Remember when you were a kid on the pulse of tech and everyone older than you was living in the stone age?

Well, one day it will inevitably be you in the stone age and a Kiwi company is working hard to ensure that happens sooner rather later.

OMGTech! recently announced its new program delivering award-winning workshops directly into schools with the support of its partners.

The workshops cover a range of technology topics such as robotics, electronics, 3D printing and coding, and aim to help New Zealand’s first generation of digital natives become tech leaders in creating and deploying technologies we can’t even imagine yet.

To read the full article click here.

Entries for the NZ Innovation Awards are now open. The New Zealand Innovation Awards were created to give smart, innovative NZ individuals and businesses a platform to be recognised and celebrated.

Categories for the awards include:

• Industry sector categories
  • Innovation in Agribusiness & Environment
  • Innovation in Design & Engineering
  • Innovation in Education, Training & Development
  • Innovation in Financial, Professional & Public Services
  • Innovation in Food & Beverage
  • Innovation in Health & Science
  • Innovation in Maori Development
  • Innovation in Media, Marketing & Communications
  • Innovation in Sustainability & Renewable Energy
  • Innovation Systems & Performance Improvement
  • Innovation in Technology Solutions
  • Innovation in Tourism & Entertainment
• Business discipline categories
  • Innovation Excellence in Research
  • Excellence in Social Innovation
  • Start-up Innovator of the Year
  • Emerging New Zealand Innovator
  • Disruptive & Breakthrough Innovation
  • Export Innovator of the Year
  • Most Inspiring Individual
  • Young New Zealand Innovator
  • People’s Choice
  • Bayer Supreme New Zealand Innovation

If you think your organisation, or even you, deserves to be recognised, visit the website here to find out more about entry criteria, how to enter and what you could win.

Featured on Sunday last week, the West Coast is facing a hard decision about its future. A proposed mine could provide hundreds of desperately needed jobs to the region. However, the potential environmental impacts of doing so are great.

Is it time to focus away from the mining industry and into other avenues. Initiatives such as our friends at EPIC Westport are helping to provide a new direction for the communities and open more doors to jobs. But is it enough?

Watch the full segment here from TVNZ here. 

University of Canterbury researchers are developing drones that can aid search and rescue efforts in large scale emergency situations such as earthquakes, tsunamis and hurricanes. Alongside Japanese colleagues, they are working on the technologies that will enable swarms of drones to locate and potentially triage people buried in wreckage.

This is another fantastic example of some of the innovative solutions coming out of Christchurch and also helps to put some of our young, up and coming talent on the map nationally and globally.

To find out more about their research, click here.

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Jacqui Dean attended and spoke at the Wellington launch of the New Zealand Financial Innovation and Technology Association (FinTechNZ) on 8 February 2017. OpenGov caught up with Minister Dean through an email interview to find out more about her involvement with FinTech NZ, the government’s broad plans with fintech development and attracting more women to join the tech sector.

As a founding member and part of the Core Working Group of FinTechNZ, what do you hope that FinTechNZ can achieve in the short term for the next 1-3 years?

Fintech is a fast-growing sector, and the opportunities for New Zealand companies – and consumers – are exciting. Our agile regulatory system has allowed us to be ahead of the curve with innovations such as crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending. We are having a look at what Government’s role is in fintech, whether our regulatory settings are right, and what risks and opportunities we need to be preparing for.

As a founding member of FinTechNZ, Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE) officials will work closely with industry to understand what’s challenging (and what’s working well) for fintech firms in New Zealand, and connect across relevant government agencies.

Are there any broad strategies or plans in place by the New Zealand government with regards to fintech development?

The Government strongly supports New Zealand’s tech sector, including fintech, and we are constantly working to provide an environment that enables tech businesses to thrive. For example, New Zealand’s first fintech accelerator, currently underway, is supported with money the Government allocated in last year’s budget. We’re also making sure we accommodate innovation in financial advice: the new regulatory regime for financial advice is being deliberately drafted to allow for the provision of robo-advice to New Zealand consumers.

With regards to fintech strategy, the first step for government is to understand what the barriers and opportunities are for fintech innovation. We know that this is an area where government needs to be nimble and act swiftly to address unnecessary regulatory barriers. We also want enough regulation to protect consumers and maintain confidence in our financial markets.

At a more general level, the Government is also working across portfolios to make sure we have the right environment for innovative businesses, such as fintech businesses, to thrive.

This includes:

• providing support for R&D, and fostering a culture of entrepreneurship,
• helping firms access capital and export,
• ensuring we produce and attract highly skilled people,
• and, of course, making sure our regulation is flexible and fit for purpose.

Will there be any other government ministries/agencies and private sector companies which will be working with FinTechNZ?

The initial core working group members are listed on the FintechNZ web page. MBIE will act as the main point of contact for government and will help industry connect with other relevant government agencies as necessary.

It was reported recently that the technology mentoring programme Shadow Tech Days will see an investment of $270k to inspire more young women to join the tech sector. Are there any similar initiatives or plans to attract more women to work in the fintech sector?

