The group then moved into the foyer area of the Greenhill Enterprise Centre to join a larger group of people for the Stage 3 funding announcement. Minister Allan announced a grant of $75,000 to fund the third stage of the Ballarat ICT Cluster.
Ms Allan said the grant, under the Government’s Regional Innovation Clusters Program, would focus on five key areas for the cluster, which is made up of approximately 80 ICT businesses and more than 20 user organisations in the Ballarat region.
"The Ballarat ICT Cluster continues to build on the collaboration between the Victorian Government, the University of Ballarat, Ballarat City Council, and the private sector in developing the city as one of Australia’s premier information technology hubs," Ms Allan said during a visit to the University of Ballarat".
"The successful development of the cluster is at the heart of Ballarat’s ICT 2030 strategy that identifies a clear opportunity for Ballarat to build on its strengths and become an internationally recognised leader in information and communications technology".
"The internationalisation of the cluster is central to the growth of the ICT sector in Victoria, and the Government is very pleased to be supporting new projects that aim to gain international exposure."
The projects are:
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Information, training and support for local SMEs to get access to international markets and participate in international supply chains;
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Support for R&D partnerships within the cluster and between the cluster and potential overseas collaborators, jointly facilitated by the University and the City of Ballarat;
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Identifying areas of future opportunity based on ICT 2030 and other research that will provide areas for the cluster to grow and develop internationally;
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Encouragement for businesses to strengthen their partnerships with education and research institutions and to accelerate the uptake of new ideas; and
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An evaluation strategy which will identify the innovation impact of the cluster.
Ms Allan said the City of Ballarat was the auspicing body for the Ballarat ICT Cluster, and was contributing to the $150,000 overall costs of the project along with other cluster members.
"Ballarat is home to companies such as IBM, Telstra, Neighbourhood Cable, Wiltronics, Netconnect and Bettatech, as well as innovative centres such as the Ballarat Technology Park, the Global Innovation Centre and the Greenhill Enterprise Centre," Ms Allan said.
"By forming clusters, businesses and the tertiary sector can learn from each other, share the risk and cost of introducing new technology and increase their chance of success in the marketplace."
