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NZTech Inform – Developing Industry Ready Professionals
Kia ora readers,
Last week, as Chair of the Auckland ICT Grad School it was great to see another 30 high quality Masters of IT students graduate. The Grad School programme is designed to meet the demand for industry ready ICT professionals who possess the right mix of technological skills, critical thinking and business awareness to drive innovation in New Zealand. They have been doing an amazing job with 60 graduates so far this year, including 28 females. Check out some of their stories.
The initial scoping sessions for the Digital Sector Industry Transformation Plan were completed last week and I’d like to thank all those involved. The information will be collated for broader consultation to be undertaken throughout the country. In summary, the obvious areas of focus include skills and talent, connectivity, data, cybersecurity, trade and capital. However there were very interesting discussions about culture and environment, so it will good to see how we work these into the plan too. I’ll keep you posted on the next steps.
Meanwhile, the New Zealand Government is the single largest purchaser of IT and hi-tech in the country, so it is great to see additional services being added to their new marketplace. The Marketplace, opened in September last year, providing a more simplified process for selling software as a service to the Government. Now two more channels, professional services and the managed services, have been added. Did you know that the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) also publishes a list of All-of-Government suppliers? As at December 2018, 74% of suppliers were New Zealand owned, earning $233 million to the year June 2018.
This week, I am back in Wellington to continue working on the establishment of the Industry Transformation Plan, followed by work with the Digital Skills Forum. In the coming weeks, the NZTech Cyber Security Summit is co-locating with Digital Identity New Zealand’s DI Summit at Te Papa. There’s a great line up of speakers and roundtable discussions on offer, so I hope to see you there.
Have a great week.
Ngā mihi
Graeme Muller
CEO
NZTech
Connect
Meet Author-it founder Paul Trotter at the next NZSA event on 8 October in Auckland.
Also on 8 October, join Canterbury Tech for a discussion on Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
Discover how blockchain is solving business problems at the InsurTechNZ Connect event on 9 October in Auckland.
Promote
Meet Flying Kiwis and young achievers. Attend the NZ Hi-Tech Awards alumni event and launch event on 27 November in Auckland. Also, 3 December in Wellington and 4 December in Christchurch.
Register now to attend the Xero Small Business Roadshow evening sessions. No registration required for the daytime drop-in sessions. Find your location here, from 1 October to 5 December.
Advancing Digital IT and Law is 25-26 November in Auckland. Advancing Women in Technical Industries and Roles is 25 November in Auckland.
Advance
Help shape the future of Aotearoa’s AI sector. Nominations for the AI Forum Executive Council close on 17 October. In other Tech Alliance news, EdTechNZ welcomes its new Executive Council.
The IoT Alliance supports Spark’s first 5G roll out. Meanwhile, biotech may help slow climate change. Read more. Also, explore Powered by Place, the new agritech story.
CERT’s Cyber Smart Week is 14-18 October. Register for the 2019 NZ Cyber Security Summit and the 2019 NZ Digital Identity Summit both on 16 October in Wellington.
Watch the NEW TechWomen series online here
