Riverland bootcamp boosts agtech innovation
Innovative AgTech ideas will be at the forefront of a bootcamp in the heart of South Australia’s Riverland that brings together the best minds from local businesses, agriculture and schools.
The two-day ThincLab Agtech Innovation Bootcamp, organised by the University of Adelaide’s ThincLab business incubation team, will be held in Renmark.
“Innovative ideas are the driving force which bring progress to businesses in every sector of the economy,” said the University of Adelaide’s Professor Noel Lindsay, Dean of the Adelaide Business School and Pro-Vice Chancellor (Entrepreneurship).
“The bootcamp will stretch participants to solve real-world problems, generate ideas, while being part of a community of like-minded people who want to take on challenges to benefit everyone.”
Budding innovators will use the bootcamp to test their ideas through immersive workshops like an intro to AgTech and emerging technologies. Participants will be able to discuss, iterate and test ideas, and get real-time feedback from a group of industry, AgTech experts, entrepreneurs, and researchers in a supportive and collaborative environment.
The bootcamp will be held on Wednesday 15 and Thursday 16 June at the Renmark Club, Renmark.
Teams from schools and businesses, as well as University of Adelaide students, will work on three challenges:
- Picking approaches (Sponsored by AusIndustry) - The Riverland’s diverse produce, which includes citrus fruit and almonds and 50 per cent of Australia’s wine grapes, all requires picking. Participants will be asked to find innovative ideas to improve picking and harvesting processes.
- Activating RIT vacated land (Sponsored by Renmark Irrigation Trust) - The Riverland Region has a large amount of land sitting idle. The vacant blocks are included in the Renmark Irrigation Trust and require drainage and irrigation, and yet are still empty. Participants will be challenged to find creative and productive ways to activate this vacated land.
- Access to data and digitisation - Data and digitisation can provide agricultural insights that enable farmers to make well-informed decisions, resulting in improved yields, outcomes, and profits. The bootcamp teams will be tasked to make data more accessible, usable, and valuable to the farming community.
Prizes will be awarded to the teams which come up with the most innovative solutions.
For more information on the ThincLab AgTech Innovation Bootcamp.
About the Riverland’s ThincLab Loxton
In June 2020 the University of Adelaide partnered with the South Australian Government’s Department of Primary Industries and Regions SA (PIRSA) to establish ThincLab Loxton in the heart of the Riverland. ThincLab Loxton is the first regional ThincLab supporting start-ups and businesses from Loxton and the broader Riverland region as part of a network of five incubators.
Media contacts:
- Professor Noel Lindsay, Pro Vice-Chancellor – Entrepreneurship / Dean of Business, Adelaide Business School, University of Adelaide. Mobile: +61 (0)428 842 024, Email: noel.lindsay@adelaide.edu.au
- Zrinka Tokic, Director, ThincLab, University of Adelaide. Mobile: +61 (0)401 976 207, Email: zrinka.tokic@adelaide.edu.au
- Crispin Savage, Acting Manager News and Media, The University of Adelaide. Mobile: +61 (0)481 912 465, Email: crispin.savage@adelaide.edu.au