Brisbane Mayor opens ‘trailblazer’ conference grant

Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has invited Brisbane’s brightest minds to apply for a grant program to help attract lucrative international conferences to the city. The Lord Mayor’s Convention Trailblazer Grant offers a share of $30,000 to emerging professionals and researchers to attend an international conference in their field and help Brisbane bid to host the conference in future. Schrinner said: “The Lord Mayor’s Convention Trailblazer Grant program is a win-win for our city’s economy and the talented people who are blazing a trail across a range of sectors. “We want local trailblazers to benefit from attending an international conference, where they can build valuable global networks, broaden their knowledge and skills and gain recognition of their work in Brisbane. “At the same time, the recipients will work with the city’s economic development board Brisbane Marketing and partners to bid for the conferences to be held in Brisbane. “Business events are big business for Brisbane, generating an average $250 million for the economy every year, bringing together word-leading experts and providing opportunities for research partnerships, investment and collaboration.” Former recipients, University of Queensland scientists Dr Christina Schroeder and Dr Johan Rosengren, used the grant to attend the 2018 International Peptide Symposium in Tokyo. They then spearheaded a successful bid for Brisbane to host the event for 2021. Backed by the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, Brisbane Marketing and Tourism and Events Queensland, the symposium will see about 650 global researchers and experts in peptide science visit Brisbane, delivering an economic boost of over $2 million.