REGIONAL VICTORIA

Connecting regional communities with ideas and opportunities

DIF2019 achieved strong growth in regional Victoria, connecting positively with all nine Regional Partnership areas. Across regional and rural Victoria 160 events were held in 50 venues in 37 towns. This year the Regional DIF involved an estimated 5,000 people, representing an increased engagement of 40%. Funding through the Connecting Regional Communities Program provided financial support for 84 DIF events in 47 venues in 23 towns across nine Regional Partnerships areas in 2019.

A successful regional engagement strategy delivered by the DJPR DIF team in consultation with Victorian Government Regional Offices, resulted in strong DIF2019 brand awareness and a genuine enthusiasm to connect and create technology and innovation related events across regional communities. Smaller towns, particularly, were very appreciative of the DIF team’s effort to travel and connect with their communities.

New locations involved with DIF in 2019 included Mildura, Swan Hill, Cowes, Ararat, Halls Gap, Banyena (tiny hamlet in the Wimmera), Portland, Warrnambool and Torquay. The DIF Mallee was a great success. [8] Events varied in size, format and duration, ranging from bespoke workshops to large conferences.

Across regional and rural Victoria DIF2019 pushed the discussion on technology driven innovation opportunities beyond connectivity, towards the critical journey businesses and communities need to make towards improved technology capabilities and adoption.

This is particularly relevant in fields where traditional methods are deeply entrenched, such as in manufacturing, farming and processing, but also in tourism and hospitality. Barriers to moving into the digital economy are still strong, change presents challenges made more difficult by lack of information and lack of skills. DIF2019 worked actively with the Regional Partnerships and many regional and rural communities to promote awareness of the opportunities for technology skills to support business growth and local jobs. The Festival focused on the importance of providing regional and rural students with knowledge of the opportunities associated with careers in technology.

The popularity of DIF2019 programs such as the Big Day In which attracted 250 students from schools around Wangaratta; and the DIF Back to School which had 15 regional and rural schools register to host an industry speaker, are positive signals that DIF is achieving a growing awareness of the importance of STEM skills and the opportunities for digital careers.

DIF2019 provided regional and rural communities with information, connections and practical examples of how technology may be used to improve productivity for regional business. One good example was the Regional Growth Summit, hosted by Marketing Entourage as part of the Bendigo Invention and Innovation Festival, which offered case studies, panel discussions and demos of the best of breed online tools. The Summit included an online masterclass demonstrating how by using the appropriate online tools, small business, startups and even fledgling online businesses can create a presence for their product range. The masterclass explained how to make the technology do the hard work – from promotion, to social media, to data analytics, storage, payments and website builds – to deliver positive results for businesses.

Clearly DIF is having a positive impact in regional and rural Victoria, as a catalyst for tech uptake, tech transition, capability lifting, business development and community engagement. DIF2019 facilitated some excellent opportunities for communities in each Regional Partnership area to engage with the digital economy.

Barwon

Geelong + Torquay

Barwon held 35 events in Geelong and Torquay highlighted below.

#futureAUS – a five-day Festival of co-working, worklife balance and start-up workshops and panels at the RACV Club Torquay as well as a Blockchain Day.

Geelong Innovation Summit, including a Smart Materials and Smart Machines Conference was hosted by the Geelong Manufacturing Council. Technology for Geelong and Creative Geelong both ran sessions for the local tech and non-tech communities.

Little Blobs of Clay – An Evening with Adam Elliott was hosted by the City of Greater Geelong. A huge success with Oscar-winning Elliott sharing his experiences in animation and digital short-film making with a rapt audience. This was a feature event of the Geelong Small Business Festival which continued to be held in August despite the changes to Business Victoria funding.

DIF Back to School program organised industry speakers to visit three Geelong schools Rollins Primary School; Bell Park North Primary School and Western Heights College and talk about digital careers.

