acQuire Renews Unearthed Community Partnership for 2016
Mining software company welcomes international expansion of innovation program
acQuire Technology Solutions re-signed their agreement with Unearthed to be a Community Partner for innovation and hackathon events in 2016. This year the Unearthed series is expanding to include international events fitting perfectly with acQuire’s commitment to maintaining a global presence for their customers. Unearthed works on solving resources sector challenges by developing, implementing and supporting new technologies.
PERTH, Western Australia (19 February 2016) – International software and collaboration projects are an everyday occurrence for Perth-based acQuire Technology Solutions. When Unearthed decided to expand their innovation program outside Australia, it reinforced acQuire’s commitment to the partnership. The 2016 program kicked off in Cape Town and includes events in the USA and Australia.
‘We have seven offices around the globe, with five of them outside Australia’, says Steve Mundell, Director of Product and Stakeholders at acQuire.
‘It was an easy decision to sign on for another year of collaboration with Unearthed because we experience the benefits of international innovation every day’.
‘We were pleased to see the first event of the year addressed problems presented by De Beers and Anglo American, a long-term customer of acQuire’.
‘Unearthed is an ideal program to foster global innovation. Mining companies from every country will benefit from seeing prototype technologies developed to enhance efficiency and the competitiveness of the industry’, Mundell said.
In addition to the first event in South Africa, Unearthed will host five events in Australia and one at the MineExpo in the USA. The events attract the top software developers, designers and data scientists to collaborate on mining problems. Mentors from the local mining industry are present to provide support and encouragement along with technical advice. Each event offers five real-world challenges presented by companies from the region. The contest runs for 54 hours with teams competing for prizes.
Cash prizes are not the only benefit of winning an Unearthed challenge. The winning team in the Cape Town challenge developed a visualisation of diamond mining analytics for De Beers. Team ‘Middebosch’, consisting of software engineers Pieter Woltzhausen and Albert Swart, were invited to demonstrate their solution at the Mining Indaba conference.
While three cash prizes are awarded, including a Young Innovators award, it’s the mining industry that really benefits.
‘Unearthed was fantastic for Australia in 2015’, Mundell said.
‘We’re looking forward to realising the benefits of open collaboration on a global scale’.
‘The problems being presented are not unique to the country presenting them as a challenge. It’s exciting to consider how this initiative is going to impact the wider natural resources industry’, Mundell said.
For more information about the 2016 events, visit the Unearthed website.
About acQuire
2016 marks the 20th anniversary of acQuire. In 1996, acQuire launched Geoscientific Information Management (GIM) software solutions for the natural resources industry, focusing on exploration, resource development and mining assets. Due to an ongoing commitment to excellence, acQuire reinvests 20-25% of their annual revenue into research and development. The company currently employs over 100 staff working in seven offices around the globe, with support centers operating in each major time zone. More than 450 sites benefit from acQuire GIM solutions.
For more information, please contact:
Steve Mundell
Director of Product and Stakeholders
acQuire Technology Solutions Pty Ltd
Telephone: 08 9316 6600
www.acquire.com.au
