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Revolutionary ideas amplify Parramatta’s appetite for innovation
02 Nov 2011
Developing Parramattaas a centre of education excellence in health sciences, and the re-engineering of Parramatta River to link employment precincts via water transport, were just some ideas that flourished at an IBM Innovation Discovery Workshop held in Parramatta last month.
Parramatta City Council, in partnership with IBM, hosted the two-day Workshop, which is held in just five cities around the world each year, from October 20-21. It offered over 100 key stakeholders from business, health, technology and education sectors to explore ideas for digital and social innovation in the City.
The Lord Mayor of Parramatta, Cr Lorraine Wearne, was pleased with the success of the Workshop, and is keen to explore the development of the revolutionary ideas that were presented.
“Parramatta’s IBM Innovation Discovery Workshop was a great success and as a result, a number of cutting-edge proposals were developed, all of which are aimed at improving the social, education and industry infrastructure in Parramatta,” said Cr Wearne.
“It was incredible to see the presentation of these ideas receiving standing ovations from our City’s key stakeholders,” said Cr Wearne. “This kind of enthusiasm has amplified our appetite for working with all levels of government and stakeholders to embrace these opportunities.”
The top three ideas that emerged from the Workshop, included:
- Parramatta: The Health Sciences City Campus: This idea aims to transform the whole city into a ‘Centre of Education Excellence in Health Sciences’, starting from High School, in order to frame Parramatta as a city for quality education.
- Making the most of Parramatta River: This idea proposed a complete re-engineering of the Parramatta River to allow the development of a vibrant 24 hour foreshore precinct in the CBD to be linked to the city's three other major employment centres; Westmead, Rydalmere and Camellia, via rapid water transport.
- Connected Healthcare and Wellbeing: This proposal encourages Parramatta to adopt a smarter healthcare leadership role, to deliver an enhanced model of healthcare and well being for all, through physical anddigital transformation and workforce development.
Other solutions included the development of a virtual space for arts, a neighbourhood WiFi lab and a one-stop innovation centre, which would offer residential, commercial, collaborative and entertainment facilities within a single mixed-use precinct.
"By taking a bold step to openly collaborate with the community and key stakeholders across industry, government, academia and business, as well as leveraging social networking and entrepreneurship, Parramatta is destined to become a thriving economic and social hub of the greater Sydney metropolitan region," said Catherine Caruana-McManus, Smarter Planet and Cities Executive for IBM Australia.
Parramatta’s Innovation Discovery Workshop was very popular on social networks, with participants updating posts on networking sites more than three times in the first two hours of the Workshop. A hashtag, #SmartCityParra was so popular, tweets were posted every 20 to 40 seconds, ultimately positioning it as a trending topic in Australia.
“We are enthusiastic about exploring these ideas as we continue on our journey towards building a Smart City that embraces digital opportunities and helps businesses, community groups, government stakeholders and residents capitalise on the growth of connective technologies,” said Cr Wearne.
“I thank IBM for choosing Parramatta as one of the select few international locations to host these Innovation Workshops,” said Cr Wearne. “I would also like to thank the participants whose feedback will assist us in building a Parramatta where everyone can prosper.”
The IBM Innovation Discovery Workshop has been held in a variety of cities were significant developments have resulted, including Rio de Janeiro's state-of-the-art Command Centre, Boston's Living Lab and Bordeaux's creation of a Smarter City strategy, which was implemented to create citizen services and spur economic development.
For more information about the outcomes of the IBM Discovery Workshop, visit http://www.parracity.nsw.gov.au/think_parramatta
Media Enquiries: Sia Anthopoulos, Communications Officer, Parramatta City Council
Tel: 9806 5669 Mob: 0403 153 263 Email: santhopoulos@parracity.nsw.gov.au