ACS Tasmanian Nominees Celebration for the Digital Disruptors Awards and Tasmanian Pearcey Awards 2018

James is a Tasmanian entrepreneur who found his start as a teacher at the Human Interface Technology Laboratory (HITLab) in Launceston, Tasmania. During his time at the HITLab, James taught courses in virtual reality, augmented reality, entrepreneurship and videogame design.  In his teaching career, James worked with international professors and facilitated many guest lectures from international speakers, including staff from Microsoft, Valve Software and Gas Powered Games.
        
James left the HITLab in 2012 to establish Bitlink. Bitlink is a technology consultancy and software development house which is based in Launceston. As consultants, the Bitlink team help local businesses get the most out of technology and build their own success in the digital economy. As developers, the team build mixed reality and data visualisation applications for a variety of hardware platforms.  More recently, the Bitlink team have also been focusing on tech education, particularly STEM/STEAM education programs for Tasmanian students and teachers.  Since 2015, Bitlink has been developing and delivering a range of STEAM education programs in Tasmania, that have developed a strong reputation and loyal following in the state.

James served as a director of Startup Tasmania, a not-for-profit organisation and networking group for Tasmanian entrepreneurs, for five years from 2012 to 2017. During this time, James was also one of the key proponents of the Macquarie House Project, an initiative which aims to convert an iconic historic building in Launceston into a coworking space for Tasmanian innovators. This project has since evolved into Enterprize, a statewide not-for-profit which runs two coworking spaces in Tasmania for early stage startups. James was one of the key drivers behind the Enterprize project, as a director and founder on the initial steering committee, as well as taking responsibility for the Launceston base for Enterprize as the first Enterprize general manager in Launceston.

Alongside these projects, James has also worked with local technology enthusiasts to establish the Battery Shed; a collaborative hackerspace attached to the Queen Victoria Museum & Art Gallery in Launceston.  This hackerspace ran for four years and was the home of a vibrant and active community of students and tech enthusiasts.  More recently, the Battery Shed has relocated to the Enterprize facility in Launceston, where its work will continue as part of this larger project.

In 2015, James was awarded the State Benson Award for Entrepreneurship for Tasmania. These awards are sponsored by CSIRO and are designed to celebrate the achievements of Australian entrepreneurs who have taken risks, made a difference and inspired others.

In 2017, James was awarded a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship to travel to Seattle from September 2017 to March 2018. James was a visiting scholar at Bellevue College, where he worked with Bellevue staff to help build additional momentum around technology and business education. During his time in Seattle James developed and ran a highly successful virtual reality course (studying virtual/augmented reality and related immersive technologies from a humanities perspective), as well as running a mini-accelerator program as an internship for students at Tesla STEM High School in Redmond, WA, and guest lectures in a number of places in the US, including the University of Washington, Virginia Tech, Antioch University , as well as conference presentations, including a talk on virtual reality and education at the  ImmersED conference in Los Angeles.

Minister for Health, Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Management, Minister for Science and Technology, Leader of the House

Michael entered political life determined to make a real difference, something that Tasmanians are asking for right now. His vision is for Tasmanians to be the happiest people, enjoying the best quality of life in Australia.

While studying for his Applied Science and Education degrees, Michael’s interests in youth work, student politics and small business developed, preparing him for the work that he does today.

Michael commenced his teaching career in local public secondary schools in 1996, specialising in maths, science and IT.  He was honoured to be named Tasmanian Young Achiever of the Year in 2002 by the National Australia Day Committee for community work and regional initiative, and is proud to have served the Clifford Craig Medical Research Trust as its Chief Executive Officer from 2007-2009.

Michael served in the Federal Howard Government as the Member for Bass between 2004-2007, achieving a number of things for the community including funding for local services, record low unemployment in Bass and infrastructure projects including the $60 million East Tamar Highway upgrade.

Elected to State Parliament as the Liberal Member for Bass in 2010, Michael achieved the highest support in Bass in that election.  Despite this, Michael has never taken votes for granted and continues to work every day for an even stronger Northern Tasmania.

Michael values personal integrity, self-discipline and working hard - underpinned by his Christian faith.

 Married to Julie, and has three young children, Eloise, Thomas and James, family is an incredibly important part of Michael’s life. He is committed to working hard to ensure that every family in Tasmania can be the best they can be, particularly in the area of education where Tasmania has the potential to do better and lead the nation.