[23] Christine Couzens MP visits Gordon TAFE 04.06.19

Next level DigiTech and Digital Skills Taster tech expo and careers showcase hosted by Gordon TAFE in collaboration with Geelong Tech School. Local MP, Christine Couzens attended part of the day’s activities, getting involved in some tech puzzles and builds. [23]

Central Highlands

Ararat + Ballarat + Coimadai

Central Highlands held 33 events across the region.

[24] Ballarat DIF on Instagram 31.08.19

DIF Street Party – a tech careers day in collaboration with Runway, Upstart Ballarat, Ballarat Tech School and Federation University. [24] Digital Innovation and Ballarat’s Future presented by Bernard Salt and hosted by the City of Ballarat. MAVHack – local solutions to the waste problem. Open Source Workshop for software enthusiasts and the Grampians Tourism Masterclass. Meanwhile in Ararat, 60 secondary students enjoyed a full day participating in GamEd workshop, hearing from games developers, animators and studio owners about skills for a games career. [25]

[25] GamEd workshop Ararat 30.08.19

Gippsland

Bairnsdale + Cowes + Sale + Warragul

In its third year Gippsland held 24 events as part of the annual Festival which has grown in scale and reach.

Binary Shift was held in Sale and attracted around 150 attendees. First held as a small one-day event in Traralgon in DIF2017, Binary Shift has grown into a twoday conference program hosting panels, workshops and an expo hall. [26] Support was also provided to a range of local activities across Gippsland, DIF2019 provided the vehicle for the launch of a new coworking space – The Huddle – in Cowes; supported the third term professional development day of the Education Technology Consortium Victoria (ETCV) at Lardner Park; hosted a VR experience for students at the Bairnsdale LLEN; hosted an evening with demographer Gill Hicks, streaming the event live to all the LaTrobe Women in Business members across Gippsland. Five primary schools participated in DIF Back to School in Lucknow, Bruthen, Cowes, Drouin, Nambrok and Denison. [26] Binary Shift team Shepparton + Beveridge + Wallan Goulburn held 6 events that engaged young and old alike. I Wish I’d Asked Goes Digital - Wanganui Secondary Students helped Shepparton Villages Aged Care Facility residents experience virtual reality, business owners to improve their brand visibility in a Back to School hosted industry speakers at Beveridge, Wallan and Wilmot Road Primary School.

Great South Coast

Portland + Warrnambool

Great South Coast played host to 6 events in 2019.

Minecraft to Marvel – a day of workshops to introduce those interested to the world of games animation, game play, physics, graphics and rendering.

The event was hosted by South West TAFE in preparation for a new Games Development course to display. [27]

Goulburn

supported by Shepparton South Rotary. [28] Writing for Social Media - for small business and tourism crowded market, hosted by Your Project Partner. DIF be offered in 2020. They definitely won the best window

[27] Minecraft to Marvel Warrnambool

Portland launched a very successful Modern Small Business Online program, a combination of elearning and face to face mentoring to assist small businesses with marketing and social media. Developed by Glenelg Shire in collaboration with Marketing Entourage.

[28] Shepparton VR experience across the generations

Loddon Campaspe

Bendigo

The Loddon Campaspe region held 15 events including the second annual Bendigo Invention and Innovation Festival.

In 2019 BIIF was a 6-day event comprising of key note speakers, panels, workshops and a range of stakeholders’ key to Bendigo’s future tech success such as the new Bendigo Tech School, LaTrobe University, Bendigo Bank, Bendigo Health and Coliban Water.

