SPARK Deakin Festival100
This year to celebrate International Women’s Day on 8th March, SPARK Deakin held a one-day virtual event called ‘festival100’. The festival catered to women and non-binary innovators in the Deakin community who are interested in pursuing entrepreneurship including, freelancing, a small business, a start-up or a side-hustle and was made possible with support and funding from Community Bank at Deakin University (CBDU).
SPARK Deakin is an entrepreneurship program powered by Deakin University that provides support through start-up events, programs and mentorship to Deakin students, staff and alumni as well as members of the community. Since 2015, SPARK Deakin has been helping to create a thriving future by supporting Deakin innovators.
Speakers Annie Louey, Kim Koelmeyer and Mariam Mohammed address event attendees at festival100
Diletta Legowo, from SPARK Deakin who worked on putting this event together, said that “festival100 took women from the Deakin community (students, staff and alumni) on a journey that supercharged their confidence-building, practical entrepreneurial know-how, and provided ample opportunity for connections to form”. The virtual festival featured a “diverse lineup of 10 inspiring women from across Australia” Legowo explained, with comedian and MC for the day, Annie Louey keeping up the “energetic and fun flavour of SPARK Deakin”. Some of the festival’s speakers included Kaylene Langford, entrepreneur, coach, writer, speaker and founder and owner of StartUp Creative; Mariam Mohammed, Co-Founder of MoneyGirl; and Deakin STEM champions Dr Muneera Bano, Senior Lecturer Software Engineering and Dr Maria Forsyth, Alfred Deakin Professor, Institute for Frontier Materials. In addition to this, to welcome the audience and highlight how Community Bank at Deakin University can help the Deakin University community, festival100’s opening session included a pre-recorded message from Rosanna Miguel, the Senior Relationship Manager at CBDU.
Online event platform, Hopin, was used by SPARK Deakin to connect digitally with event attendees for festival100
Hosted on the online event platform, Hopin, festival100’s highly engaged audience sent over 400 chat messages throughout the day and had a chance to take part in ‘Booth Breakout Sessions’ where they had the opportunity to connect and network with one another and practice their pitching skills. Live talks on the day included lessons of resilience, money matters, hands-on marketing tips and a lunchtime mindfulness meditation session. To end the day, attendees were treated to a Bollywood dance lesson from Lakshanya Vasan, Co-Founder & Choreographer LAKS Dance Crew & Natya Praana. Legowo states that festival100 was an “energising, inspiring, and fun day and we were thrilled to be able to deliver it for the Deakin Community!”
The festival100 event was a great success and would’ve surely given attendees great guidance and tips to take with them on their endeavours, which will hopefully lead to a positive outcome for attendees and members of their communities. Legowo mentions that CBDU helped enable SPARK Deakin to “make a difference for women in the Deakin University community who are at the early stages of pursuing entrepreneurial goals through festival100”. Legowo and SPARK Deakin note that they are “thankful for the generous support provided by CBDU and would highly encourage other organisations within Deakin to work together with Community Bank at Deakin University in helping to deliver their community projects”.
You can apply for funding for your initiative through Community Bank at Deakin University. Visit our web page to find out more information on how to apply and the application eligibility criteria here.
Events like festival100 help to highlight the important partnership between Deakin University and Bendigo Bank. The collaboration provides banking services to Deakin alumni, staff and students and returns profits to the Deakin University community. For example, through helping to fund Deakin University-led initiatives and projects. If you are interested in learning more about Community Bank at Deakin University and what we can do for you and your finances, please contact our University Relationship Manager, Rosanna Miguel, on 0468 708 870.*
*Ts&Cs, fees and charges and lending criteria apply. Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited, ABN 11 068 049 178 AFSL / Australian Credit Licence 237879
