Innovation in the NZ Tech Industry

Hi-Tech Awards Gala Dinner

Hattie, Mia and Katie

It was an absolute honour to be invited to attend the 2018 Hi Tech Awards Gala Dinner at Horncastle Arena. I was fortunate to be able to take two students with me to experience the ‘who’s who’ of technology in New Zealand. Tait Communications also hosted another senior student, Katie Ellis who spent the evening at a table with the Minister of Broadcasting - Clare Curran. We would like to thank Bob Pinchin from SwayTech and Garry Diack from Tait Communication for the opportunity to hear and see the amazing work that is being done in the New Zealand Tech industry.

Clare announced the first award of the evening which was the Hi-Tech Young Achiever of the Year.  In her preamble, Clare said:

“Can I acknowledge three stand out women – Jen Rutherford who is a trail blazer for women in tech who organised this dinner and has contributed a lot to the tech industry. The mayor, the Honourable Lianne Dalziel, who has been a mentor to me and Katie, a year 13 student at St Margaret’s College who seems to be doing an inordinate number of subjects this year in STEM.  Stand up Katie” (Katie was then encouraged to stand up in front of 800 people, the spotlight zoomed in on her and her image was shown on the two gigantic screens at the venue) “Katie has a very clear idea of her pathway specialising in women’s reproduction health mapped out and what she wants to achieve in her career in the biotech industry and we want more, more people like you Katie.”

The evening showcased an array of start up businesses that are flying the flag for New Zealand beyond our shores.  These companies who are embracing diversity through gender, sexual orientation and cultural boundaries are proving to be more profitable than the traditional models of years gone by.  The climate for young women to enter tech industries with innovative and creative thinking is here!

Technology is currently the third biggest contributor to the New Zealand economy and it continues to grow.   Christchurch is the second major contributor to technological growth. Women now make up 23% of this sector and there is a strong drive for this to also grow.  Overseas, New Zealanders are looked upon as not people who do not do the status quo but as creative thinkers who can make dreams come true.

The latest person to be inducted into the Hi-Tech Hall of Fame, known as the Flying Kiwi, was Claudia Batten.  Claudia as a resume that spans many pages. We were fortunate to have her speak at one of our school assemblies about 4 years ago. She acknowledges that the world “asks a lot more from us” but New Zealanders are great problem solvers and work to make things happen. Our girls at SMC certainly rise to the challenge in this area.

The world of technology can be a daunting one, however, it is technology that is providing opportunities ahead. Technology in New Zealand is about purpose, where we have a space to talk, we share and we are willing to help each other.  We come together as a tech family to focus on innovation that’s not only food in the world but good for the world.

Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi

With your food basket and my food basket, the people will prosper

Some reflections of the events of the evening:

“Attending the High Tech Gala Dinner was such an incredible experience. It was amazing to have the opportunity to be surrounded by such amazing figures in the technological field! I absolutely loved being able to connect with industry professionals in such an inspiring setting - particularly watching women in STEM be acknowledged and awarded for their efforts.

My favourite part was being able to witness Claudia Batten, one of my most inspirational role models, be awarded with the Flying Kiwi award, which is an incredible award that few women have received.

Being able to attend the event was so advantageous, as it meant that we could develop connections with incredible people in the fields that I would really like to go into, and I think that any other student would be similarly inspired by the incredible finalists! It was an amazing night, and I absolutely loved being able to attend” Hattie Compton-Moen

“I had an absolutely fabulous experience at the Hi-Tech Gala Dinner. I was at a table with the CEO of Tait Communications Garry Diack, the Minister of Broadcasting Clare Curran as well as an engineer, trustees and other people integral in the technology sector in Christchurch. It was such a fantastic insight into all of the places technology is going and how important it is to integrate women into the sector. The conversations I had really stuck in my head. I had discussions about technology and STEM as were to be expected, but on top of that, I had conversations about the #MeToo movement, parental leave, how different equity and equality of the genders is, the diversity of engineering, mental health and so many more polarising topics with the most unlikely of people. The evening had this incredible focus on the future and on diversity and on building brighter, healthier, smarter, strongest and faster futures. By attending this event I got this incredible insight into the technology community and gained some incredible contacts for my future in STEM.”

Katie Ellis

“The evening was a spectacle and celebration of tech and innovation in NZ.  We are so privileged to be in a climate that is embracing diversity. This bodes well for our graduates from St Margaret’s College.  Our students are provided with opportunities to develop skills that prepare them for a world of change. It is exciting and uplifting to be part of the growth of women in tech. I am grateful for the continued support from companies such as Tait Communications who open young minds to take a glimpse into future possibilities.”   Linda Chong

Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality plays a feast on the sensors
Click this link to view the video

Student Initiative

If you pop into the Centre for Innovation on a Friday afternoon you might be lucky enough to see a wonderful example of students teaching students in a great initiative headed by two Year 8 students.

