Tropical Innovation Festival returns for its ‘biggest year yet’
The Tropical Innovation Festival will bring some of Australia and the world’s best minds to Cairns for the next ten days, celebrating innovation and entrepreneurship and spotlighting our unique region. Check out who’s here and what’s on:
News
Don't miss out on the headlines from News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The Tropical Innovation Festival will bring Australia and the world’s best minds to Cairns for the next ten days, celebrating innovation and entrepreneurship and spotlighting our unique region.
“We aim to do two things primarily. One thing is to bring high level entrepreneurs and investors to Cairns,” TIF co-founder and director Tara Diversi said.
“And the second thing is to promote our entrepreneurs and start-ups and innovators. We run it as a not for profit event and it’s really about giving back and growing the community over time.”
Ms Diversi said Far North innovators were special because they were “a little bit of a different demographic”.
“A lot of (innovators), they’re here in Cairns because they want to be here – they’ve got family, they’ve had a business here,” she said.
“They’re not like these young start-ups in the cities who will move anywhere, these guys want to be in Cairns. They want to build the community and they want to showcase the stuff they’re doing well.”
TIF began in 2021 and this year will be their biggest yet, featuring more than 200 speakers and 2000 individual attendees from around Australia and overseas, at a variety of workshops, panels and networking events on topics such as AI, investing, health and First Nations innovation.
Ms Diversi said she believed people were drawn to TIF because of the level of community they had fostered and focus on networking.
“This year we did a ticket pre-sale before we even had a speaker, and we sold half of the platinum tickets without even promoting what we’d be doing, just from the trust of our community and people,” she said.
“It’s the community and the networking that really make the event and we really try and make everything quite short.
“None of the talks are over 18 minutes, so they’re short, sharp, and there’s lots of opportunity to network.”
Ms Diversi said there was something for everyone at TIF, including small business owners and full-time workers.
“We say that it’s unapologetically informal and unapologetically ambitious,” she said.
“People look at it from the outside and think it’s a conference, but it’s really a festival where people can choose their own adventure.
“There’s a mix of founders, investors and people within the ecosystem. We have events before and after work house, live music every night – just a huge a range of activities where people can have fun while being ambitious and doing business.”
FESTIVAL PROGRAM
Week one of TIF from June 17 – June 22 is called TIFx, a week of satellite events in the lead-up to the main week of the festival.
Here are some of the standout events:
Women in leadership and innovation
Taking place on Friday, June 20, this event will bring together some of the region’s top female leaders.
Grace Lillian Lee, a Cairns-based fashion designer and founder of First Nations Fashion Design, will speak on how curiosity, creativity and culture have driven her success and community impact.
Cairns Mayor Amy Eden, Cassowary Coast Mayor Teresa Millwood and Douglas Shire Mayor Lisa Scomazzon will speak at a leadership panel and Bree James, the Tourism Assistant Minister will speak on innovation for contemporary leadership.
Innovation in health
On Saturday, June 21 the full-day event will bring together health professionals, technology experts, researchers, innovators and investors to explore cutting-edge advancements and practical solutions in healthcare.
Speakers will include Dr Clinton Schultz from the Black Dog Institute, Pharmacy Guild of Australia president Trent Twomey, and Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service’s chief executive Leena Singh.
KEY TIF EVENTS
Innovators on the reef
TIF’s signature event on Tuesday, June 24. Taking place on a dive boat on the Great Barrier Reef, this event was the world’s first business conference on a dive boat when it began in 2021. Scientists, founders, reef ecosystem leaders, investors and policymakers will head to the outer reef, and in between presentations and networking will be able to dive, snorkel or swim at the World Heritage site.
Indigenous innovation
Friday, June 27 will be a full day experience championing and advancing Indigenous innovation. The event will feature keynotes, panels, fireside chats, cultural experiences, pitch opportunities and roundtables for Indigenous innovators. Bringing together emerging and established Indigenous innovators and entrepreneurs, some speakers will include FNQ’s Libby Cook-Black from The Female Co, an organisation that delivers sport and leadership programs to girls in regional and remote areas, and Grant Maher from Deadly Coders, a not-for-profit aiming to prove STEM learning and career pathways for Indigenous students.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
There are a range of international and Australian speakers at TIF, as well as some the region’s own, such as:
Dylan Saunders
Hailing from Yorkey’s Knob, physicist Dylan Saunders has worked at Oxford and in Silicon Valley and is now based in Brisbane working for PsiQuantum, a company trying to build the world’s first ‘useful’ quantum computer. He has credited his Cairns upbringing with giving him a can-do attitude in his work and will speak on Monday, June 23 and Wednesday, June 25 on quantum computing.
Claudia Kurowski
Claudia Kurowski is a year 11 student, Cairns’ 2025 Young Woman of the Year and the Queensland Youth Health Minister. Ms Kurowski also co-founded The Gratitude Initiative, a youth-led charity trying to improve outcomes for women and children across Australia.
There are a range of ticket options available, both for the whole festival and specific events. For information, visit tropicalinnovationfestival.com.au.
More Coverage
Originally published as Tropical Innovation Festival returns for its ‘biggest year yet’
Woman ‘bottled’ in shocking nightclub attack
A woman was left concussed and covered in blood after she was bottled by a stranger at a Cairns nightclub over the weekend.
Leahy defends troubled council
Local Government Minister Ann Leahy said she wished the Crime and Corruption Commission would resolve wrongdoing claims against suspended Townsville mayor Troy Thompson, as she defended the council.
New bus service revealed for Yarrabah
A community bus service from Yarrabah to Cairns is being trialled for six months to connect residents to work opportunities and further public transport.
‘We’re going to deliver’: Premier vows Olympic rowing will be held in Rocky
Premier David Crisafulli has vowed to keep his promise to host Olympic and Paralympic rowing in Rockhampton, despite the outcome of a global assessment on the Fitzroy River.
Revealed: How the Far North is better than Townsville
The number of domestic overnight visitors to Townsville grew more than 10 per cent last year while the Far North saw a 5.38 per cent decline — but our region still smashes North Queensland on the tourism leaderboard.
See the winners from the Cairns Show Wine Awards
Some of Oceania’s best wines were judged on their taste, quality and suitability to the tropical north at the Cairns Show Wine Awards on the weekend.