Her article published in the December 2010 B-Hert News is titled ‘The Role of University in Developing Entrepreneurial Capabilities’. It talks about how Australian Universities have a responsibility to educate and support Australian Entrepreneurs to really compete in a Global entrepreneurial stage.

Read the article by Tracey Hodgkins (PDF 270 KB)

Download the B-Hert News, issue 29, December 2010 (PDF 3.5 MB)

Tracey, CEO of AELC, is interviewed this week in WA Business News.

“… kids are coming out of university and they can’t apply what they have learnt because it doesn’t make any sense”

View a larger clipping of the article on the AELC Facebook page

Business Icon Victoria 2010 Final Event

Photographs are courtesy of Jorge de Araujo Photography

Benjamin Smith - Winner of WA Business Icon 2010 in action at the final

The 2010 WA Business Icon competition reached its conclusion on Monday with a huge event at the Grand Ballroom of the Hyatt Regency in Perth.

The final four contestants had arrived back in Perth the previous afternoon from their gruelling research expedition to Singapore, leaving little time to rest and prepare.

In front of a panel of eight high profile judges and an audience of over four hundred, the title of WA Business Icon was taken out by Benjamin Smith.

Ben is an Edith Cowan University graduate, currently working in local government whilst studying for a Master of Commerce at the University of WA and tutoring students from ECU’s faculty of Business and Law.

WA Business Icon Final 2010 at the Hyatt Grand Ballroom in Perth

Notebooks are being rapidly filled up with facts and ideas.

Despite getting little sleep and almost no time to freshen up before the meeting, everyone thought it was a tremendous opportunity and many new relationships were established. The finalists took every opportunity to meet and talk with as many people as possible, getting as much background hints and information that they could to assist with their rapid assimilation into the Singaporean business world, education and culture.

By 10am, the finalists were on the other side of the city being briefed by Contact Singapore on all the important statistics, trends and information they need to know.

Photos below show the finalists with the Australian High Commissioner and the breakfast networking event.

The finalists were taken to the airport from tonights Networking function at Westpac in a very funky white stretch limo courtesy of Bellagio Limousines.

Their task now is to create an innovative campaign for Contact Singapore that attracts young Australian Professionals to live and work in Singapore.

Contact Singapore is an organization within the Singapore government.

The contestants have a hectic itinerary ahead if them meeting representatives from Singapore government and business.

The finalists will be presenting their campaigns at the final in Perth on Monday.

Fundraising event at the Old Melbourne Hotel

With only 48 hours up their sleeves, the contestants pulled off an amazing evening of performance, auctions and speeches raising over $18,000 for the charity.

Contestant Adele Pisano

The contestants arranged for an array of auction items ranging from some 2 night getaways to designer jewelry, signed memorabilia and everything in between. The auctioneer, Terry Harding pumped up the crowd and everything was sold.

The crowd of over 50 people also enjoyed a cultural delight of singers and dancers from the countries that Opportunity International supports.

Task two is now done and all involved couldn’t have asked for a better outcome.

The remaining twelve contestants are now working on the problem of developing up sustainable living communities in the Pilbara and other remote areas. They have been told to front up for judging tomorrow afternoon with their passport and a bag packed. The results will be announced during a networking event at Westpac in St Georges Terrace tomorrow evening. The four chosen finalists wont be going home that night, they’ll be heading straight for the airport and on to the next incredible international final task!

Don’t miss the outcome of this when the exhausted finalists face the judges next Monday midday at the Hyatt in Perth. Tickets are available but numbers are limited for this truly impressive event. For further information, visit wa.australianbusinessicon.com/final-event/

Contestants working at the first task on day 1 of the Business Icon WA competition

Many were here a good 30 minutes before the briefing began at 7.30 this morning.

A major difference with this years Business Icon is the advent of cameras filming their every move, big brother style. Tomorrow at 4pm is the deadline and judges line up to hear the teams’ presentations and make their decisions. Who is going through to the next round?

Rosie Thomas - Business Icon Victoria 2010 Winner

Some of Victoria’s most entrepreneurial young minds have just come to the end of one of the most gruelling weeks they have ever experienced; pushing themselves and their resilience to the brink.

Victorian Business Icon 2010 saw 32 young entrepreneurs battle it out for the title. All of the competitors excelled in the four business focused tasks they were given and shocked the sponsors with their creative, innovative ideas; especially given the very short time frames for completion.

At the final event luncheon held at the CQ Function Centre and MC’d by Channel seven reporter Amy Parks, the final four contestants presented their final task to a crowd of over 200 and a panel of six high profile judges. They were then asked eight minutes worth of tough business focused questions. In the end a winner was chosen based on the judge’s decision and an audience vote.

The 2010 winner, Rosie Thomas, is a Melbourne local who co-founded PROJECT ROCKIT, an anti-bullying/youth leadership program. Rosie is a highly creative and innovative youth professional, dedicated to facilitating the hopes and dreams of young people.

SOME of the best and brightest young business minds have just come to the end of one of their most gruelling weeks ever.

“This is a great networking opportunity even if you don’t get to the final,” 24-year-old Marlene Pulls said. “You get to meet all these amazing people who are driven, cool and have a different focus in their lives. It makes you so inspired and enthusiastic about your life.

“I had three hours sleep last night, the intensity is at 1000% and we are all working our butts off because we all want to win.

“In my group, we are all leaders, so sometimes you have to back off. Part of being a good icon is to communicate the right way, respect other people and work as a team.

