La Trobe University has thrown its weight behind Bendigo’s bid to become a regional pilot in a government initiative which could see the city secure millions of dollars in funding. 

Vice chancellor John Dewar came to town this week as the university officially backed the ‘smart city’ bid which is being led by the Bendigo Business Council.  

The BBC bid – also backed by the City of Greater Bendigo – rests on four key ‘demonstration proposals’.

Among them would be a network of sensors and ‘smart meters’ to capture data and an open source, big data hub.

BBC chief executive Leah Sertori said La Trobe could provide the skills and resources to measure the impact of projects delivered under a city deal and an independent evaluation of the proposed projects. 

"Those projects will include innovative software applications to enhance a skilled workforce of the future, to improve predictive and preventative healthcare and to build a platform to share big data,” Ms Sertori said.

"La Trobe are now world leaders in smart city applications, the use of smart sensor networks and cyber security.”

The ‘smart city’ deals are set to be announced by the federal government in the coming months.

Ms Sertori said Business Council and Alliance members would meet with the Cities and Digital Transformation Assistant Minister Angus Taylor to present their bid before Christmas. 

She said the group had already raised its own war chest toward implementing the plan. 

"We have raised more than $100,000 in seed capital toward implementing Smarter Bendigo in the last month,” the business chief said. 

“The approach has struck a chord with our members and the state government as an important part of the strategy to grow Bendigo and maintain our relevance on the world stage." 

Another platform of the plan would see the city become a net exporter of renewable energy.