The Top 3 Pitches of 2023

In 2023, we partnered with Millennium Kids to deliver the first-ever RAC Ignite Leadership Program. The program brought together nineteen aspiring young changemakers from around WA. They were tasked with designing and pitching project ideas that would help to solve issues facing the WA community, such as reducing road trauma, creating better-connected cities, and reducing vehicle emissions.

Find out more about the program

The immersive month-long program featured a series of masterclasses, pitch training sessions, networking events, and a two-day leadership camp in Margaret River. This helped participants shape their project ideas. At the end of the program, participants presented their final three-minute pitches to a selection panel.

Three finalists were selected by the panel: Shannon Griffin, Jay Wood, and Chandini Thirumulai. They were given an additional week to refine their pitches, receive mentor feedback, and prepare for the celebration event at RAC Arena. At the celebration event, Chandini was awarded first place, with Shannon and Jay coming second and third place. Read on to find out about their pitches.

First place | Chandini Thirumalai | "Co-exist WA"

About Chandini Thirumalai

Chandini Thirumalai is a 22-year-old account manager at Dell Technologies. In February 2020, she moved from India to Perth to study a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in finance and marketing at the University of Western Australia.

Within her first few months of living in Perth, Chandini and a group of new friends who were also international students embarked on a road trip down south. However, the road trip ended on a disappointing note for the group. Each driver had received a speeding fine due to being unfamiliar with local road rules.

This experience left Chandini pondering how tourists and international drivers could have more certainty about WA’s road rules, so they could avoid making the same mistakes.

About Chandini's pitch

Inspired by her group’s misfortune, Chandini pitched a road safety education extension to the existing RAC Go App. The free app provides users with coaching and insights to improve driving behaviours such as speed, focus, and harsh movements.

Chandini’s addition to the app will include WA road safety advice, a quiz to test international drivers’ road knowledge, and driving tips from locals from regional areas. This concept will empower tourists and international drivers to stay safe on regional roads, and to be educated on the varying road conditions outside of metropolitan areas.

Chandini was awarded a $6000 cash prize for her winning idea, and she is currently working alongside RAC to turn her idea into a reality whilst maintaining her full-time position at Dell Technologies.

Second place | Shannon Griffin | "Third spaces"

About Shannon Griffin

Aged 22, Shannon Griffin is a graduate of the University of Western Australia, holding a Bachelor of Business with majors in business management and enterprise, and innovation.

One of her recent innovative ventures has seen her design a ‘Collective Care’ app, which seeks to improve communication, care, and the overall health of the elderly and differently abled people.

About Shannon's pitch

Drawing on her background in improving connectivity and general wellbeing, Shannon pitched the introduction of more ‘third spaces’ throughout WA.

Third spaces are familiar public places that enable regular connection with others, usually based around a shared interest or activity. With loneliness on the rise, these third spaces would help make WA more connected, especially among 20-to-26-year-olds.

Shannon pitched the idea of piloting a third space at Bibra Lake Reserve, where activities would be tailored to suit the age demographic. Nostalgic activities like hide and seek would help people take a break from the adult world and feel like a kid again. These activities would have low or no financial barriers and would focus on creating meaningful conversations and connection amongst community members.

Coming second place, Shannon was awarded a cash prize of $3000, and she leaves the program with newfound connections who would undoubtedly join her for a game of hide and seek!

Third place | Jay Wood | "RAC Connect"

About Jay Wood

Jay is a 24-year-old graduate officer at the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science, and Innovation. He holds a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in public policy analysis and sustainable development. He also studied a Master of Environment and Climate Emergency.

About Jay's pitch

Interweaving his passion for sustainability and his background in urban design, Jay proposed the creation of RAC Connect: an integrated transport app that manages the ordering and co-ordination of multi-modal trips.

RAC Connect would support efficient multi-modal transport whilst reducing our reliance on automobiles in major cities like Perth.

It would make sustainable transport options less time consuming and more cost effective. For example, it could allow users to manage a trip on a Neuron e-scooter within the same interface as an Uber or a Transperth Ferry.

The RAC Ignite Leadership Program

More information about the 2023 RAC Ignite Leadership Program can be found here.

We are now accepting expressions of interest for the next program; aspiring changemakers aged between 18 and 24 can register their interest at the link below.

Register your interest