Entrepreneurship / Startup / Business – WA Innovation Calendar

Startup Social: Entrepreneurs Community Sundowner

Join for an evening of connection, conversation and community, bringing together new and familiar faces from across the Curtin entrepreneurship community, including mentors, founders and wider ecosystem supporters.

The event will kick off with a short welcome from the Curtin Entrepreneurs team, followed by a guest founder story, showcasing how ideas can grow through Curtin’s entrepreneurship pathways, from early programs through to investment. The evening will also include a curated networking activity, creating space for meaningful conversations between community members and Venture Mentors.

Date: Wednesday, 18 March
Time: 5:30pm–7:30pm
Venue: Curtin Entrepreneurs Hub (418.127) – 1 Koorliny Way, Bentley.

Light snacks and beverages will be provided

Innovation Booster Grant Information Session

The Innovation Booster Grant (IBG) is a competitive Western Australian Government grant, funded through the New Industries and Innovation Fund.

The IBG targets early-stage founders, innovation-driven small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs), and startups in Western Australia to improve capability and commercialise innovative projects.

Join us for this online information session with a Q&A to find out more.

Learn more and register here

DEADLINE: Innovation Booster Grant 2026

The Innovation Booster Grant backs early-stage founders, innovation-driven SMEs, and startups in Western Australia to strengthen capability and commercialise innovative projects.

Eligible applicants can receive funding of up to $50,000 to help access the support services and expertise required to refine, test, protect, validate and certify their innovation.

Applications close 30 March 2026. Learn more and apply here

DEADLINE: West Tech Next Youth Committee 2026

West Tech Next members will contribute advice to support and attract more young people to West Tech Fest. Members will also design and deliver an event as part of WTF 2026 targeted at 18-25 year olds inclusive of the full suite of event design and execution such as sponsorship, marketing, community engagement, and operations, post event wrap.

Members will also provide the following support to the West Tech Fest team;

Help plan and deliver youth-facing or emerging-talent experiences during festival week
Assist with volunteer coordination and attendee experience
Create and/or coordinate social content (short-form video, stories, posts)
Help amplify program announcements and community moments
Support outreach to student, founder, and young professional networks
Bring fresh ideas that make the festival feel more inclusive, accessible, and exciting
Support relationship-building with youth-aligned ecosystem partners
Contribute to debriefs: what worked, what didn’t, and what to improve

Unlocking Global Tech Talent: A Founder’s Visa Playbook

Join for this exclusive Perth Landing Pad event, delivered in collaboration with our global partner TechVisa, designed to help founders access and mobilise international tech talent strategically, compliantly and at speed.

TechVisa Co-Founder Natasha Prévot and General Manager Emily will break down the four visa pathways most relevant to scaling tech companies — 400, 482, 186 and 858 — and explain when each makes commercial sense.

In this high-energy, founder-focused session, you’ll learn:

• How to integrate visa strategy into your growth roadmap
• The three-stage 482 process explained clearly and commercially
• How to secure long-term retention through permanent residency pathways
• How to sequence hiring decisions to reduce risk and maintain momentum
• How to position immigration as infrastructure for scale

Whether you’re raising capital, expanding into new markets, or competing for world-class engineers and product leaders, this session will give you clarity, confidence and a strategic edge.

DEADLINE: Director Innovation Ecosystem | Department of Energy and Economic Diversification

Join a department that’s powering WA’s energy transition and building a bold, diverse economy for generations to come. At the Department of Energy and Economic Diversification (DEED), your work will help drive innovation, support local businesses, and position WA on the global stage. If you’re ready to make a real impact – this is where your next chapter begins.

The key role of the Director Innovation Ecosystem is to guide the provision of strategic advice on innovation policy issues and manage the delivery of related programs, including the delivery of the New Industries and Innovation Fund, to develop the State’s innovation capacity and capability.

Learn more and apply here

Making the Right Call: Mastering the Bid / No-Bid Decision

You’re invited to Tender Relief’s exclusive webinar: Making the Right Call – Mastering the Bid / No-Bid Decision

Join Eliza for this essential session that tackles one of the most important – and most overlooked – decisions in tendering: whether to bid at all. We’ll equip you with a structured, repeatable framework to evaluate opportunities objectively, allocate your resources where they matter most, and stop wasting time on bids you were never going to win.

In this 45-minute webinar, expect a structured, high-impact agenda designed for busy BD professionals and tendering teams who want to pursue the right opportunities and walk away from the wrong ones with confidence.

Founder Story: How Ida Sports’ Discovery Cut Costs & Raised $2.5M

In this practical session grounded in the Disciplined Entrepreneurship model, you’ll see the actual deck that raised the first $2.5 million for Ida Sports and unpack the customer discovery work that shaped it.

Ben will share how early customer interviews helped Ida Sports more than halve production costs, refine their feature set, and avoid building the wrong product — reinforcing why early validation is critical for first-time founders.

Perfect for early-stage builders, this session blends theory and practice, with actionable insights you can apply immediately (and a timely lead-in to our upcoming pitch practice session).

DEADLINE: Falling Walls Global Call for Science Breakthroughs 2026

The Falling Walls Global Call for Science Breakthroughs is an international competition format that aims to identify the most groundbreaking scientific achievements of the world.

Whether you are a researcher, innovator, or a team of passionate individuals, the Global Call for Science Breakthroughs is your chance to showcase your groundbreaking work that addresses global challenges.

You can nominate outstanding research or apply with your own project in the following categories:

life sciences
physical sciences
engineering and technology
social sciences and humanities
art and science
Women’s Impact Award (female science talents)
science start-ups (Falling Walls Venture)
science engagement (Falling Walls Engage)

DEADLINE: Cooperative Research Australia Excellence in Innovation Awards

The Excellence in Innovation Awards are proudly brought to you by Edith Cowan University to showcase and recognise the inspiring work and impact of industry-research collaboration in the Australian innovation ecosystem and the translation of research into commercial, economic, social and environmental outcomes that drive future prosperity for Australia.

The Awards will be presented at the Gala Dinner on Thursday 21 May 2026 as part of Collaborate Innovate in Perth.

If you know someone who has made an excellent contribution to Australia’s research and development system, read about the award categories and consider nominating them.

There are 7 categories for awards:

The Lifetime Achievement Award for Cooperative Research
The Lifetime Achievement Award
Award for Impact
Award for First Nations Innovation Leadership
Award for Industry-Research Collaboration
Award for Emerging Collaboration of the Year
Award for Collaborative Leadership & Culture