Fifty of Tasmania’s top emerging tech students have teamed up with TasNetworks, the University of Tasmania and Amazon Web Services for a three-day “hackathon” aimed at solving real challenges facing the state’s energy network.
The inaugural Open Innovation Hackathon was launched at The Forest, the university’s newly opened inner-city hub.
Students are working in teams to develop prototype solutions for seven problem areas drawn from TasNetworks’ operations, covering topics like network data modelling, customer design processes and asset identification.
The challenges were picked from TasNetworks’ internal Think Tank program held earlier this year, where staff pitched ideas and operational problems directly to senior leaders.
TasNetworks’ incoming interim chief executive Renée Anderson said the strong turnout showed the value of bringing industry, education and tech partners together.
“Tasmania’s energy network is changing rapidly, and technology will play an increasingly important role in how we plan, operate and deliver for customers,” Anderson said.
“Today’s launch showcased the incredible talent and energy coming through Tasmania’s ICT sector, and it was fantastic to see students already engaging deeply with these real-world challenges.”
“The Hackathon is about building capability here in Tasmania, creating stronger pathways between education and industry, and giving students hands-on experience solving problems that matter.”
Teams will present their solutions to a judging panel made up of representatives from TasNetworks, the university and AWS on Wednesday afternoon.
They’ll be judged on problem understanding, critical thinking, teamwork, architecture design, technical ambition, feasibility and presentation.
Nicole Herbert, head of the University of Tasmania’s School of Information and Communication Technology, said hands-on experiences like this were essential for preparing students for work.
“Hackathons like this help students turn STEM learning into real capability. They have to understand the problem, work as a team, make smart technical decisions and build something that can work in the real world,” Herbert said.
“When students can apply their skills to genuine industry problems, it builds confidence and capability and helps ensure Tasmania has the talent it needs to support emerging industries like energy and technology.”
The winning team will receive paid internship opportunities with TasNetworks, along with gift vouchers from AWS.
Several of the hackathon challenges are also expected to become university projects for future students.