The 2019 program included an opening day BIIF Symposium program with speakers on topics such as “Not all startups come from Silicon Valley”, “Funding [29] BIIF Symposium Panel Bendigo Other highlights of the week included a Lego Serious anticipated Invention and Innovation Awards. Bendigo Hospital opened its doors for people to learn more about Innovation at Bendigo Health – an opportunity to see innovation in action in the health setting as well as viewing the newly launched Bendigo Health Accelerator (BHx) – regional Victoria’s first health accelerator which will open in 2020. The Accelerator, in conjunction with the Melbourne world class digital hospital to validate, test and sector. In the Macedon Ranges Shire, Gisborne Primary School was also a part of DIF Back to School program. your Ideas” and “Creative Entrepreneurship”. [29]

Mallee

Mildura + Swan Hill

DIF2019 welcomed the Mallee region for the first time with 16 events across the festival period. Events such as the Sunraysia Agri Business Summit, hosted by Mildura Regional Development, were a strong sign that the North-West is looking to engage with technology driven innovation, and with DIF.

Swan Hill also played a major role in the Region’s DIF engagement Paul Dillon delivering a huge two-week Mallee DIF program at his co-working space, Mallee Rising which included Code the Mallee, Tech Tuesday, an AgTech Showcase Day and Solar Boat Challenge. YouTube Female Creator’s Workshop [30]

Play event at the new Bendigo Tech School, a Regional Growth Summit, the Festival of Failure and the much-

Health Accelerator (MHx) will provide early-stage health start-up companies the opportunity to access a potentially accelerate their start-up into the health

social media and small business workshops as well as

[30] YouTube Female Creator’s Workshop Swan Hill

Wimmera Southern Mallee

Horsham + Warracknabeal + Banyena

Wimmera Southern Mallee held 6 events which focused on their main economic driver – agriculture and in particular grain farming.

Ag Innovation Day was hosted by Agriculture Victoria at the world class Grains Innovation Park in Horsham, showcasing a gene bank, robotics, drones and the world of technology on farms. Drone instruction and certification was part of the fun at the Annual Horsham Agricultural Show, showcasing some of the roles in that drones can play in agriculture. Small Business Canva workshop was hosted by the Yarriambiack Shire to assist small businesses in Warracknabeal. Social Media for Retail Workshop was delivered in the tiny Wimmera town of Banyena by Partners in Ag.

Ovens Murray

Benalla + Wodonga + Wangaratta

Ovens Murray held 19 events across the region with new partners and venues keen to get involved.

Big Day In hosted in Wangaratta by ACS Foundation, in conjunction with Charles Sturt University. A first for regional Victoria and under the DIF banner, the event attracted more than 250 students – thanks to the Department of Education and Training for funding buses –to hear from local tech business owners and entrepreneurs about their journeys to success. [31]

[31] Big Day In Wangaratta Digital Inclusion, hosted by local digital marketing company, Digital Gold in Wangaratta provided short talks by local tech entrepreneurs and a showcase of robotics passion by Galen College students, whose recent VEX World Championship success has led to further robotics challenges. GoTAFE hosted two iHub Innovate and Create sessions – an open house for students and parents to explore the GoTAFE technology course offerings.

Victoria’s North East was actively engaged with DIF once again. Benalla Innovation Festival and Future Work Summit was hosted by the Benalla Rural Shire as an opening event for regional DIF2019. AWISE (Albury Wodonga Innovation Summit and Expo) hosted by The Hub lead by the Northeast DIF Champion, Guy Rowson. WISE Up was an addition to this year’s NEDIF to enable students to hear about careers in tech featuring Michelle Mannering, the “Hackathon Queen” and DIF Champion who relished the opportunity to return to her home region and share stories with local media. [32]

"DIFvic is a great opportunity for the Wangaratta community to learn more about how digital technologies are used in a variety of different sectors, including how digital technologies can facilitate growth for people in Wangaratta,” Ilena Young, Charles Sturt Wangaratta Regional Study Centre

[32] Michelle Mannering at North East Digital Innovation Festival Wodonga

Colac wins Chinese tourism dollar through digital technology

Want evidence that Victoria’s annual Digital Innovation Festival has impact? Take Colac’s use of QR codes to net the Chinese tourist dollar on the Great Ocean Road. By Georgina Jerums

In the next decade, the number of Chinese tourists holidaying in Victoria is set to surge, bringing financial windfall with it. By 2027, it’s expected that Chinese tourism will funnel $7 billion into our state. Provided relevant digital marketing is put in place, that is.

