The Borderless Podcast

Angela Bee Chan is the CEO & Founder of Hackathons Australia (HackAUS), a community for hackathon organisers, participants, sponsors, partners and government to connect, empower, grow and advance the hackathon community and accelerate an innovative culture in Australia.

HackAUS's vision is to activate Australian innovation and make Australia the world's largest innovation hub. Listen to the podcast to find out a bit more about:

•Angela's motivations for starting Hackathons Australia (HackAUS),

•Hackathons and how to participate,

•innovation and having an open mindset,

•diversity, tech trends and advice for those looking to be in the ecosystem,

•and the background story to her Ted Talk!

What is a Hackathon?

A Hackathon is a 2-3 day creative, intensive competition where a diverse group of people solve problems using technology as an enabler. They've been used for centuries and were made famous by the likes of Google, Facebook and Atlassian. To find out more about upcoming Hackathons in Australia or if you would like to know more, please visit: https://www.hackathonsaustralia.com/

Show Notes & Write-up here:

https://bordersless.com/business/angela-bee-chan-hackathons-australia/

Timestamps

0:37 - Her experience giving a Ted Talk in Adelaide, South Australia.

5:10 - A bit about introversion, building the confidence to speak in public.

6:35 - Why she founded Hackathons Australia (HackAus), difficulties of finding a stable job in the PR industry after graduating.

11:20 - What is a Hackathon?

13:40 - Is Innovation a buzzword? What is innovation? The Three Horizons of Innovation & Growth.

16:25 - Resistance to change, having an open mindset.

17:10 - Thoughts on diversity in STEM and being inclusive.

19:05 - Trends that's Angela is seeing in the ecosystem, why don't some start-ups succeed?

21:00 - Living true to your values, especially in unprecedented times.

23:20 - Angela's' goals and plans for the future - using digital tools to the fullest for Hackathons.

26:15 - Her role as Head of Innovation at Schneider Electric.

27:20 - Navigating struggles and doubts: authenticity, self-awareness, having a strong support network.

28:30 - How to get involved in the innovation ecosystem?

30:30 - Final words, some advice

Today's guest is Jonathan Hannam, the co-founder and managing director of Taronga Group and managing partner of Taronga Ventures. We talk about his career and background, PropTech / RealTech themes and opportunities in the Asia Pacfic, and advice for emerging companies and startups in the industry.

Originally from Australia, Jonathan found himself in Beijing in the early 1990's and built a 20+ year real estate career across major global markets, including Sweden, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, China and Australia.

Show Notes here: https://bordersless.com/business/proptech-asia-jonathan-hannam/

About Taronga Group

Taronga is an investment house that brings together institutional real estate investment with technology and innovation to create a unique eco-system for global institutional, corporate and ultra-high net worth investors. Taronga Ventures invests into emerging real estate and built world innovation and technology opportunities through the Real Tech Ventures Fund. Find out more about Taronga Group here: https://tarongagroup.com/

Timestamps

1:10 - Motivation for moving to Beijing, China. Life studying at the prestigious Tsinghua University in the early 1990's.

4:30 - Working for the first real estate agency in China, learning Chinese and moving to Singapore.

8:30 - Moving from agency to investment management and working as the Head of Real Estate, Asia for Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).

10:00 - Moving to Sweden, then back to Australia.

13:00 - Advice for those looking to move to Asia for their careers.

15:00 - On Taronga Group and opportunities in real estate technology.

20:50 - PropTech vs RealTech, challenges for emerging startups/companies, wellbeing of founders.

24:15 - Real estate companies in Asia investing in innovation and technology.

27:15 - Thoughts on expats transitioning back to Australia.

29:00 - Thoughts on Coronavirus (COVID-19) and how Taronga is managing the situation.

31:30 - Short-term behaviour of Aussie companies expanding or investing abroad, opportunities in the Asian century.

33:50 - Final thoughts and advice.

Thomas Da Jose is an aspiring humanitarian engineer who is on the journey to making a world that isn't good for a small few, but one that's good for everyone. Listen to the podcast to find out how he plans to actively make meaningful change and improve people's lives across the Southeast Asia region. In this interview we talk about:

•his experiences in Southeast Asia on the New Colombo Plan Scholarship,

•what inspired him to cofound Masy Consultants and the ASEAN-Australia Strategic Youth Partnership,

•how he's navigating unprecedented events like COVID-19,

•how young Australians can get involved in the Southeast Asia and contribute to regional affairs and issues,

•his commitment to health, sanitation, disaster resilience and connectivity in the region.

Show Notes can be found here: https://bordersless.com/business/australia-southeast-asia-thomas-da-jose/

Links for more information:

To find out more about how you can contribute to Australia-ASEAN regional matters, please visit: https://aasyp.org/

To find out more about Thomas' projects in the Phillipines, visit: https://www.masyconsultants.org/

If you are an Australian undergraduate between the ages of 18-28, and are passionate about building relationships and experiences in the Indo-Pacific, consider applying for New Colombo Plan scholarship. More information here: https://www.dfat.gov.au/people-to-people/new-colombo-plan/about/Pages/about

Timestamps:

0:37 - Introduction and background.

3:50 - What is the New Colombo Plan Scholarship?

7:10 - Thomas' experience in Thailand and Southeast Asia on the New Colombo Plan Scholarship.

13:20 - Difficulties of utilising your international experiences back in Australia, some thoughts on international companies.

19:20 - How Thomas is dealing with COVID-19.

23:30 - What is AASYP?

27:50 - How to get more young Australians involved in Asia?

32:45 - What is Masy Consultants? Projects and pilots.

39:20 - Navigating between Philippino and Australian culture.

42:30 - Are you seeing many young Asian-Australians involved in similar humanitarian projects?

47:00 - How to contact Thomas or get involved, biggest issues and opportunities in Southeast Asia, final words.