Spark Wagga Wagga

In partnership with Spark Festival, Charles Sturt University, ACS Labs and Investment NSW, join us for discovery, ideas and connection to the NSW regional ecosystem.

Meet minds, share ideas and skills, find your future collaborators or tell others about your venture. Whether curious about innovation and technology, or a seasoned expert, this event is designed to foster engagement and collaboration across the thriving tech-enabled communities that call regional NSW home. 

You’ll love this if you: 

• Like to hear fascinating new ideas (and perhaps even find your own) 
• Want to meet innovators, founders and professionals in the local community 
• Network and hear from key leaders in the NSW ecosystem about how to be supported in your own ideas and ventures whether you are a founder, startup, SME or in corporate 

This is part of an event series: 

• 12 Nov Wagga Wagga
• 13 Nov Dubbo
• 14 Nov Bathurst 

Special Guests 

• Claire Bull: Director Sustainability & Innovation at Extolla, Angel Investor & Mentor, Mentor in Residence at ACS Labs, the Co-National Lead for Tech Australia Advocates

Claire is absolutely supercharging the Aussie startup ecosystem wherever she is in her varied roles, so expect the same as she joins us for this event. Starting her career in B2B marketing, she found her way to COO at Frank Green, partnered with Microsoft and Governments to launch tech businesses in APAC and now helps startup founders succeed as part of the ACS Labs community and is the Director of Sustainability and Innovation at Extolla. We're thrilled to have Claire joining us in Wagga, Dubbo and Bathurst.

• Jo Palmer: Director of Innovation Programs at Charles Sturt University and 2019 Australian Rural Woman of the Year

Jo Palmer is passionate about connecting, educating and empowering rural businesses so they can access the skills and experience they need to grow. She is also passionate about inspiring a new generation of regional entrepreneurs and as the Director of Innovation at Charles Sturt University, she has made it her mission to illuminate the innovation and entrepreneurship already occurring in regional NSW to inspire others who might pursue this path. 

• Zoe Lamont: Co-founder of Verve Money, Co-founder of Farm Door 

Zoe is passionate about using business to do good, leveraging her various business platforms to advocate for change. Beginning her career in London and as a humanitarian volunteer in Zambia, India, Fiji and with Burmese illegal migrant children along the Thai border, Zoe returned to Australia to a short stint in corporate finance PR before establishing the 10thousandgirl Campaign in 2009. Over the next eight years Zoe and her team ran financial wellbeing programs for over 10,000 women in over 80 regional, remote locations across Australia. In 2018, along with two co-founders, Zoe was responsible for launching Verve Super, Australia's first ethical superannuation fund for women, by women, offering ethical investments, women's financial advocacy and free financial coaching. Zoe and her husband now run healthy meal company Farm Door Riverina and together with their two young children, live near Wagga in regional NSW.

• Paul Moonie: Director and CEO of Halocell  

Paul has over 20 years of R&D experience in 3rd generation photovoltaics, and is currently bringing Halocell’s Perovskite product development to commercial production. 

• David Brow: EOM Bikes 

David combines his passion for bikes with innovative mechanical expertise in EOM Bikes, converting fuel powered bikes to renewables including service and repair.  By reusing electric car batteries, they are electrifying farm vehicles, wheelchairs, caravan 12v systems, camping batteries and of course, his main passion, motorcycles.

More speakers are being announced.

This event is proudly supported by Investment NSW, and Spark Festival has been made possible by support from the City of Sydney, the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources, Herbert Smith Freehills, the Atlassian Foundation and Pledge 1%, ACS Labs and Harbour City Labs, Stone & Chalk, Startup Daily, Net Nada, UTS Graduate Research School, TURO and Decidr. More about Spark Festival

About Charles Sturt University 

Innovation is key to addressing future challenges. At Charles Sturt University, our diverse programs foster innovation across various industries like food production, climate change, healthcare, and cybersecurity. Whether you seek to understand innovation processes, develop skills, validate ideas, solve community issues, or implement solutions, Innovate at Charles Sturt offers workshops, bootcamps, hackathons, masterclasses, conferences, and demo days to support your journey.

More about Charles Sturt University

By registering for this event, you grant full rights to use the images from any photography/video footage for publicity and education purposes. This may include (but is not limited to), the right to use them in their printed and online publicity, coursework presentations, social media and press releases. If you do not wish to be photographed, please inform an event organiser.