Beyond the Books: The Creators Club Redefining Success
Western Sydney University’s new Creators Club is more than just an extracurricular activity—it’s a transformative space where talented students come together to create real-world solutions, develop critical skills, and prepare for the future of work. The club, which began as a student-driven initiative from the School of Computing, Data and Mathematical Sciences, has gained significant momentum through its partnerships with
Launch Pad, Western’s Technology Business Incubator and global tech leader Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). Together, these collaborations are empowering students to turn their ideas into tangible products, helping to bridge the gap between university education and the professional world.
A Club with Purpose: Connecting Students to Industry
The Creators Club was founded by Associate Professor, Dr Tomas Trescak. “We wanted to offer students non-curricular activities that would enhance their portfolios and help them secure their dream jobs,” explained Professor Trescak, who emphasized the club’s mission to connect students to industry and give them the opportunity to work on real-world projects.
“After doing research on employability and job readiness, I found that many Many skills that our students leave the university with are not enough for them to score their dream job,” Professor Trescak added.
By providing a space for students to working on projects, collaborate with peers, and gaining feedback from industry professionals, the Creators Club aims to solve this problem.
The Selection Process: A Place for Driven Innovators
In an effort to bring together only the most passionate students, the Creators Club requires its prospective members to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) This allowed the clubs inaugural cohort to boast a diverse membership including students from fields such as computer science, engineering, and data science.
For master’s student Shuvo Sarkar, the Creators Club offers an invaluable platform to refine his skills. Shuvo and his team recently won the CISCO Hackathon, where they pitched the concept of an emotion-sensing robot designed to improve operations at the new Western Sydney Airport. “Being part of the Creators Club has allowed me to develop my skills in project management, product development, and team building. The support from TCS and the regular feedback from academics has been invaluable,” Shuvo said.
One such project developed by club patron, Patrick, is “Supercharged AI,” an online real-time investment advisor platform being developed by a team of computer science students. Patrick and his team have been stress-testing their idea to ensure that it’s viable in the market. For him, the most valuable takeaway from the Creators Club has been the ability to work effectively in a team, even when everyone brings different ideas to the table.
“I decided to join the club as a way of dealing with the fact that entry-level jobs sometimes ask for years of experience, despite not ever being in the industry. The Creators Club helps us work in teams, work on real projects, and helps us find direction.” Explained Elias, a Bachelor of Computer Science student
“Launch Pad’s involvement has been instrumental in helping our students develop entrepreneurial skills, providing them with access to resources, mentorship, and the possibility of launching their own startups,” Professor Trescak said.
Additionally, TCS has played a critical role in mentoring students on how to take their ideas and transform them into full-fledged products. “We partnered up with TCS to help mentor our students on how they can develop their own ideas into fully-fledged products. That comes with full-scale training on everything from initially incepting a product to determining the problem statement and deciding on its commercial potential,” Professor Trescak explained.
Fostering a Culture of Innovation in Western Sydney
The Creators Club is not only benefiting Western students but also playing a pivotal role in fostering innovation within the broader Western Sydney region. As students work on industry-specific problems, they are helping to solve challenges faced by local and global companies, all while gaining the skills needed to launch their own ventures. “The entrepreneurial pathway of this club came about as a natural evolution, and not something that we had planned. But as we came along, we understand the potential of our creators to actually come up with the original products themselves,” Professor Trescak noted.
Alex, who has been working on a React Native app for climbers, shared, “Something important that I’ve taken from the Creators Club is that you can’t just have an idea. You need to also be able to build a business case around it and take it to development and deployment.”
This alignment between Western’s academic goals and regional innovation initiatives is helping to nurture the next generation of tech entrepreneurs and problem-solvers. Launch Pad’s continued support ensures that the Creators Club has the resources and mentorship necessary to scale ideas and contribute to the economic development of the Western Sydney region.
A Future Full of Possibilities
The Creators Club at Western is more than just a student club—it’s an incubator for talent, ideas, and innovation. With the support of Launch Pad and TCS, students have the opportunity to hone their skills, collaborate with industry professionals, and create real solutions to pressing global challenges. Whether you’re looking to build your portfolio, refine your ideas, or launch your own startup, the Creators Club offers the resources, mentorship, and community you need to succeed.
If you’re a student at Western’s passionate about innovation, entrepreneurship, or simply want to gain valuable skills that will set you apart in the job market, the Creators Club is the perfect place to start building your future.
