Learn how to – Melbourne, Australia recognised as next Silicon Valley

Learn how to – Melbourne, Australia recognised as next Silicon Valley.

Globalisation trends following the COVID-19 pandemic have prompted tech industry analysts to consider the possibility that hubs for hi-tech professionals and tech start-ups and conglomerates alike will begin to develop across the world and away from California’s Silicon Valley. Whilst industry analysts have observed countries developing their own tech sectors, there is one particular location that’s caught the eye of many analysts and technology professionals alike: the city of Melbourne, Australia.

Alongside the fact that Melbourne’s own tech sector has been developing at a rapid rate when compared to other tech hotspots across the globe, a slew of hi-tech design companies like DreamWalk, Canva, and Envato have also settled their headquarters in the heart of the Melbourne CBD, making Melbourne one of the best places to work for both independent and corporate app development professionals alike.

But there’s a lot more that’s gone into Melbourne’s new title as the world’s next Silicon Valley than meets the eye. We’ll be unpacking all the primary reasons why budding tech professionals should strongly consider the city of Melbourne as the backdrop for the next chapter in their careers.

Engaging with Melbourne’s diverse industry network

Already renowned for its strong reputation in the global arts, culinary, and sporting scenes, Melbourne is a city that really is no stranger to attracting leaders from a wealth of different industries. The city comes alive annually for a handful of high-profile global cultural and sporting events, such as the city’s annual Melbourne International Comedy Festival or the Australian Open. 

As far as the tech sector goes, however, there are no discernible peaks or troughs in the comings and goings of the city’s vibrant tech industry network or investments in Victoria’s digital technologies, simply because the tech companies that flock to the city are here to stay. With many hi-tech companies already developing state-of-the-art studios and business spaces in and around the Melbourne CBD as well, the city has equipped itself with an expansive and superbly evergreen network of technological innovators and professionals, including web and app developers, video game developers, computer scientists and engineers, tech designers, cybersecurity specialists, and computer analysts.

This highly diverse network is a genuine asset to not just Melbourne-based tech professionals and students, but also to industry professionals working internationally, as it opens up possibilities for the development of global think tanks. Let’s say, for instance, that a devs team in Silicon Valley pairs up with a UX team in Melbourne. Both the teams can use the resources available to them to produce a superior end product that they likely wouldn’t have been able to create without collaboration. 

As industry analysts have recognised the power of collaboration to inspire innovation in industries post-COVID, it is in the global tech sector’s best interests to cultivate and use the power that Melbourne’s booming network will yield.

Independent, start-up, and corporate professional opportunities

With more tech companies establishing office and studio spaces in Melbourne, there has also naturally been an increase in the number of employment opportunities available to industry professionals in Australia. International professionals who were looking for a change of pace following the Great Resignation, sought novel challenges in Australia’s burgeoning tech scene, and used their skills to build fast-growing yet still undeniably fresh businesses from the ground up.

The opportunity to work on start-ups has been reinvigorating for many tech professionals like app developers, who may have had to work long hours during the first lockdowns of 2020 in order to ensure business apps were prepared to cater to double or even triple their existing user base, alongside providing a greater number of services.

It’s not, however, just employment opportunities with big companies or even start-ups that have been attracting tech professionals to Melbourne over these last few years. The city’s own creative culture has been a major selling point for many tech professionals who have sought out collaborative and artistic spaces for both companies and individuals alike. Spaces like the Arcade in Melbourne allow tech professionals looking to flex their creative thinking capabilities with opportunities to work on their own projects and forge their own development teams by connecting with other like-minded creatives. The opportunity to develop their own products and potentially even grow their own companies is invaluable to many, especially following the Great Resignation.

World-class educational institutions for aspiring developers

Finally, with the city’s many resources on offer and the growing need for tech industry workers following the pandemic, tertiary institutions across the city of Melbourne have been revamping their own technology courses across a range of disciplines. As a result, Melbourne has become one of the best Australian cities to study technology, with a handful of Melbourne universities and tertiary institutions topping a list of the nation’s best ICT courses. 

Of course, with a substantial increase in the number of working professionals and tech corporations calling Melbourne home comes a subsequent rise in the sheer level of professional development opportunities that can be found by students or fresh graduates. 

There are a myriad of mentorship opportunities that are ripe for the taking in and around the city of Melbourne, as well as the opportunity to shadow true innovators as they work. As the tech sector is an industry that’s built on learning from doing, aspiring tech professionals can reap enormous benefits from ensuring that they’re consistently in both academic and professional environments where they can feel free to learn from observation or even collaborate with other industry professionals.

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As Melbourne’s tech scene continues to lay down roots across the city centre, it’s likely that more transnational tech companies will establish their own spaces in and around the city over coming years, boosting international investments both in metropolitan areas as well as in greater Victoria. Tech professionals who want to utilise the city’s potential should consider acting quickly to ensure that they’re in a prime position to take full advantage of all that Melbourne has to offer.

Melbourne’s forays into the ever-evolving tech sector have actually already held some impacts on Australia’s other capital cities, including Adelaide, with the South Australian government having developed their own technological roadmap. With this in mind, there are chances that other Australian owned and operated tech companies may opt to establish company spaces in other parts of the country as well, providing industry professionals with the flexibility of choice.