Gold Coast Techspace
The Gold Coast Techspace is a Makerspace/Hackerspace and education centre focusing on Electronics, computer programming, and 3D printing.[1][2] It is currently located at the Mudgeeraba Old Post Office, Mudgeeraba, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
Formation | 2011 |
---|---|
Type | Hackerspace |
Purpose | Hacking |
Location |
|
Coordinates | -28.0800734,153.3631283 |
Official language | English |
Founders | Steve Dalton, Lucas Brandt, Nick Byrne |
Affiliations | Xinchejian, ReadWrite Labs |
Staff | 9 |
Website | gctechspace |
Gold Coast Techspace is a central component of the Gold Coast startup ecosystem[3] and has a sister relationship with Xinchejian, Shanghai, China.[4]
History
The space was started by a group of local technologists, Lucas Brandt, Steven Dalton & Nick Byrne in 2011 from an initial meeting at a McDonald's out of frustration at there being a lack of places for the local Gold Coast public to learn and share technology, skills and knowledge. Shortly after acquiring their first location in Johnston St, Southport, Gold Coast Techspace (GCTS) was incorporated as a Queensland Incorporated Association (Non-profit) and has operated this way since. The Tech Space has had a number of homes since its initial founding:
- 2011–2012 – 3b/51 Johnston St, Southport
- 2012–2013 – 21 Nind St, Southport
- 2013–2015 – Robina Community Centre, San Antonio Crt, Robina
- 2015 – IT Forum Gold Coast, Robina Community Centre, San Antonio Crt, Robina
- 2015 – Mudgeeraba Old Post Office - a fully fledged Council supported space for open development, creative minds and education
- 2018 - Gold Coast Innovation Hub - Gold Coast TechSpace are the hinterland outreach location for the newly formed GCHub and run some of their events out of their new building on Laver Drive, Robina
For a while the Gold Coast TechSpace also ran the first co-working space on the Gold Coast – Gold Coast Co-working.[5] As more Coworking spaces emerged on the Gold Coast such as Silicon Lakes and co-Spaces, the GCTS Co-Working space was closed to allow the space to focus on its core activities.
Over the years GCTS has held or participated in a number of collaborative events to encourage development in technology in the local area, these include the Gold Coast Science Fair 2013 and numerous BarCamps; open, participatory meetup.com stylised workshop events designed to provide a representative stage for potential technology ideas, demonstrations &/or start-ups .
Activities
Gold Coast TechSpace is the instigator of a number of technology related activities on the Gold Coast including:
- The first gateway location for the Gold Coast's public access LPWAN using The Things Network[6]
- Barcamp Gold Coast
See also
- Maker culture
- Hackerspace
- Open source hardware
- Robotics
- Internet of Things
- LPWAN
References
- "Adopted Report for the Economic Development and Tourism Committee Meeting Held on Thursday, 20 March 2014" (PDF). City of Gold Coast Council. 20 March 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
- "Gold Coast TechSpace". gctechspace.org. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
- "South East Queensland 2014 Startup Ecosystem Report" (PDF). qld.gov.au. Queensland Government.
- "2013–2014 Presidents Report". gctechspace.org. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
- Michelle, Hammond. "New Gold Coast Co-Working space opens its doors". Startup Smart. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
- Gutierrez, Peter. "LoRaWAN network launched on the Gold Coast". IoTHub. nextmedia. Retrieved 5 December 2016.