The new executive of the Sunshine Coast Literary Association, appointed at the Annual General Meeting this month, is planning to continue building on the past year’s success.

Congratulating past-president Pam Hardgrave and the rest of the outgoing committee for their success and thanking them for their dedication, incoming SCLA president Hari Kotrotsios said the new committee wanted to build on that success of the past year and see the association continue to grow.

“The Sunshine Coast Literary Association aims to encourage, nurture and showcase literary talent in the region and the many events organised by our outgoing committee have certainly done that,” Ms Kotrotsios said.

“In the past year the SCLA has re-established the WARM Literary Awards, first held in 2007 and also hosted several workshops, discussion mornings and other events such as the monthly Front Write Up literary performance evenings,” Hari said.

Hari said the new committee was inspired by this success and were looking forward to another year of great events.

“We are looking at a range of new events for this year to provide a forum for new and existing literary talent where they can develop and expand themselves,” Hari said.

The SCLA will also continue to develop its new interactive website where members can showcase their own work, share information and feedback and interact with each other in the association’s own online literary community. The website also features an upcoming program of Sunshine Coast literary news and events and members and others can subscribe to the monthly WARM E-News.

For more information about the SCLA or how to become a member visit www.scliterary.org, email info@scliterary.org, or phone 0414 635 407.

Kicking off the second series of Enterprise Tuesdays for 2009, Annette Sym – best selling author and award winning businesswoman – will share her ‘Symple steps to starting a business’.

At the next Enterprise Tuesday event on Tuesday 25 August from 4-6pm at the University of the Sunshine Coast’s Innovation Centre, Annette will provide practical information and tips for new and emerging businesses.

For those who have a great business idea but are unsure where to begin, Annette will present her ‘Symply too good to be true’ success story. Annette commented “the reason I’m sharing my story is to show that with the right attitude you can achieve anything”.

Annette added “turning an idea into a business can be daunting, I’ve learnt many lessons along the way and want to inspire others to take their dream and create a business”

Annette is an acclaimed, multi-award winning businesswoman and entrepreneur, having won, among many other accolades, the Telstra Australian Government and Queensland Government Micro Business of the Year Awards in 2004.

Colin Graham, Innovation Centre CEO, commented “Annette Sym is a great example of a local entrepreneur and successful businesswoman. Her case study can offer practical insights for emerging entrepreneurs on how to start a business”

This event is the first of the final three Enterprise Tuesdays for the second semester of 2009 and is open to local entrepreneurs, business owners and USC staff and students.

Enterprise Tuesday, inspired by a program of the same name at the University of Cambridge, is free to attend and includes a presentation by a successful entrepreneur to inspire entrepreneurship in the local community.

Enterprise Tuesday is also a great opportunity to meet and network with like-minded business owners, start-up company directors and emerging entrepreneurs.

These events are an initiative of the Enterprise Program run by the Innovation Centre in collaboration with USC. As part of this program, the University’s Faculty of Business now offers an Entrepreneurship Minor comprising of four courses for students interested in starting their own business.

The Innovation Centre’s 2009 Enterprise Tuesday series is proudly sponsored by Westpac.

To register your place at the next event on 25 August visit www.innovation-centre.com.au.

Everyone talks about using the Internet and social networking to make money and grow their business but for most business people web-based business development this opens up an unknown and confusing world.

But the University of the Sunshine Coast’s Innovation Centre is going to demystify the black art of the online world in a one-day intensive seminar, presented by experts in the field who know the secrets to using the Internet for business development.

The Digital Futures program, on Friday 4 September, will provide insight into capitalising on Web 2.0, the new evolutionary stage of the Internet, and using websites to generate revenue. The experts will also look at profiting from business traffic.

Colin Graham, Innovation Centre CEO said that there were currently more than 1.6 billion Internet users and although there was a huge amount of information online, the web remained a massive untapped resource available to anyone.

“There are over 190 million websites, with web usage increasing every day but using the online world to grow your business and maximise profit remains a black art so Digital Futures is an opportunity to learn those skills and reap the benefits,” Colin said.

Steve Huff, from Sixty Second Parent, has extensive business experience gained both on and offline, and will draw comparisons to each within his session – The Business Model, in order to question what it really meant to go online.

“Too often, people have an online presence that is not used to its highest capabilities, and it does not become a profitable tool for the company. The Internet is constantly being advanced and it is up to us to keep up with it,” Colin said.

With years of experience within the marketing field, Yean Cheong, Director at Mitchell Communications Group, will highlight the importance of Building Your Online Strategy in her presentation.

Colin said that strategy was key to maintaining a productive presence online and was important in order to identify the outcomes from your investments and to meet the desired results for the future.

Russell Bullen, director of Online Marketing Collective, will share his knowledge of online technologies and the moving trends that impact on the digital world. He will help participants to become more conscious operators through his presentation The Situation and Taking Business Online.

Digital Futures is not only about maximising online opportunities but also, driving, capturing and converting traffic, which will be the focus of a presentation by Matt Forman, Managing Director of Triffika. Edmund Pelgen, the founder of Market Reach, will then discuss the strategies to put in place in order to Evaluate, Improve, Retain and Grow business.