Earlier in the year Harriet Frye and Maia Godfrey-Chatterton approached Ms Chong with the idea to work with younger students as part of their William Pike Challenge. The Centre for Innovation embraces the chance to support students in leadership opportunities and Ms Chong was thrilled to be able to set up a weekly session with the Pre-School.

Maia and Harriet work with a small group of three and four year olds, teaching them how to programme Beebots to move from one point to another on a grid and setting the foundation for future coding skills.  These activities are followed up in the teaching and learning that happens in the Pre-School and will see the younger students in good stead as computational thinking and coding becomes a larger part of the NZ school curriculum.

Harriet and Maia are to be commended for creating this link with another part of the school as it adds value to learning for all the students involved. Well done girls!

Teching Up Your Teaching

National Tech Week is being held on 19 - 27 May this year.  St Margaret's College is proud to support Tech Week by offering a hands-on workshop aimed for teachers who are looking to bring some technology into their lessons.
On Tuesday 22 May, we will host a workshop for teachers of Year 5 - 13 who would like to learn how to use green screens, enhance video resources, and use google maps more effectively in your programmes.  There will be time to play and create as well as think and plan to integrate these tools within a unit or lesson you are already doing.
For more information go to: TechWeek

Feedback from an Old Girl of St Margaret's College

The Evergreen magazine is published three times per year and contains news and articles about all aspects of school and alumni life. A copy of the magazine is posted to all St Margaret’s families.  The latest copy has inspired Sophie to feedback on the article about Hattie and we are delighted that St Margaret's College is moving in a direction that will assist our students in their preparation to face a fast changing world.

Evergreen Autumn 2018

Feedback from Sophie reads: 

"Good afternoon from Melbourne, A quick note to say that I was particularly impressed to see in the last Evergreen magazine the emphasis placed on digital technology and robotics through your profile of Hattie Compton-Moen. As a management consultant for 9 years now I am delighted to see the foresight of my prior school in emphasising and sponsoring students in these fields - they will be differentiators for women in business in the years to come. 
As a prior Head Girl and IB student I can attest to the world-ready skills St Margaret's gave me and I’m so proud to see this continue. 
All the best to the school and Hattie in her endeavours. 
Kind regards, Sophie"

Presentation at the announcement of the Finalist for the Hi Tech Awards

The Hi Tech Awards finalists were announced simultaneously in the three main centres of Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland.  As part of this announcement each centre invited some young speakers to give their perspective of how they see technology in our future. 

Emma Taylor, Hattie Compton-Moen and Mia Wright delivered a passionate presentation to a room full of top executives and innovative thinkers at the BizDojo in the centre of Christchurch's tech sector.  This event was a first for BizDojo in their new space.  The girls addressed issues around access to technology which we can take this for granted daily.  They touched on how technology can provide our future with many opportunities and positive outcomes in solving issues.  With all the good that technology can offer, there is also challenge on how it can be used for destruction.  As we are connected globally with devices that are always only an arms reach away,  we need to do a self check on our behaviour online.  At times our ethical decision-making can also be questionable.  STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) thinking is what we now believe our future should be modelled on.  The Arts and Philosophy also are pushing hard to be part of this future direction.  Young minds will be required to think exponentially more diverse and at a pace that is astronomically chaotic.  The measure of future success will be to have the skills to filter large amounts of data, synthesise what you need, and apply it when you need it.

Emma, Mia, and Hattie presenting at the
announcement of the Hi Tech Finalists

  

Hattie and Mia with Kaila Colbin -
Ambassador for Singularity University, Co-founder and Chair of the Ministry of Awesome

Entries into this year's Hi Tech Awards has grown in terms of diversity.  More women have entered and entries outside of the Auckland area have also increased. The sponsors who support this event recognise that women are still under represented. The future remains bright for the minds and skills that Hattie, Emma and Mia are developing.  I can't wait to see where their pathway leads them.

AI - Artificial Intelligence

Have you ever wondered if machines will take over Earth??  When you compare the productivity of a machine vs human there is a marked difference.  Similarly if you think about what makes us human, can a machine replace these qualities of empathy, emotion, unpredictability etc., 
We know that technology is developing at a rate beyond compare.  How we have lived in the past continues to evolve and change as this technology consumes more of our attention and impacts on us daily.   

The AI Forum of NZ defines artificial intelligence as "advanced digital technologies that enable machines to reproduce or surpass abilities that would require intelligence if humans were to perform them".  So what this means is that machines can now learn and adapt from simple repetitive tasks to be able to work autonomously with creativity whilst consuming vast quantities of data.

If this is scary then that's what change is all about.  To read more click on this link to an article by Callaghan Innovation

goo.gl/Pf9z9G