With the first wave of summer upon us and those long, lazy days ahead many students naturally start thinking about spending more time at the beach. Those crystal clear waters and golden sands are one of the city’s biggest drawcards and for a large number of international students that’s an irresistible prospect. But for many of them beach culture, much less the prospect of being able to swim in the surf, is as foreign and palatable as a Vegemite sandwich.

The lure of the beach is strong, but without the knowledge and confidence to navigate the waves the closest they usually get is being left high and dry on the sand. With that in mind the city’s only beachside university, Southern Cross, has partnered with Surf Life Saving Queensland to launch their Hit The Beach surf safety program through Study Gold Coast’s Vision 2020 partnership fund.

In the lead up to the 2018 Commonwealth Games billions of dollars were invested into the Gold Coast, not only to meet the event’s infrastructure needs, but to ensure the city could leverage its potential in the post Games era. Aside from the physical infrastructure substantial emphasis was placed on realising the city’s intellectual capital, particularly through entrepreneurial enterprises and innovative start-ups. As Australia’s small business capital the strategy made perfect sense.

As part of that strategy $5 billion was invested into the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge precinct, encompassing Griffith University’s research facilities, the new University Hospital, the Gold Coast Private Hospital and the G:Link light rail service. The GC2018 Athlete’s Village occupied some 10 hectares within the precinct, a parcel of land now being reimagined as Lumina, an entrepreneurial nursery for innovative, high technology enterprises, many of which will feed into, and form partnerships with, Griffith University’s world leading biomedical research facilities.

A tech company based in the heart of Surfers Paradise is winning international accolades for the way its changing agricultural practices across the globe. Social enterprise AgUnity has developed a platform that empowers poor farmers in developing countries by improving their agricultural practices so that they can become profitable.

By using blockchain in the backend of their platform AgUnity are able to guarantee security for farmers and in doing so tackle the issues of graft and corruption which plague farming in those countries.

Gold Coast students have been recognised for their outstanding contributions to the city through the Gold Coast Student Excellence Awards in a gala event held at the HOTA outdoor stage. The five award recipients are all outstanding individuals who have demonstrated innovative leadership and initiative through their positive impact and the contributions they’ve made within their communities.

In presenting the inaugural awards Mayor Tom Tate praised not only the winning recipients but also the wider student community for their contribution to the city. 

Saint Stephens College has taken out the top prize in the 2019 Mayor’s Telstra Technology Awards. Top Binzzz is an app designed to attract gamers into playing physical sport and athletes to become better at sport by utilising technology.

Saint Stephens students Kaveendra Dissabandara, Zachary Haywood and Samara Lowie developed their idea because they wanted to see obesity rates drop through more physical exercise and to enhance their sporting prowess through the use of the latest technology. When asked what set their idea apart Zac answered: “simplicity of design was the key.” 

The Venue Management Association moved to the Gold Coast from Brisbane five years ago and CEO Michael Brierley says they’ve never looked back. “A lot of the people we work with on the Gold Coast are very innovative and have a great sense of fun. It’s also such a beautiful place to work.”