Colin said that Digital Futures was for anybody that has a website or an online presence, particularly businesses. “It provides the advice needed to use the web as a productive business tool instead of a dormant space.”

Digital Futures will be on Friday, September 4 2009 at Sunshine Coast Innovation Centre. Tickets are $295+GST but if you book and pay before August 14, you will receive a $50 discount. As part of your registration you will also receive a complementary Online Strategic Consultation with Russell Bullen, of the Online Marketing Collective, valued at $150, as well as a complementary Optimising Your Site for Google consultation with Matt Forman, of Traffica, valued at $150. (Conditions apply) To register visit the new Innovation Centre website – www.innovation-centre.com.au – or call 07 5450 2600.

The new Innovation Centre Sunshine Coast website is a virtual environment that can take entrepreneurs from ‘zero to business hero’, regardless of what stage of their business development they are at.

The site – www.innovation-centre.com.au – is not just an open door to the Innovation Centre, a University of the Sunshine Coast company, it is also a virtual bonanza of business information to help anyone with an idea, at whatever stage of their business development, to business success.

Innovation Centre Entrepreneur in Residence Nigel Hall said the new website offered invaluable information and resources to everyone from people who have not yet started to develop their idea through to business owners, whether start-ups, home-based, family or small businesses.

“These businesses often face difficulty growing – they may lack the confidence, experience, skills or resources and market-know how to move ahead or it may be that they lack an external impartial sounding board to support them,” Mr Hall said.

Mr Hall said while economies world-wide continued to face massive challenges, he believed now was the time for entrepreneurs to get moving on their plans so that when the economy shifts they would be best positioned to reap the benefits.

“While there are still some tough times ahead, when the economy turns around it could happen very quickly and businesses need to be set up and ready to meet the demands that will bring,” he said.

The Innovation Centre is already home to 28 businesses, mainly in ICT, Clean Tech and Creative Industry sectors, and the new website opens up the Innovation Centre’s wealth of business experience and insights to a wider local, national and international audience.  Other resources can be added to the ‘Zero to Hero’ framework and the Innovation Centre is already considering submissions from other expert bodies.

“One of the great features on the site is our 10-step Zero to Hero program, which offers specific insights and practical tips for everyone from dreamers – people who are still to put their ideas on paper, to Hero – a business which is consistently producing profits and spare cash, with new products being developed to secure future markets,” Mr Hall said.

“This really is a great resource for growth oriented businesses and we have developed it because we are committed to support local business and the development of the region’s economy, particularly in the development of the Clean Tech, Digital, Creative and Knowledge-based industry sectors.”

Mr Hall said the Zero to Hero program allowed people access to information and 40 practical articles from business leaders in areas such as business planning, human resources, sales, online marketing, finance, marketing and strategic planning.
“The new website demonstrates the depth of practical experience and knowledge associated with the Innovation Centre, one of the fastest growing innovation hotspots in Australia,” Mr Hall said.
He said in addition visitors to the site could also check out the many businesses already based at the Innovation Centre and get details about upcoming business development programs and courses.
To check out the new website and get more information about the Innovation Centre and the Zero to Hero program, visit www.innovation-centre.com.au, phone +61 7 5450 2600 or email innovationcentre@usc.edu.au.

Reflected Image productions produced this video for use at trade shows and online for Sunshine Coast based company

Auzion who provide innovative energy solutions for homeowners.

[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/5834224[/vimeo]

Auzion, a Sunshine Coast-based sustainable energy company, has developed a revolutionary new product that puts people in complete control of the energy they use.
Launching the AUZiMAX today, Auzion managing director Mark Leckenby said the AUZiMAX could reduce a household’s energy consumption by as much as 20%.
Mr Leckenby said Auzion, which also provides solar energy systems, was passionate about helping people to be more sustainable.

“We want to create a simple way for people in a fast-paced world to make a difference without the inconvenience that is often associated with being ‘sustainable’ or ‘green’,” he said.
Mr Leckenby said the AUZiMAX is a monitoring device that allows customers to see not just how much energy they are using as a household, but also where in the house and at what times they consume the most power.

He said added to a solar photovoltaic grid connect system, or even installed by itself, the AUZiMAX went further than other products available.

“It doesn’t just give you a total energy consumption rate, it gives you the details, allows you to set an energy budget and can send you alerts to help keep you on track.”

“The AUZiMAX allows the home owner to log into a web portal to monitor their energy usage, set automatic email alerts on excessive consumption, and enable smart switching of loads to maximise the amount of solar energy fed back into the grid. On the web portal, homeowners can also at a glance monitor the levels of renewable and conventional power they are using.

“The software also provides a breakdown of where they are using the energy and when it is being used and allows the homeowner to set an energy budget, which will trigger automatic email and SMS alerts to tell them when they are getting close to the limits they set,” Mark said.

He said Auzion preliminary research had shown the AUZiMAX saved customers an additional 20% energy saving, on top of the savings from the solar power installation.

