[@OKFNau] Robotics and Technology Road Trip idea - Request for help

Thu Sep 5 02:03:58 UTC 2013

Oh -- and I wouldn't run it as a charity or nonprofit, as the rules are
restrictive. I also wouldn't choose to run under a RoboGals /
female-focused banner unless that was what you wanted anyway. It's
perfectly fine if your goal is to support women, but if your goal is more
broad then I don't think it will help tremendously.

Maybe you could end the roadshow at CeBit 2014 and host a stall with some
kind of mini robocup or technology demo as well. Give a bit of ceremony to
the whole thing?

On Thu, Sep 5, 2013 at 12:01 PM, Tennessee Leeuwenburg <
tleeuwenburg at gmail.com> wrote:

> Sounds like a fantastic idea! What time-frame did you have in mind?
>
> If you need to make enough money out of it to eat, you could possibly run
> it as an education roadshow, and apply for government grants. I think you'd
> get a strong interest from schools in hosting visits, and you'd also get
> some interest from universities. You could conceivably partner up with a
> hardware seller like element14, lego or little bird electronics for anyone
> who is interested to purchase appropriate kits at a reasonable rate. You
> could have a showcase of DIY robots, but also things like the Roomba as
> demonstration of commercially available robots, and of course kids toys are
> another commercial example of simple robots.
>
> I think the main challenge would be the revenue model, and maybe grants
> would be the way to go. Kickstarter is one way, but I feel like government
> grants would be more effective. The Australian Computer Society also
> provides some money for conferences such as PyCon, and they might be very
> happy to sponsor a leg of a roadshow as well.
>
> Cheers,
> -Tennessee
>
>
> On Wed, Aug 28, 2013 at 5:39 PM, Maia Sauren <maia.sauren at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> hey samantha,
>>
>> this sounds like a great idea.
>>
>> i work for thoughtworks in melbourne. happy to help with having those
>> conversations if that's where you're at.
>>
>> cheers
>> maia
>>
>> maia sauren, phd
>> maia.sauren at gmail.com | +61408824846 | @sauramaia
>>
>>
>> On 28 August 2013 12:55, A List for Open Knowledge Networks in Australia.
>> <okfn-au at lists.okfn.org> wrote:
>>
>>>  Hi All,
>>>
>>> please let me know if this is breach of spamming but I've got a dream I
>>> would like to share.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Robotics and Technology Road Trip - Request for help
>>>
>>> I want to take Robotics and Technology based workshops all around
>>> Australia to Promote Engineering and Technology to young people (Or at
>>> least promote why Maths, Science and Technology are important in High
>>> School). There could also be a focus on careers. I created Robogals UTas,
>>> have run quite a few Lego Robotics Workshops and I know I can take it
>>> further.
>>>
>>> Alongside or before this road trip I want to create a website to support
>>> Technology based videos/workshops and release them under a creative commons
>>> licence so people can change them and create their own. The website could
>>> be similar to http://www.drgraeme.net/ but have an updated look and
>>> feel like http://www.codecademy.com/ .
>>>
>>> Now I would love to do all of this work for free but unfortunately I
>>> need some modest income to live off. So I’m currently looking into funding
>>> options. I will even look into a kick starter-esk crowd funding campaign to
>>> see what I can source there. There will also be lots of applications for
>>> grants and a lot of conversations to be had.
>>>
>>> This is where I need help, I’m not an expert in media, business,
>>> education, intellectual property or websites and I’m looking for any
>>> advice/ideas/assistance that you can provide. What do you think is good/bad
>>> about this idea? I need constructive criticism just as much as great
>>> support to ensure I don’t develop unrealistic expectations.
>>>
>>> I’ve got many options. E.g. I could run it under Robogals and name it
>>> the Great Australian Robogals Roadtrip (GARR) for short but being a non for
>>> profit may cause some issues with crowd funding and I’m not sure if I want
>>> the “female” focus that comes with Robogals. I could run it as my own
>>> business or under another organisation. E.g. some people from ThoughtWorks
>>> and the Python Software Foundation might be able to help. I can’t start all
>>> of these conversations myself though, so any help spreading the word would
>>> also be greatly appreciated. I’m thinking of engaging my old college to
>>> help with media. I want the focus of my efforts to be on education and open
>>> technologies.
>>>
>>> **** **
>>>
>>> Any feedback would be greatly appreciated ^_^.
>>>
>>> From Samantha Connelly
>>>
>>> Twitter: @sammy_lee12
>>>
>>> Website: http://samanthaconnelly.com/
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>> OKFN-AU at lists.okfn.org
>>> http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/okfn-au
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>>>
>>>
>>
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>>
>
>
> --
> --------------------------------------------------
> Tennessee Leeuwenburg
> http://myownhat.blogspot.com/
> "Don't believe everything you think"
>

-- 
--------------------------------------------------
Tennessee Leeuwenburg
http://myownhat.blogspot.com/
"Don't believe everything you think"
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