Last night’s keynote, the Hon Anthony Roberts MP, commented that Australia’s greatest resources are to be found in our people as opposed to in the ground.
The sight of 90 students all streaming into NSW Parliament House for our first ever Medtech industry event affirmed that sentiment.
Not only was their suit game strong, but also their interview skills.
Once our town crier-esq time keeper (and intern) Magnus rang the bell for the first of 10 rounds, the 27 companies didn’t get a breather for a solid 90 minutes.
On hand for moral support and professional advice were 40 special guests from government, industry, academia, the startup community and Health Minister Jillian Skinner.
We were also pretty lucky to get some student insights from Gerrit Gmel, an insanely talented hybrid type who has been working for pain management startup Saluda Medical while completing his PhD.
In additional to taking on Parkinson’s disease, he also fronts for folk band Citizens of the World.
The Australian Government recently identified Medtech as one of five industry growth centres.
Witnessing the combination of big thinkers with future thinkers in just one night showed first hand that this sector hasn’t even fully begun to take flight in Australia.
On a final note, we offered some pretty sweet prizes (sweet as in chocolate Haigh’s frogs) to the best student pitchers (Tyrone Feldmen from UNSW and Hilary Nguyen (WSU) and ‘friendliest’ startups (Lorica and Sound Scout). In return, we heard some pretty epic and impromptu acceptance speeches.
As eloquently stated Hilary, “we are the dreamers who dare to dream.”