“You don’t have to be the loudest, but you do have to assert yourself and get your ideas implemented.”

Fellow contestant Aron Du-Shane, 23, is doing a dual degree in business marketing and interactive entertainment at QUT.

The Brisbane man also runs his own company helping small businesses with marketing strategies.

“In a word, this competition has been busy,” he said on Thursday. “When I heard it was going to be on the Sunshine Coast, I thought it would be lots of fun and that I might get to the beach.

“But the tasks have been very time-heavy and there are lots of really talented people here who keep you on your toes. . .”

Mr Du-Shane said the week had been a blur.

“I called a friend of mine on the first night and she asked me how I was holding up,” he said. “I said it’s like The Amazing Race on steroids.

“It is very intense. We are all such big personalities and we all have big opinions. We’ve had a couple of conflicts in our group, but nothing too serious.”

Read the full article at the Sunshine Coast Daily.

A large task done in just 24 hours in teams of 3. The judges had a hard time selecting them but the final 4 came through with determination and passion. I can’t wait to see the final task that will be delivered on Wednesday in front of hundreds of people at the CQ Function centre in the Melbourne CBD.

Good luck to James Hopton, Lucy Wu, Brook Hornung and Rosie Thomas.

Final Four in Victoria Business Icon being briefed on the last task.

]]> http://www.aelc.edu.au/news/climate-change-finds-four-potential-winners/feed/ 0 http://www.aelc.edu.au/news/qld-business-icon-on-win-news/ http://www.aelc.edu.au/news/qld-business-icon-on-win-news/#comments Mon, 19 Jul 2010 04:43:10 +0000 Beau Dog http://www.aelc.edu.au/?p=2727 The Queensland Business Icon competition is over for this year but the buzz still remains. This story went to air in Queensland during the competition.

This year, it was our turn with task two of Victoria Business Icon. The AELC wanted a social media campaign focused on further branding itself in the student space worldwide and got it we did!.

The four teams had approximately thirty hours from briefing to making their presentation in front of the judging panel.

To give you an idea of what can be done in that short time by the determined and talented young contestants, have a look at this video. Friday morning, the contestants were briefed on the task. By that night, this video had been conceived, scripted, shot, edited and uploaded to YouTube for the world to see. Even more amazing, the video was only one part of that team’s presentation – it fitted into a much bigger scenario.

All four teams came up with similarly impressive social media campaigns, in less than two days! This is shaping up to be quite a competition.

Yes, the team that created this video won that round and yes, you will definitely see AELC putting some of those fabulous ideas from all teams into practice.

www.aelc.edu.au/services/internships/

Channel 7 Weather Report, Live at Business Icon Bollywood Event, Melbourne

A live cross during the Weather from Channel 7 in Melbourne with David Brown, was one of the highlights of tonight’s Business Icon Bollywood event. In just 36 hours the 32 young entrepreneurs raised $14430.05 in support of charity Opportunity International.

The event featured Bollywood dancers and performers, auction items such as a signed jersey from the Carlton football team, massages, theatre tickets, mobile phones, holidays to  Queensland and a plethora of other goodies sourced by the competitors as they vied for a place in tomorrow’s challenge.

24 are now through to round two with the winning team going through in its entirety for raising $6018. Mighty effort – go the Blue team!

For more information on the Australian Business Icon competition run by AELC, visit www.australianbusinessicon.com

Channel Seven news presenter Amy Parkes at Business Icon Vic 2010

Today Victorian contestants got their first taste of the Business Icon concept for 2010 – A Bollywood themed charity event to be delivered tomorrow night with no budget and including a live Channel 7 Weather cross and news story.

News presenter Amy Parkes, interviewed Tracey Hodgkins (AELC CEO) the event designer and competition founder along with several of the eager young contestants. The excitement was palpable and everyone is focused on the task at hand. We are expecting great things.

Jenna Waters - Queensland Business Icon Winner 2010

We now have the first of the 2010 Business Icons and Queenslander Jenna Waters earned the honor.

The Queensland grand final task  was to create a concept and funding model for a holistic health and well being centre in Caloundra. The four finalists had  two days to prepare a presentation in front of 300 people with judges such as Tim Fairfax to impress. And impress they did!

Jenna collected prizes including an Internship, organised by AELC, a 16 gigabyte iPhone from Telsra Countrywide, $2000 cash, a holiday from tourstogo.com and business tools from Results Corporation

All four young finalists, Tahnee Brahim, Aron Du- Shane and Hazel Martin along with our winner Jenna were outstanding.  Congratulations to all!

Next the competition moves on to Melbourne where we will be looking to find the Business Icon Victoria winner.

More photos and information on the Business Icon Facebook pages. Everyone is Welcome!

Our fantastic Queensland organiser for the Busines Icon Competition, Lahnee Thomas

A team from AELC, including last year’s WA winner, Rebecca Olsen, is in Brisbane to manage the event.

From there, the the competition moves to Melbourne and finishes up in Perth.

Business Icon test Australia’s finest up and coming young entrepreneurial minds in a competition that is something like a cross between “The Apprentice” and “Masterchef”.  Amazing opportunities are opened up to the winners and finalists, and even many previous contestants have described the experience as “life changing”. One previous winner is now on the BRW Young Rich List.

For more information on the competition, visit www.australianbusinessicon.com

This was the first hurdle placed before applicants nationwide in the 2010 Australian Business Icon competition – one of three questions. Those who impressed the judges with their thinking will be invited to an interview from which the final contestant pool will be chosen to compete in this year’s competition.