Auzion are also assisting people wanting to install solar systems, by stepping in to support homeowners who missed out on the Federal Government’s solar rebate, by offering their own grant that means customers won’t pay more.
Mr Leckenby said while the industry and homeowners were surprised by announcement on June 9, that the Government was transferring to the new Solar Credit Scheme immediately instead of on June 30 as expected, Auzion was committed to ensuring those who wanted to adopt solar power could.

“We want to support the Government in the transition to the new scheme, which is due to be considered by Parliament as part of the Renewable Energy Target (RET) legislation in August so we are offering our own rebate on any systems we sign up from June 10, subject to the passage of the RET legislation,” Mr Leckenby said.

For more information about Auzion’s solar energy systems and the AUZiMAX, visit www.auzion.com.

Data Scientists, a company specialising in the development of IT solutions for researchers, has just returned from the successful international debut of its new open source software solution, OccIDEAS.
Based at the Innovation Centre Sunshine Coast, Data Scientists launched OccIDEAS at the leading international conference for health researchers, the 42nd annual meeting of the Society of Epidemiological Research (SER) in Los Angeles.
OccIDEAS was developed by Data Scientists for the Univeristy of Western Australia, for the purpose of increasing the accuracy in determining links between people’s occupation and the risk of getting cancer.
Data Scientists managing director Troy Sadkowsky said previously to determine the likelihood that a person has been exposed to a hazardous environment, an epidemiology expert would have had to individually read through each questionnaire response.
“But with the OccIDEAS program, the researcher can set rules in the system which automatically analyze which participants of the study have possible exposure or not.” Mr Sadkowsky said.
He said experts attending the SER meeting were very impressed by the program and its potential applications.
“A number of researchers stated that the application would have been perfect for their recent study and they wished they could have heard about OccIDEAS sooner” Mr Sadkowsky said.
Data Scientists are providing installation and support of OccIDEAS to the Breast Cancer, Enviornment and Employment Study (BCEES) being conducted by the Western Australian Institute of Medical Research (WAIMR).
This study will use OccIDEAS to assist in identifying environmental and employment risk factors for breast cancer.
“We estimate that OccIDEAS will save the researchers at least 30% of their time in making exposure assessments,” Mr Sadkowsky said.
“Attending the SER meeting was a great opportunity for us to see what international experts thought of OccIDEAS.  We have returned with lots of potential new clients and interest in the product so we are really enthusiastic about delivering it,” Mr Sadkowsky said.
Innovation Centre chief executive Colin Graham said it was great to see Innovation Centre clients like Data Scientists achieving recognition on the world stage.
“The Innovation Centre, a University of the Sunshine Coast company, is dedicated to the development of the region’s economy and companies like Data Scientists are exactly the type of businesses we work to assist in their development.”
“The Sunshine Coast needs to establish stronger knowledge based industry because it will create local jobs and provide career paths for local young people on graduation from the university,” Mr Graham said.
“The Innovation Centre offers competitive, state-of-the-art offices, with a great location close to the university and to the business and technology precinct to be developed across the road,” he said.
“Not only can companies access students from the university, they can locate themselves at what is becoming the ICT, Green Tech, creative and knowledge based hub of the Sunshine Coast.
For more information about the Innovation Centre Sunshine Coast visit www.innovation-centre.com.au, phone +61 7 5450 2600 or email innovationcentre@usc.edu.au.
For more information about Data Scientists visit www.datascientists.com or visit www.occideas.com for more information about the new IT tool.

Sunshine Coast writers will have the opportunity to learn about promoting themselves and their work at a special workshop at Noosa Library in July.
The Sunshine Coast Literary Association workshop, to be presented by Sunshine Coast public relations director and university teacher Michelle Smytheman, will help writers take the next step in their journey – promoting themselves and their work.
“Writers are incredible people and it is important that they get the opportunity to share their work with others so I have created a workshop that will give them the skills and tools to do that,” Michelle said.
During the Promotion: The Next Step to Literary Success workshop, Michelle will share the knowledge she has built up during her 15-year career in public and media relations, and journalism.  As director of Reflected Image PRoductions, Michelle understands the importance of effective communication and maintaining positive relationships with media.
“In a world where people were bombarded with news and advertising it is sometimes difficult for people to get their story out there but there are some simple skills and tools that can help whether you are looking to promote yourself in your local community or further afield,” Michelle said.
The 3-hour workshop will enable authors to develop their own Public Relations campaign from start to finish.
The workshop will help participants learn about:
•    Developing a Public Relations campaign
•    Successfully writing for the media.
•    Knowing who to contact with your story.
•    Developing effective interview skills.

Reflected Image PRoductions and the Sunshine Coast Regional Council proudly support this event.

WORKSHOP DETAILS:
WHEN:    Saturday 18 July 2009
WHERE:    Noosa Library
TIME:        9.30-1.30pm
COST:    Sunshine Coast Literary Assoc Financial Members $50, Non Members $60
Bookings:    Book and confirm by payment before workshop: phone 5471 6739 or 5443 6727 or email pamh@ozemail.com.au.
Numbers are limited so REGISTER EARLY!