Future Assembly 2016

The future of technology and innovation is strong in Victoria, at least according to the Honourable Philip Dalidakis, Victorian Minister for Small Business, Innovation and Trade. One of the first speakers at Future Assembly 2016, Mr Dalidakis spoke of the government’s support for innovation in Victoria, giving examples of some of the excellent businesses which have been founded in Victoria, as well as some world renowned international businesses which have recently moved their Asian and Australian operations to Melbourne.

Presentations and Demonstrations

The positivity and enthusiasm shown during this presentation made for a great introduction to a day of celebrating and supporting technology in Victoria.  With two live stages and two further small workshops running all day long there was plenty to experience at this years event.  Presentations ranged from what the future of work may look like and growth hacking, to virtual reality and neuroscience in the 22nd century.  Virtual reality was in fact a bit of a theme of the show.  As well as presentations and workshops there were live demonstrations from a range of software developers which proved very popular among visitors, with Phoria hosting the largest display booth of all exhibitors.

Exhibitor Highlights

Exhibitors varied greatly, from Melbourne University’s Wade Institute, to makerlabs such as Make Create.  Gaining a lot of media recently due to its association with the infamous Elon Musk, RMIT VicHyper’s Hyperloop scale model also attracted plenty of attention.  Rounding out the Friday nicely was a pitch competition won by the makers of an exciting new piece of adventure equipment, the 4x4, independently suspended Bajaboard off-road skateboard.  

Future Looks Bright in Victoria

Throughout the venue there was a buzz of energy all day, a credit both to the organisers and to the passion for innovation and technology in Victoria.  As designers and engineers it is always exciting to get an opportunity to see what the future may hold for our industry and if this event is anything to go by the future definitely looks bright.  We can’t wait for next year!

If you have an innovative design that you would like to develop or would like to know more about emerging technology don’t hesitate to contact our Melbourne Product Design team today at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or give us a call on +61 3 9413 9000. We’d love to chat!

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