So, how did Australia’s brightest and best tackle this misleadingly simple test? Generally, brilliantly! Following are a few samples the judges have noted as being at the top end of the scale. Note that the judges are interested only in the quality of thinking, not grammatical perfection. English as a 2nd language is no barrier to success in this competition.

“Humans are creatures who take pride in achieving greatness. History has shown that climbing a mountain represents a sacred rite of passage for boys who are entering their manhood. It represents an important stage in life as the boys have to prove their worthiness by conquering nature before they could embrace adulthood. An old legend further describes a partially blind man who scaled the peak of a mountain only to descend the mountain with perfect vision. This led to a believe that something supernatural, some higher supreme being rests high above sea level. The rest is history when many religion and culture mark the peak of a mountain as a holy place and many make pilgrimages to the top of the mountain to be one step closer to the supreme being. The truth is that even in the modern century, where old superstitions are shunned as rubbish, the keen interest to prove oneself has never weakened. The desire to conquer the unthinkable burns deep down amongst the strong. I believe that this is the primary motivating factor behind the increasing number of climbers who continuously challenge themself by scaling the Mt Everest of any other mountains around the world.”

* * * * *

“Childhood dreamer: the person who said in Prep he wanted to climb Mt Everest and hung his head in disappointment because an adult and a bunch of munchkins laughed and told him that was a silly grown up dream. Next time we find him on the peak of Mt Everest saying “I told you so!”

The hardcore adventurer is the person with an unsatisfied lust for excitement. Nothing stands in the way of this individual, even fear itself trembles in his presence. To this man a mountain is just another challenge from his dreams to satisfy his hunger for “excitement.”

The bored professional is the person after many years of soul destroying work finds that he is unsatisfied with his life and wants to do some thing different and fulfilling instead of working through the dull piles of paperwork that vaguely resembles mountains when he day dreams of climbing them.

People may come from different groups though they share one thing an inspiring mountaineer once told me, they all are “dreaming the dream, doing the dream, living the dream.” Meaning they never let any dream no matter how big, be considered impossible by others.”

* * * * *

“Climbing anything changes the way you see everything else. Its not about making things looks smaller, its about seeing the whole idea. When we stand at the foot of our idea we can’t see the top, we can’t see where it ends. You only see the beginning.

And as we climb and we see the top of each rise in the mountain we think ‘this is it, this is as far as this idea goes’ but its only the latest milestone in life.

we always think “this is what I’ve worked for”, but its just a part of what we’re working towards.

The human race was meant to keep moving forward, to keep looking up and wonder what the view is like from somewhere else. All our innovation, all the quality worth measuring is in our strive to find a new perspective. And there will always be mountains to climb, because for us the universe does not end at the top of mount Everest.”

* * * * *

Melva Stone has experienced many ‘female firsts’ – From being the first female resident in a new remote mining town in WA to the first female manager in WA for the giant Mayne Nickless Group; the first female president of the Western Australian Section of the Royal Flying Doctor Service and the first female Chairman and now Honorary Life Member of the Australian British Chamber of Commerce in Western Australia. An amazing woman!

Share Melva’s experiences including trying to establish a world-wide patent for a unique product called Ring Thingz.

For bookings, go to AELC Innovation Club

“And with a bit of luck, you might soon be able to see film classics such as Star Wars, or even Casablanca, being re-broadcast in 3D on the new generation of consumer televisions.”

…writes Tony Malkovic on sciencewa.net.au

Tony attended the last AELC Innovation Club meeting and has produced a very interesting article relating many of the points covered by Dr Julien Flack.

Read the full article: R&D chief’s eye-opening insight into 3D technology

Beau Dog wrote about the same subject in an earlier AELC News post: By The Magic of Wobulation And Other 3D Innovations

Contestants in the Western Australian and Victorian competitions last year were profiled in booklets which were given out at the finals to guests, sponsors, judges and a host of potential employers and networking connections. We will be doing the same thing in Queensland this year.

What a great way to get your smiling face and fantastic accomplishments under the noses of people looking for people just like YOU!

Imagine the boost to your employability profile with a copy of this attached to your CV.

Just one of the great benefits from competing in Business Icon.

You can download and view last year’s booklets:

Contestant Profiles Booklet – Victoria 2009
Contestant Profiles Booklet – Western Australia 2009

Know anyone you think is up to the challenge of Business Icon? You can nominate them!

http://www.australianbusinessicon.com

Hot on the heels of the amazing 3D other-world cinema experience Avatar, 3D in the home theatre would be something a lot of us would love. Granting us that wish is Samsung who has just released the first 3D Plasma screens in Australia. This is an early introduction into 3D TV consumer technology and there are certain limitations, but it’s a start.

Last night at the AELC Innovation Club, we learnt a lot more about this technology from the people who are developing it. Dr Julien Flack of Digital Dynamic Depth, a Perth company, took us through the history, current status and possible futures of 3D implementation in our daily gadgets such as TVs, phones, gaming consoles and laptops.

What is exciting is that you don’t need a 3D source to start with. Digital Dynamic Depth have spent years developing a technology that will convert a standard 2 dimensional picture into 3D with full depth perception (and yes, amazingly enough, you can even see behind things as the viewpoint changes). What is even more incredible, is that this process happens in real time as you are watching! We saw it ourselves, working on a laptop last night and it is truly impressive full blown 3D.

