THE EXTERIOR of the iAccelerate building gives a respectful nod to the industries which have helped forge the Illawarra.
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Port Kembla and the steelworks have been the foundation for the growth of this region.
It’s quite fitting the $18.5 million iAccelerate Centre officially opened on Tuesday features a rusted steel entrance and shipping container office pods.
The University of Wollongong enterprise was partially funded by the NSW Government's leasing of the port.
Yet it is hoped the iAccelerate Centre will help in forging our regional economy a new path through the stormy economic waters which lay ahead.
In fact, it’s a future which has already begun.
The centre’s CEO Omar Khalifa hailed the centre as a national first as it connects start-up companies with already existing businesses.
It’s clear the success of the UOW and enterprises such as the iAccelerate Centre are integral to the future prospects of the Illawarra.
“It is estimated that over the next 20 years, 40 per cent of the jobs that exist today will no longer exist,’’ Mr Khalifa said.
“Or to think of it another way, we have to invent 40 per cent of new jobs.”
We know with the way and the rate the world is changing the future of our jobs market will be vastly different.
Industry will be very different.
The iAccelerate Centre will undoubtedly help steer this region into the new world.
A TRAGIC FAREWELL
The story of Sam Denyer is a tragic tale.
His loss shocked the region last week.
Sam was simply driving along the M1 motorway on Wednesday when a large tree fell across the cabin of his work vehicle.
At that moment a newborn lost a father.
Only five weeks earlier Sam and his partner Samantha Phelps had welcomed baby Stella into the world.
In a fitting tribute the community has rallied to support Sam’s family left behind by this terrible accident.
A gofundme page helped raise more than $30,000 in the first 24 hours and has since swelled to $56,000.
It’s again a testament to the community spirit which continues to exist in the Illawarra. Our sympathies to go to Samantha, Stella and Sam’s family and friends.
