Archive

(Originally published on the YWCA Canberra blog.) Mieka Vigilante is a Director of Fashion for FASHFEST – what she calls, “the business of dreams”. FASHFEST, a Canberra-based fashion show now in its fourth year, aims to cultivate modern, emerging fashion, design and creative talent. FASHFEST has a focus on encouraging participation from young people, either as fashion students […]

Stir is an online platform that helps people form their ideas into reality through crowd voted micro-grants. While only relatively new, in its first year the platform saw 45 uploads of different ideas and awarded fifteen $1000 grants. Two of these projects progressed to win a total of $20,000 in ANU’s start-up program InnovationACT. This […]

Dr Sarah Pearson has had a fascinating career understanding the universe, meddling with confectionary, solving cancer and consulting to business. She is passionate about science and innovation, and now leads the Canberra Innovation Network. Clubhouse volunteer, Emily, spoke with her to find out about how science led her on this path, and how physics is linked to chocolate.

Erica Hediger is one busy, inspirational, robot-making, workshop-running, creative entrepreneur. She talks here about the programs she runs, the importance of incorporating artistic design with electronics, and the path she took to get where she is now. The Creative Element, Erica’s business, is based out of the Canberra Innovation Network. The Creative Element combines science, […]

Ingrid McCarthy is the Inspiring Australia ACT program manager, a position that is based at the Canberra Innovation Network.  It is an umbrella organisation for a variety of different organisations. Ingrid explains, “Canberra Innovation Network is an initiative of the ACT Government, but it incorporates so much more. It is about building an innovation ecosystem […]

By Emily Hollosy Image: Hala (far right) at the opening of our AV Studio, with Frances Crimmins, Executive Director YWCA Canberra; Minister Joy Burch; Sherri Lake, Executive Teacher, Richardson Primary School; and Heidi Zajac, YWCA Canberra Board Director. Hala Batainah is an ambassador for the YWCA Computer Clubhouse and Federal Director of Microsoft. She talks […]