Industry leaders, researchers, academics and innovators are invited to have their say on the opportunities and challenges on growing South Australia's high tech sector.
The State Government is seeking feedback about the major drivers, emerging technologies, capabilities and industry research collaboration gaps that will shape the sector.
"South Australia's high tech sector will play a key part in the state's future economic success, and that's why it's one of the nine priority sectors identified for growth under our Growth State initiative," Minister for Innovation and Skills David Pisoni said.
"Feedback on the discussion paper will help the State Government to build on the work already done and identify key targets and deliverables that will inform the 2030 Hi-Tech Sector Strategy.
"A window of opportunity exists to grow the sector, which is already building a reputation for research excellence in defence industries and cyber security, strong capabilities in robotics and machine learning and growing connectivity with the GigCity network.
"Digital transformation is now top of mind for many businesses as they look for ways to remain competitive, to grow and develop new products and services.
"Research shows that technology workers will grow nationally by 100,000 between 2018 and 2024, with the fastest growth predicted in health care, with the health technology workforce expected to grow by more than 50 per cent.
"To capitalise on these opportunities and prepare for the jobs of the future, we need to work closely with industry to identify opportunities and challenges.
"We want to create a collaborative ecosystem that will inspire young tech talent to stay and scale their ideas, create new products and novel apps, set up new businesses and drive job creation that will spark innovation and economic growth for our state."
Growth State: our plan for prosperity is the State Government's initiative to promote industry growth by responding to industry and business needs.
"South Australia's high tech industry continues to grow and attract internationally renowned organisations, such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which will apply its world-leading research at its Living Lab in Adelaide," Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment David Ridgway said.
"We are building a global reputation for our research capabilities and want to ensure that they are of benefit to our industry so that we can continue to develop and cultivate a highly-skilled workforce that continues to foster a strong relationship between government, industry and academia.
"I'd encourage industry leaders, researchers, academics and innovators to have their say during this consultation period."
The Growth State plan aims to lift the state's annual economic growth rate by 3 per cent to accelerate the state's economy, productivity and competitiveness.
For more information or for a copy of the discussion paper, visit: yoursay.sa.gov.au/decisions/hi-tech-sector-strategy
Submissions close Friday 28 February 2020.