This means the old stumbling block of there not being enough 3D media out there in the world is no longer an obstacle. You can sit and watch anything you want on your TV from an old 40s favourite flick through your home videos of the kids to the latest episode of Stargate, and the magic created by Dr Flack and his team at Digital Dynamic Depth will convert it for you into 3D instantly as you watch. The dream of Starwars in 3D is upon us.

Samsung are integrating this technology into upcoming TVs for us mere mortals to enjoy. The Dream of Dr Julien Flack is that the technology will be adopted universally and will soon be as common as Dolby is in the audio field. There is a direct correlation with Dolby Pro Logic which takes a standard 2 channel stereo audio source and synthesises it into multi channel surround sound as you listen. Likewise, this on-the-fly 2D to 3D video technology takes a standard 2D video source and synthesises a 3D output for display by the screen.

The only problem left to solve now is how many pairs of 3D glasses does the family really need?!

So what’s “wobulation”? A very high-tech term for little microscopic mirrors that wobble really fast and are capable of producing stereo images. If you have an overhead projector, it’s probably wobbling away right now.

Checking out real-time 2D to 3D conversion on a laptop

Rebecca pitched a concept for a new business “GymBtween” at the final of Business Icon. Now Rebecca has the opportunity of taking that idea and turning it into reality.

Follow her experiences as she blogs about the process and everything she learns along the way. If you are interested in entrepreneurship and the processes of starting a new business, then this blog is going to be essential reading for you.

“Now join me on my journey from student to the real world. Celebrate the triumphs with me and learn from my mistakes as I tackle this new and exciting experience.
So, I am an Entrepreneur at age 21. GymBtween, age 0, here we go!”

The first post, “WA Business Icon Changed My Life” is online now.

BLOG: So I Am An Entrepreneur

Join us at Westpac in the Perth CBD for the next AELC Innovation Club meeting where we will examine the emergence of 3D display technologies, describe the innovations that are now driving 3D into the home and discuss what the future may hold.

Presented by Dr. Julien Flack, Chief Technology Officer, Dynamic Digital Depth. Places are limited.

For more information and bookings, visit  www.innovationclub.org.au/guests

The AELC Innovation Club had its first meeting for this year last night at its new home in the Westpac Building, St Georges Terrace Perth.

Professor Eric Bakker, Director of the Nanochemistry Research Institute at Curtin University, led the audience through a fascinating insight into the tiny world of machines on an invisibly small scale and gave us a peek at the cutting edge of medicinal research.

Some other mind bending highlights of the night were the revelations that Nanotechnology is producing invisible clothing – not just see-through but totally cloaking, producing a state of invisibility similar to the science fiction characters we are all familiar with. Also, smart textiles – Clothing that can measure body function and monitor the state of athletes, soldiers etc. How about paint that can detect and report stress and cracks on the surface of aircraft? All very real outcomes of the science of Nanotechnology

Next month the meeting will be looking at a totally different field, Innovation in Small Business. To ensure you are notified of the upcoming speakers, join our notification mailing list at the AELC Innovation Club.

Now, videos of the four finalists pitching their “New products for the Tween market” to the judges are online.

Visit http://www.wa.australianbusinessicon.com to view the videos.

Unfortunately, there are a few teething issues that are causing problems with our AELC mail servers. Some incoming mail isn’t reaching us and some isn’t getting out to where it needs to go.

So if you have had a bounce back or are waiting on an email from us, please accept our apologies for the inconvenience. Techs are trying to sort it all out.

Meanwhile the email address info@advantage.edu.au is getting through to us.

Also we would love to hear from you – call 08 92506544.

An extract from an interview with AELC CEO Tracey Hodgkins in a Woman’s Day article about negotiating.

Other areas Tracey talks about include Negotiating A Pay Rise, Buying A House At Auction, Customer Service Complaints and Disputes With Loved Ones.

Read the full story at: http://womansday.ninemsn.com.au/lifestyle/relationships/852913/negotiating.

Luba competed against three other finalists, Tom Haberfield, Glen Vollebregt and Alastair Wills in front of several hundred guests and a daunting judging panel at the RACV Club in Melbourne on Monday, 31st of August.

Luba is an Events Manager with the Department of Transport, an Electoral Officer for Lynne Kosky MP and an Elected Councillor for the City of Hobsons Bay. She also has a double degree from Victoria University.

The Girls Have It!

Pictured above is WA Business Icon 2009 winner, Rebecca Olsen (left) with the newly crowned inaugural Victorian winner, Luba Grigorovitch. Rebecca flew to Melbourne from Perth to speak at the final.

For more information visit www.vic.australianbusinessicon.com.

You can follow the progress of the competition at www.vic.australianbusinessicon.com/blog/.

Business Icon has been run for the Advantage Foundation by the AELC in WA and QLD since 2005. Next year we are hoping to see a truly national event with NSW included.

The events management team from AELC is overseeing the running of the competition and gathering Photos and Video.

Earlier this month, ECU student Rebecca Olsen won the WA Business Icon crown for 2009.

The first CBD workshops, Working With Difficult People and Generational Diversity in the Workplace will be held on the 11th September in the fantastic facilities provided by Westpac at 109 St Georges Terrace.

Those booking early will be rewarded with a 25% discount off the normal price.

Recent Testimonial

Clear, practical strategies to implement immediately both professionally & personally for myself & my team.

For more information and bookings go to:

Generational Diversity In The Workplace

Working With Difficult People

Rebecca rose through the ranks of the 32 high calibre contestants who had started out in Round 1 to become one of the four finalists who had to face the judges live in front of a packed ballroom full of Perth’s business elite.