To win over Chinese tourists, Victorian retail, hospitality, accommodation, food, services and tourism need to have communication in place to which Chinese tourists can relate, such as QR code technology. Abbreviated from ‘Quick Response’ code, users scan a readable label, or code, on their mobile device to download information about a business in their language of choice.

While not in widespread use in Australia, QR codes are commonplace and instantly-recognisable via WeChat and other social media sites in China, home to 1.4 billion people.

Colac – with a population of 12,000 people about 150 kilometres from Melbourne – fully understands that tech trend. Getting on the QR code bandwagon to woo Chinese tourists is proving a business win for the town, which greets 2000 Chinese tourists heading to and from our world-famous Great Ocean Road each week.

In February, just before the Chinese New Year, Colac introduced regional Victoria’s first-ever QR code technology at 22 of its tourism businesses, with QR stickers advertising goods and services in Mandarin Chinese on their storefronts.

“Those participating have reported up to a 15 per cent increase in the number of Chinese customers visiting their businesses since February” says Colac Chamber of Commerce CEO, Mark Sherry. "They can scan your unique QR code that directs them to your online business profile in both Mandarin and English. ”

"With the QR code, you’re demonstrating to Chinese customers that you welcome them into your store with open arms," Colac Chamber of Commerce CEO, Mark Sherry.

[33] Mark Sherry, Colac Chamber of Commerce Alternatively, international tourists can access without the need to scan by visiting www.gdayfriends.com – they’ll find a map of where they’re visiting and can zoom in to find Chinese-friendly businesses that have done Chinese customer success training (for example, a counter card of Chinese phrases for staff) and who welcome their custom. This map is accessible in China before people visit Australia."

Branded as G’Day Friends, the rollout comes after the Colac Chamber of Commerce held a session for Colac and surrounding regions at the state-wide 2018 Digital Innovation Festival (DIF), to show how local tourism companies could benefit from mobile technologies to enhance the Chinese visitor experience.

"We recognised the potential, and that’s why we hosted the DIF workshop," says Mark. "The QR code is an accessible, easy-to-use, modern approach via a digital medium to engage a growing demographic: the Chinese tourist influx. The new Chinese tourist wave is one of the fastest-growing business opportunities Australia has seen, presenting huge opportunities to engage. G’Day Friends is accessible to all businesses who want to capitalise on the steady stream of Chinese tourists travelling through, or staying in, their community."

Even so, there’s still a fair way to go to get the message out. "There’s currently less than a handful of regional places who have adopted the QR code promotion: it’s in its infancy," says Mark. "Colac Chamber, however, recognises the potential for the future and we were determined to get on board at ground level. Being a forerunner, it does take time before such innovation catches on, however we continue to slowly build it towards something big into the future."

While feedback from Chinese tourists is minimal due to the language barrier, Mark says tutorial videos provided to retailers by G’Day Friends – focusing on basic Chinese language to engage customers – are slowly helping to change that. “This has been most informative but mispronunciations or accents can lead to humorous interactions helping to break the ice between cultures, which is important and very much part of the aim of productive interactions.”

[34] G’Day Friends Steps to scanning a QR code

For regional business owners who are serious about capitalising on the growing Chinese customer market, Mark offers up the following: "I’d encourage regional business owners to get on board as, like anything in business, it’s all about involvement. The more who become involved, the greater the potency of engagement and marketing."

Evidence of that potency is seen in the fact that G’day Friends has been implemented in hospitality and retail businesses in the Southbank precinct and at Melbourne Airport. It has also been working with Life Saving Victoria, as well as local governments in Geelong, the Surf Coast Shire, Colac and the Otway Shire to promote water safety though the technology. Such a strong preliminary track record paves the way for even bigger QR code collaborations down the line.