night: CORE Expert-in-Residence and CORE Skills, with delivery of its first professional ‘Geoscientist to Data Scientist’ course.
Both programs will serve to advance capability in the sector by leveraging global thought leadership and upskilling industry with the digital and collaboration skills of the future.
“New capability made possible through digital technologies makes it an exciting time for the sector. We know that this comes with an inherent challenge – how might organisations build capabilities in their teams – the knowledge, skills and experiences necessary to thrive? We are committed to pursuing and enabling knowledge and opportunities to develop this capability for our industry partners. Our CORE Skills and Expert-in-Residence programs are delivering on this.” Ms Barker explained.
For its Expert-in-Residence program, CORE will host a series of leading local and international experts and thinkers from the resources and energy sector over the year. Each expert will help to accelerate thinking, knowledge development and connecting opportunities for CORE members, partners and the wider sector, delivering workshops, advising startups and industry and contributing thought leadership material over the course of their residency.
Happy anniversary CORE. Keep collaborating. Keep shifting.
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PHOTOS: courtesy of CORE Innovation Hub.