Leading the judges was prominent local business identity, Rick Hart. Seated beside him, Richard Goyder, CEO of Wesfarmers and the man at the head of Coles. Six other daunting judges made up the panel.

The finalists were given their task Friday night and had the weekend to come up with an idea, research it, put a complete business and marketing plan together and then prepare to pitch that idea to the judges. Rebecca’s win was unamimous with the audience vote also agreeing with the judges’ decision.

Rebecca is in her final year at Edith Cowan University, studying a double degree in psychology and business majoring in human resource management.

I’m interested in the merging of psychology and business and would ultimately love to use both skill sets, possibly as a corporate profiler.

The other finalists were Benjamin Hamer, studying a Bachelor of Business at ECU, Kylie Judd, an engineering and commerce student from UWA and Nathan Howe who is studying corporate and investment finance at UWA.

Biff is also preparing to launch what he calls another Java Juice experience but promises that this one will be even more exciting. The evening will be an inspirational and fun look at the world through according to Biff.

Find out more by attending and meet other dynamic people like you! Supper & Drinks will be served as well.

So what will this year’s fabulous winners have waiting in reward for their efforts?

Winner will receive:

• Westpac “Beyond Survival” Business Course valued at $1,190
• A five hour “Kicking for Goal” professional development package valued at $1700
• A Flight Experience simulator experience valued at $1000
• $2000 cash

The three WA Business Icon 2008 runners up received:

• A two hour “Kicking for Goal” professional development package valued at $700
• Westpac “Beyond Survival” Business Course valued at $1,190

Thanks to our valued major prize sponsors:

Westpac

Australasian Executive Coaching

Flight Experience

Vandina enjoying some time out from Strategic Planning with our Advantage Executive team in Singapore, 2006

From the “The Vacoas Rotarian” newsletter:

First lady at Vacoas!

Vacoas waited for 18 years to have its first Lady member. Vandina Chakowa. Sponsored by PE Geerish, she puts an end to the ‘bachelorhood’ of the Club!

The Club regains a new air of freshness and righteousness… jokes are moderated! She brought a new project idea: Cheese and Wine as the innovative Vacoas Brand for Fund raising. Vandina is the Project and Support Manager at Panagora Marketing Co.Ltd

She is one of the professionals emerging with the new world economic order where dedication, professionalism and a fighting spirit with creativity is the order of the day.

She has chosen to serve her country after her higher studies from Australia. Our Club is proud to have a lady who dares to lead the way!

The event will take place this Saturday morning, starting at 10am.

Public are welcome

Topics:

• Where is innovation heading?
• Sustaining innovation in challenging times?
• What can we learn from the Silicon Valley experience?

Special Guest speakers:

• Kevin Holmes – The Director of the Silicon Valley Immersion Program
• Serial Entrepreneur and Silicon Valley legend – Mary Furlong
• Michael Kyriacou – Entrepreneur and Director of Strattica Group

Download more information and biographies.

Book online at: www.innovationclub.org.au/events-calendar. Places are limited.
www.innovationclub.org.au.

“The constant rejection of change (by the whole state through referendums of daylight savings or deregulated trading hours, or by local governments stopping businesses simply innovating and investing in new ventures) is an implicit message that change is unwelcome. That ‘new fangled’ concepts should remain ‘over East’ where they came from”.

Nathan Taylor, Senior Economist at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Perth.

Nathan believes opposition to Daylight Savings in WA is symptomatic of a much larger issue. He has weighed in to the debate with these views on his Naked Ape blog on this site and we invite your comments – Is the “Cinderella State” still not capable of embracing change? We invite your views – For or against and WHY?

Heather spoke last year at the AELC Entrepreneurs Club and told her inspiring story of the trials and challenges of being a woman in a man’s industry and how she overcame all sorts of difficulties and prejudices to set up Success Transport.

Watch Heather’s fascinating video A Woman In The Trucking Industry.

Speaking next at the club on the 6th April 2009 is Ros Worthington.

Ros is a unique social philanthropist who has achieved the extraordinary feat of establishing two of Perth’s highest profile and much loved charities, The Breast Cancer Foundation of Western Australia and the Make- A- Wish Foundation.

For more information, visit the AELC Innovation Club website.

• Media Source: CHANNEL SEVEN
• Deadline: Thursday, 26 March, 2009
• Requirements: Age 20-30 male or female. Must be willing to be on TV.
• Listed by: Lucy McGeoch – Producer
• Contact: Contact Lucy by E: luciemcgeoch@gmail.com

Larry Lopez handled billions of dollars in his role at Silicon Valley Bank.

He played a key role in making the company a global leader in providing financial services to knowledge based companies. He was also responsible for the Bank’s foreign venture capital activities and investments in Europe, Australia, Israel and New Zealand. He continues to serve on several boards, and is currently consultant and advisor to a number of global and regional private equity and venture capital in the US and Australia.

Last year, Larry spoke at the AELC Entrepreneurs Club about the Venture Capital industry and presented his tips on how to be an entrepreneurial CEO.

Now, video of Larry’s talk is available to view on the AELC Innovation Club website.

CEO of Brightwater Care Group, Dr Flett MBBS DGM FRACMA AFCHSE FAIM, was 1998 Telstra Australian Business Woman of the Year, and was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2003. She has contributed to many government and non-government Boards and associations, in order to support good planning, service excellence, and inclusion of all affected by the ageing of our society.