Initiatives like Shadow Tech Days, to which the Government contributed $270,000, will certainly help bring more women up through the pipeline.

More broadly, there are a number of initiatives to grow and support female entrepreneurs and women in tech. Last year one the government-funded accelerators in Wellington ran an accelerator programme for female entrepreneurs – Lightning Lab XX. The Ministry for Women provides a STEM directory that identifies opportunities for girls to get exposure to science, technology and engineering.

Author: Dean Koh

Source: opengovasia.com

Original article:http://www.opengovasia.com/articles/7392-exclusive-nz-governments-role-in-driving-the-pace-of-fintech-development-with-fintechnz

A group of Canterbury University students have created what they believe to be a world first – a fully recyclable electric car.

The little one-person, one-wheel drive car is undergoing final testing in Christchurch before being shipped to Singapore to compete in a global vehicle economy competition called the Shell Eco-Marathon.

Every year as many as 5000 students from universities and technical institutes compete in regional competitions in Asia, Europe and USA. The idea behind the competition is for the students to design, build and then drive the most fuel-efficient car.

STACY SQUIRES/THE PRESS

Canterbury University’s fully recyclable electric eco-car runs down the Wigram tarmac during final testing.

The Kiwi team will compete against 100 other teams in the Asian regional competition from March 16, and the successful teams will then progress to the world finals in London in June.

This is the first time a New Zealand team has competed in the eco-marathon in its 69-year history, said team leader Reuben Audley, a final year mechatronics student.

STACY SQUIRES/THE PRESS

“Chief pilot” Frank Sullivan at the controls of the little 130kg car.

“Up until now none of our team of eight knew much more about cars other than how to change a lightbulb,” he said during a final testing display at Wigram.

“Maybe that’s why we didn’t want to go down the same old route in finding vehicle economy solutions. We also wanted our car to be recyclable. So we’ve made our car entirely out of vacuum-formed plastic, which we believe to be a world first.”

Testing of the little 130kg car, which produces up to 5kW of power from its battery pack and does up to 40kmh, has already shown it to be a potential winner.

STACY SQUIRES/THE PRESS

The eco-car isn’t very big – but it doesn’t consume much energy either.

In the last eco-marathon the winning electric car achieved an energy consumption of 76 kilometres per kilowatt hour over the competition’s set distance of 12km. But in testing so far the New Zealand car has already achieved 105km per kilowatt hour.

And the team is still learning, student and “chief pilot” Frank Sullivan said.

“What you have to do is speed up and then coast, and when you are coasting you can regenerate the battery. But we’re still learning the best ways to do this,” he said.

The whole point behind the eco-marathon is to inspire engineers of the future to turn into reality their visions of sustainability and energy efficiency, said the chairman of Shell New Zealand, Rob Jager.

“We’ve been hoping for some time that a New Zealand team would participate in this competition.

“We’re delighted that this group of young people from Canterbury University have taken up the challenge.”

 

Author: ROB MAETZIG

Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/

Original Article: http://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/news/90017274/canterbury-university-team-charged-for-their-worldfirst-electric-ecocar-marathon-in-recyclable-car?utm_content=43306246&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

The Haeata Community Campus in Christchurch has officially been opened by Prime Minister Bill English and Minister of Education Hekia Parata.

The school is expected to be an example of what the ‘future of education’ can look like with its flexible learning spaces and a flexible style of teaching.

More than 900 students have already enrolled at the Haeata Community Campus, which caters for years 1-13. The Campus also includes the Ferndale School satellite, supporting students with additional learning needs.

“The open flexible design of the buildings on the campus complement the style of teaching and learning that the school is introducing,” Parata explains.

“To see such innovation coming out of what was a terrible tragedy for Christchurch and New Zealand is inspiring. Haeata really is a learning campus for the future and for the whole community,” she says.

“I would like to congratulate the foundation principal Andy Kai Fong, along with the Establishment Board of Trustees for their work setting up the new school. I would also like to thank the community for coming together to support the school.”

The entire campus was designed and built as part of a $298 million public private partnership that includes three other schools. It was also part of the $1.137 billion Christchurch Schools Rebuild programme, which will see 115 schools built or redeveloped, including 23 brand new ones over 10 years.

“Thousands of children and young people across Christchurch are already benefiting not only from the most modern of learning environments, but also the new and innovative teaching methods the physical spaces encourage,” says Parata.

According to Parata, ten brand new schools have now been built since the earthquake, with space for more than 6,500 students.

“Today marks another significant step forward, not only for the local community, but for the rest of the greater Christchurch region,” she says.

Innovation comes in many forms and Auckland-based company Enviroplaz have developed a way to turn plastic into concrete.

Not only is this a way to stop plastic from reaching our oceans, rivers or landfills, but the potential cost savings benefits that companies could achieve are outstanding. Founding Director Peter Barrow estimates that companies could save up to 20% from their concrete costs.

“We can build a truck tanker that’s almost as competitively priced as a steel tanker, and yet you don’t have to paint it, it doesn’t rust and it doesn’t rot so the maintenance cost is a lot lower” explains Barrow.

To find out more about the work they are doing, click here.