Why Brisbane's ICT Industry Still Needs to Show Up in the Same Room

There's something that happens when you're sitting across a trivia table from someone you've only ever seen on a Teams call.

You laugh at the same wrong answer. You argue (politely) about whether that movie came out in 2003 or 2004. And somewhere between Round 3 and the dessert, you actually talk - about the project that's been frustrating you, the idea you've been sitting on, the contact you've been meaning to make.

That's not something a webinar can replicate. And it's becoming rarer than it used to be.

The Quiet Disappearance of Industry Events

Post-COVID, the events calendar for Brisbane's ICT sector never quite bounced back to what it was. Virtual meetups filled the gap for a while, and honestly, they served a purpose. But they also quietly eroded something - the kind of loose, unstructured conversation that doesn't happen on a Zoom call with an agenda and a timer.

The big national conferences still run. The vendor roadshows still happen. But the mid-sized, community-driven events that let you bump into someone unexpected? Those are the ones that have thinned out.

That matters more than it might seem.

Brisbane Has a Unique Opportunity

Queensland's ICT industry has a character all of its own. We're not Sydney. We're not Melbourne. We're a city that's been growing fast, attracting talent, building capability - and doing it in a way that still feels, largely, like a community rather than a market.

But communities need contact. They need shared experiences and shared context. They need people to actually know each other - not just follow each other on LinkedIn.

When government and industry professionals sit in the same room for an evening, something shifts. The "them and us" framing that can creep into procurement conversations, policy debates, and project tensions softens a little. People become people again, not job titles.

Events Like This Carry More Weight Now

The Government vs ICT Industry Trivia Night is now in its second decade - which is remarkable when you think about how many events that started with good intentions have quietly faded away.

Part of what's kept it going is that it's genuinely fun. But the other part is that people in this industry understand its value. They come back because they've had the conversation that led somewhere. They've met the person they ended up collaborating with. They've stayed in touch with someone they otherwise would have lost track of.

And beyond the networking, it raises funds for TAFE Queensland Access and Equity Scholarships - meaning the evening has a tangible impact on the next generation of ICT professionals coming through.

Show Up

If you've been on the fence about attending, this is your nudge. Not because it'll look good on your professional development record. Because the Brisbane ICT community is genuinely stronger when its people know each other - and there are fewer and fewer nights on the calendar that give us the chance to make that happen.

Come for the trivia. Stay for everything else.