Dr Flett was our guest recently at the AELC Innovation Club. If you didn’t get a chance to see her on video talking about her vision for aged care in the future, now is a great time to learn a little about this inspiring and passionate crusader.

Speaking next at the AELC Innovation Club is environmental consultant Michelle Rhodes.

Michelle Rhodes is the Director of 360 Environmental Pty Ltd, which provides environmental consultancy services and employs 13 staff members. 360 Environmental operates on all levels of consulting, from impact and site assessment, through to construction management, environmental training and reporting. Currently Michelle is the Project Environmental Manager for the Perth Seawater Desalination Plant, the largest desalination plant in the Southern hemisphere. Michelle also runs Peak Environmental, a bulk water supply business and is the President of the Environmental Consultants Association.

Michelle will speaking on Monday 2nd February. For more information, visit the AELC Innovation Club website.

Earlier in the year, Leanne spoke at the AELC Innovation Club about her journey in establishing Pacco Group, one of Australia’s largest fruit and vegetable packing companies, and about the challenges of her most recent project, the development and marketing of Safeguard Fruit and Veggie Wash.

Here, Tracey talks candidly about not having a formal education, the frustrations of dealing with academics and entrepreneurship withing the university environment, the beginnings of the AELC and developing and managing mutually beneficial relationships.

More new videos:

[FLOWPLAYER=rtmp://72.35.95.25/auslearning/tracey-hodgkins-intrapreneurship.flv#Education, lack of education, challenges and entrepreneurship within the university system - An extract from Tracey's presentation at the AELC Entrepreneurs Club#562|rtmp://72.35.95.25/auslearning/tracey-hodgkins-time-management.flv#Time management, boundaries, delegating and relationships - An extract from Tracey's presentation at the AELC Entrepreneurs Club#198,470,294,/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/tracey-hodgkins-splash-1.jpg]

Alan Nelson, manager and creater of businesses in logistics, railways, training, marketing, tourism, engineering, manufacturing, construction, consulting and direct marketing.

Growing and managing a multi-million dollar business.

Dr Penny Flett was asked about her vision for aged care in the future. As the head of Brightwater Care Group and the Chair of the WA Aged Care Advisory Council, she is well qualified to comment.

Dr Penny Flett was the 1998 Telstra Australian Business Woman of the Year and is a champion for people of all ages who need a high level of ongoing support and service. She is convinced that achieving successful ageing in our society in the next few decades must begin now, with strong and innovative leadership. She has contributed to many government and non-government Boards and associations, in order to support good planning, service excellence, and inclusion of all affected by the ageing of our society.

This video was taken from a presentation made by Dr Flett at the AELC Entrepreneurs Club where she shared her story of Intrapreneurship, making valuable change within the industries caring for people of all ages who need a high level of ongoing support and service.

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More information and videos are available to view at the AELC Innovation Club website.

This video introduced the task and what was required of the contestants to the 450 people in the audience on the night.

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Watch a summary video of the entire 2008 WA competition leading up to the final at www.wa.australianbusinessicon.com.

Watch more videos from the final including Meet the Contestants and The Winning Presentation by Tara Franzinelli.

Featured here are some photos from the first task which was to hold a fundraising art and jewellery exhibition at the Lakeside Joondalup Shopping Centre. With only a couple of days to organise and run this event from scratch, contestants did a fabulous job, mounting a highly successful show over two days that raised around $10,000 for charities the Prostate Cancer Foundation and the Advantage Foundation.

An audience of 450 watched Tara face the judges along with three other finalists at a spectacular event within the Midland Railway Workshops last Saturday night, 18th October.

The judging panel included corporate luminaries Richard Goyder, CEO of Wesfarmers, Sam Walsh, CEO of Rio Tinto and Ric Hart, MD of Ric Hart stores.

The finalists, Ruveen Dias, Nesh Sooriakumaran, Kylie Adams and Tara were delivered into the room to the head of a very long red carpet via a gleaming white stretch Hummer.

Once on stage they each had to deliver a management plan to assess and deal with the possibility of a disaster striking Kwinana and effectively wiping out the states Diesel supply. Transport operators in particular would be hardest hit, leading on to all manner of problems and inconvenience for consumers and other stakeholders who depend on a constant supply of Diesel fuel.

In keeping with the transport theme, Jonesway trucks stood surrounding the stage and room.

Everyone saw plenty of the action with live video beamed to screens around the venue as MC Gerry Gannon guided us smoothly through the night. The massive audio/visual installation was supplied by Matrix Productions who were totally professional and accomodating, an absolute pleasure to deal with and have our highest recommendations. There is no way we could have staged this event so successfully without the help and input from Matrix, way above and beyond the call of duty.

More photos from the evening, courtesy of Ken Drake who volunteered his services, can be seen at Zoo Studio.

Alicia is a member of Babson’s Founder’s Club, the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Lesanz, Endeavors Corp and other associations. She has founded 9 companies and 2 non for profits, participated in 14 boards and consulted for over 500 innovation based start ups!

So armed with that experience and a respectable collection of academic achievements including several Masters Degrees, Alicia took an hour to explain the intricasies of setting up competitive global businesses for entrepreneurs. Topics covered included dealing with paradigms, barriers to entry, crossing cultures, implementation and healthy collaboration with competitors.

In this short video extract, Alicia is talking about collaborating with competitors in local markets whilst competing in global markets

More information and videos are available to view at the AELC Innovation Club website.

So if you are wondering what all the excitement about the upcoming WA Business Icon™ is all about, take two minutes out to watch the video and get a feel for the whole event.

The video is on the Queensland Business Icon™ home page www.qld.australianbusinessicon.com.

The Australian Experiential Learning Centre was awarded the best “New Business” category award on Saturday night.

The Swan Chamber of Commerce 2008 Hanson Swan Awards were presented at a gala event at Sandalford Winery in the Swan Valley. The New Business Award, sponsored by the Small Business Development Corporation, recognised the AELC’s rapid national success and our contribution to Western Australia and the Midland region in particular.

We in turn would like to thank our major corporate partners, including Curtin University of Technology, The Midland Redevelopment Authority and Rotary International as well as the many other organisations that sponsor and/or support our iniatives such as Business Icon across Australia.

Tracey Hodgkins accepting the Best New Business award with members of the AELC staff at Sandalford Winery.

Tasks given to the contestants included fundraising for the not-for-profit organisation Brightest Young Minds, creating a marketing plan for Brisbane City Council and designing a sustainability proposal for Maunsell.

Business Icon™ was founded by Tracey Hodgkins and is managed by the AELC for the Advantage Foundation Ltd. For the first time in the four year history of the competition, which is run in both Queensland and WA, the finalists were all female.

Finalist’s Nicole Walsh, Renee Robbie, Sarah Firth and Laura Christie were given the task of designing a theme park in the Australian Outback.

You can see the girls putting their presentations to the judges on video at www.qld.australianbusinessicon.com.

The Western Australian competition will be held in October this year. The final event at the Midland Railway workshops is shaping up to be a real spectacular with a judging panel including WA business leaders, Richard Goyder (CEO Wesfamers), Sam Walsh (CEO Rio Tinto) and Rick Hart (Rick Hart stores).

2008 Queensland Business Icon™ finalists - from left: Sarah Firth, Laura Christie , Renee Robbie (winner) and Nicola Walsh

Today, July 26th, the Weekend Australian has taken the story a lot further with a front page article by Julia Stirling in the Weekend Professional / CareerOne section. The article features fantastic photos of our proud AELC mums with their bubs as well as including quotes from Tracey and staff.

If you can’t pick up a copy of the paper, the article with one of the photos can be read online – “Babies Share Office Space”.

Interviewed on the ABC1 program “Stateline” in WA, Tracey presented points relative to workplace etiquette, which is currently a major issue confronting employers in Australia as the free minded Generation Y come head to head with their older counterparts.

Other areas of serious conscern emmanating from all age groups include innappropriate dress, behaviour, joking, harrassment and casual use of digital communications media such as SMS and Email.

So serious is the problem, that morale and workplace/career satisfaction are being effected to the extent that high staff turnovers are being experienced in many businesses and government departments.

Tracey Hodgkins, the CEO of the Australian Experiential Learning Centre is recognised as an expert in the field from her experience in researching workplace behaviours and providing programs that address and educate employees and employers in how to effectively deal with workplace etiquette issues and how to interact professionally in the workplace

An extract of the Stateline story featuring Tracey Hodgkins can be viewed below:

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Thankyou to ABC1 and Stateline for the video.

Two weeks ago, Tracey was interviewed by the TEN network and now with the ABC, the topic is again, Workplace Etiquette.

The interview will go to air in Western Australia on the Stateline program on ABC1, this Friday 6th June at 7.30pm

Nathan, the Senior Economist at the WA Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has a life-long interest in human behaviour and how this influences social dynamics. This interest has lead him to study human behaviour as understood by economics, psychology, personality and cognitive development theory.

Nathan uses breakthroughs in behavioural economics and neurobiology to lay bare the idiosyncrasies of what it means to be human. He also uses case studies, personality theories and the study of optimal experience to expose how every individual is gifted with the abilities they need to proactively transform their own life.

How does Nathan define his philosophy? With this quote from Francis Piscabia (Italian cubist):

“One should go through life, be it red or blue, stark naked and accompanied by the music of a subtle fisherman.”

Nathan’s study and insights on human behaviour and it’s link to economics is fascinating and highly recommended reading.

Read our new Blog, The Naked Ape

You can watch the interview below.

Thank you to the staff of Channel 10 in Perth for providing us with the video to share with you.

Do you want to compete in a Donald Trump’s “The Apprentice” style competition?

Do you want to be crowned WA Business Icon™ 2008?

Do you want to win a holiday valued at $5,000?

Are you 18-25?

If this is you apply now!

Visit www.wa.australianbusinessicon.com to submit your application.

• Applications Open: Wednesday 14th May 2008
• Applications Close: Sunday 31st August 2008
• Competitions Dates: 8th – 18th October 2008

The Competition

WA Business Icon™ comprises four (4) pre-organised innovative and entrepreneurial business-related tasks. The contestants who perform best move onto the next task (or round) in the competition, while contestants that don’t reach such a level are eliminated from the competition. During the first three tasks, contestants are allocated to groups and must complete the task within a specified timeframe. Each group is provided with an objective and a set of rules that must be adhered to, however the contestants will determine how they approach the task. Moderators are assigned to each group to observe behaviour, supervise activity and answer questions. Each year the competition has a theme, though task details are kept strictly confidential until the competition begins.

Each group is required to present in front of a panel of judges at the end of each task. These judges, are professionals from various public, private or not-for-profit organisations will then announce who progresses onto the next task and who will have to leave the competition. Note that whilst contestants will be working in a group environment, judging will be based on individual performance.

The fourth and final task is performed individually and will be held at the “Final Event” on October 18th 2008. The winner of WA Business Icon™ 2008 will be announced at the conclusion of the Dinner whereby he/she will take home cash and prizes to the value of $5,000!

Next week, Friday 23rd May Tracey is appearing as the lead interview on the Network 10, 9am morning show with Kim Watkins and David Reyne.

Have a look below at what they are all talking about.

www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23666946-5010800,00.html

yourlifeworks.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=456348

www.news.com.au/business/story/0,23636,22398467-5012424,00.html

The demolition of our old Railway workshops building begins. Our new premises are in the background.

For complete directions and a map to our new location, visit our contacts page.

The redevelopment of Midland goes on around us

These are some photos of the reclamation work in progress taken from our Boardroom windows as “The Workshops” project starts really gearing up.

These former train yards are being reclaimed to be miraculously transformed into a magnificent people friendly precinct with a focus on the industrial heritage of the area, complimentary arts and artisans workshops, cafes, coffee shops and al fresco dining.

The Workshops will be a groundbreaking revitalisation of Midland’s former Government Railway Workshops site. The aim is to create a thriving, sustainable and distinctly contemporary community in a unique environment.

A passionate Kieran Kinsella, CEO of the Midland Redevelopment Authority expressing his vision at the launch of The Workshops

The AELC is in the heart of this re-development with work going on all around us. Our boardroom now looks out over what will be the hub of the new cultural and community precinct. A few weeks ago we were looking at trains, then big yellow tonka trucks digging huge holes and before long? . . . . well we’ll wait and see what materializes; And we’ll keep you informed.

The newly emerging Midland is going to be a great place to live and/or work soon, so if you have any interest come out and look around. More information, brochures etc are available from the Midland Redevelopment Authority on the corner of Yelverton Drive and Helena Street, opposite our old office (Which is currently being knocked down – sob!)

From left: Tracey Hodgkins, Hon Kay Hallahan & Clinton Hodgkins at the launch

www.theworkshops.com.au

Ross took the members through the process of planning and designing a website, choosing and liasing with a website developer, budgets, technologies and more. Lots of valuable information for anyone facing the prospect of having to put a business website online that will work and be within budget.

More information, videos and a biography of Ross Gerring are available to view at the AELC Innovation Club.

The DiSC model measures behaviour in a specific situation – HOW we do what we do. Unlike other profiles, the DISC model assumes that people have the ability to choose their preferred style and behave in a manner they have some control over. Although we all tend to have a natural behavioural style, by being aware of the process we are able to understand ourselves and those we deal with to ensure we can gain maximum benefit out of any situation.

AELC also have the following profiling tools available:

1. Time Mastery
2. Personal Listening
3. Team Dimensions
4. Coping & Stress
5. Work Expectations
6. Action Planners
   1. DiSC Action Planner – Sales
   2. DiSC Action Planner – Customer Service
   3. DiSC Action Planner – Management
   4. DiSC Action Planner – Managing Performance
7. Discovering Diversity

Individual prices range from $112 – with full profiling reports and group discounts available on request.

Liz’s last position was Business Support Administrator with GHP Pty Ltd. Her main role was to support the Business Support Manager while taking care of over 100 individuals on the administrative side, at the same time leading the Administrative team of 4 members.

At AELC Liz hopes to have the chance to tackle new challenges, and with her excellent time management skills Liz will be making sure that AELC meet their KPIs and complete their deliverables.

Established in 1972, the Award commemorates Barbe Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, the woman who, in 1805, took up the reins of the company that bears her name.

The Australian 2008 winner will be announced in Sydney on the 18th March.

They will be presented with the Award that includes a trophy and business class tickets to France to attend the 2008 Veuve Clicquot Businesswomen’s meeting in Champagne later in the year

The winner will visit Veuve Clicquot’s famous vineyards and cellars at Reims, where a vine will be dedicated to her. She will be made a ‘Friend of the Widow’, receiving a gift of Veuve Clicquot’s prestige cuvée, La Grande Dame Champagne, every year thereafter.

Tracey’s long list of prior award achievements include being named the Entrepreneurial Educator of the Year in 2003 and the WA Telstra Business Woman of the Year in 2005. As well as being the recipient of many other awards she is named and quoted for her achievements in the ‘Whos Who of Australian Women’.

Needless to say, we at the AELC have our fingers crossed for Tracey and wish her the best of luck.

Tracey flew to Sydney last week to be interviewed by the Judging panel.

So we have moved our offices to the building next door where we have lots more space to accomodate our staff.

It’s easy to find us. The new office is just a 100 metres along the footpath from our old place. We are now in the education precinct building, upstairs above the DPI licencing centre, sharing the floor with Curtin.

Entry is via the left hand side of the building, around the back and up the stairs. Phone numbers etc have not changed.

Videos of Deryck’s entertaining talk are now online to view. Graham used his extensive experience, including the development of the “Eagle” aircraft to illustrate the processes, rights, wrongs and pitfalls of the entreprenurial process.

“The Dash For Cash” is one of sixteen videos the AELC has made featuring Deryck.

More information, videos and a biography of Deryck Graham are available to view at the AELC Innovation Club.

He made comment that he had spent more time with us in the last week than he had had with his family which shows his dedication to Wesfarmers.

Richard Talking about the Coles bid

“One of the real downsides about being a CEO … particularly in this country I think and maybe more so in Perth as well is that it’s really personalised.So people talk about the ‘Goyder Transaction’ or the ‘Goyder Bid’. It’s just nonsense!