Wellington, NZ - 7 July 2016 - New Zealand’s best and brightest mathematical scientists are combining their power to solve significant business and industry challenges at New Zealand’s second annual Mathematics-in-Industry NZ event this week at Victoria University, Wellington.
New Zealand’s second annual Mathematics-in-Industry NZ event
Successfully implemented in more than 20 countries worldwide, Mathematics-in-Industry intensive week-long workshops offer a collaborative environment for mathematicians across the country to solve problems arising in industry. Scientists participate from a range of mathematical disciplines such as dynamical systems, statistics, and operational research.
New Zealand businesses offering up industry challenges for the 2016 Mathematics-in-Industry New Zealand (MINZ) event include:
NZ Steel – Improving how the steel finishing rolling through modellingCompac – Estimating the weight of a moving article across multiple weigh pointsTranspower – Understanding how home solar electrical generation affects the national gridFonterra – Predicting the length of time milk powders can be stored in elevated temperatures and humiditiesZespri – Predicting fruit quality in the supply chain from harvest to market.
This year a new dimension has been added with representatives from Japan’s Institute of Mathematics for Industry attending the MINZ event. New Zealand mathematicians will also join Japan’s study week later in July. The exchange has been made possible due to funding from the NZ Royal Society and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. A challenge from the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology is also included in the New Zealand event.
The New Zealand event is championed by Professor Emeritus Graeme Wake of Mathematics-in-Industry New Zealand (MINZ). Professor Wake has been involved in the concept since his time as a Postdoctoral Fellow in Oxford where it was first launched in 1968. Professor Wake is passionate about the impact of applied mathematics noting, “These events are often the launch pad for long term partnerships between mathematicians and businesses, powering up innovation within industry.”
The event was opened by Hon. Steven Joyce and PVC Science VUW Mike Wilson, and speakers include Professor Andrew Fowler from Limerick/Oxford Universities, Dr Mary Quin CEO of Callaghan Innovation, and Japanese Ambassador Toshihisa Takata.
Zespri, new to MIINZ in 2016 has really seen the power of presenting a challenge to the mathematics community. Zepsri’s New Varieties Technical Manager, John White comments, “We saw a real opportunity to use the combined skills of the MINZ event to materially improve an important part of our inventory management process, reducing quality costs and so give real improvements in returns to growers. It has been fascinating to watch a previously unconnected group enthusiastically seek to understand our data and look for ways from it to improve our understandings and what we do.”
New Zealand mathematicians and businesses have previously taken part in joint events run by the Australia and New Zealand Industrial Applied Mathematics (ANZIAM). Professor Wake comments, “Kiwi businesses have previously had to travel across the Tasman to participate in these events, but now we are running this event right in our back yard.”
This year’s MINZ initiative is supported by the Centre for Mathematics-in-Industry in Massey University, ANZIAM (A/NZ Industrial and Applied Mathematics Group), KiwiNet (a consortium of 16 universities, Crown Research Institutes and a Crown Entity established to boost commercial outcomes from publicly funded research), New Zealand Mathematical Society and Victoria University.
Seumas McCroskery, Innovation Manager of the Kiwi Innovation Network (KiwiNet) believes the model is highly compelling. He says, “New Zealand has world leading mathematics capability in Universities and Crown Research Entities who are eager to work with industry and solve problems. It’s great to see mathematicians from across NZ working together to provide this inventive approach to drive business innovation.”
More than 100 mathematicians, a number of whom are postgraduate students are participating in the event. A summary and technical report will be prepared with aim of future publication in the ANZIAM Journal Series E.
“Mathematics-in-Industry is an initiative to solve industry challenges. It enables businesses to focus on operations and lets mathematicians focus on what they do best – solve industry problems,” says Professor Wake.
Auckland, New Zealand. 7th July 2016 – Serko Ltd. (SKO.NZ) announced that its new small business travel management application, serko.travel, will launch on 25th July 2016, in conjunction with Xero, the leader in online accountancy software.
The application is targeted at businesses in New Zealand and Australia with less than 150 employees, will drive significant productivity gains and unlock meaningful cost savings for businesses by streamlining every aspect of business travel. The application, which is free to use, is a simplified version of the same well-established platform used by large corporations across Australia and New Zealand.
Serko.travel will give businesses the ability to search, book and manage complete business trips involving multiple suppliers via mobile or desktop. The application allows travellers to manage their trips on-the-go, while the desktop application also provides a portal for office managers and decision makers to manage rules, approve trips or make bookings on behalf of other people in the organisation.
Importantly, by providing small business employers with end-to-end visibility of their employees travel plans, serko.travel also assists companies comply with the duty of care legislation in both New Zealand and Australia.
Unlike any other online travel booking system before, the online functionality of serko.travel will be complemented by expert offline support from Helloworld for Business, Corporate Traveller and Flight Centre Business Travel. For the first time, they will offer Travel Expert services on an ‘on demand’ basis which means travellers only have to pay if and when they need their services.
Darrin Grafton, Serko CEO, understands the challenges that small to medium businesses face when it comes to booking and managing business travel, and not only wants to give them access to the same technology and travel deals, but also the same customer service as their larger counterparts.
“If you have a problem when you’re away on business you really need to be able to speak to someone that knows what they’re talking about, and the services of Helloworld for Business and Flight Centre will be an important asset in ensuring serko.travel customers can book and manage their travel in the most efficient way possible.
“The support from Flight Centre and Helloworld for Business will complement partnerships with some of the biggest travel brands in the region, including Expedia, Wotif, Booking.com, Qantas, Air New Zealand, Virgin Australia, Jetstar and AVIS who provide all of the content” Darrin said.
Research undertaken by TNS Research in New Zealand confirmed that 46% of the one million+ SMEs in NZ and Australia travel regularly for work. These SME’s book an average of 30 trips per year, with approximately six hours of an owner operator or employee’s time being spent on booking and managing each travel itinerary.
The research highlights that there are two main booking methods used by SME’s today. Approximately 33% of SMEs regularly book via a travel agent and 66% book directly on supplier or aggregator websites, which tends to be a time consuming and inefficient process, considering that between 25% and 40% of business trips change at least once.
Business in NZ and AU can register their interest at www.serko.travel now.
serko.travel will also launch in other global markets such as the USA.
Auckland, New Zealand. 7th July 2016 – Serko Ltd. (SKO.NZ) announced that its new small business travel management application, serko.travel, will launch on 25th July 2016, in conjunction with Xero, the leader in online accountancy software.
The application is targeted at businesses in New Zealand and Australia with less than 150 employees, will drive significant productivity gains and unlock meaningful cost savings for businesses by streamlining every aspect of business travel. The application, which is free to use, is a simplified version of the same well-established platform used by large corporations across Australia and New Zealand.
Serko.travel will give businesses the ability to search, book and manage complete business trips involving multiple suppliers via mobile or desktop. The application allows travellers to manage their trips on-the-go, while the desktop application also provides a portal for office managers and decision makers to manage rules, approve trips or make bookings on behalf of other people in the organisation.
Importantly, by providing small business employers with end-to-end visibility of their employees travel plans, serko.travel also assists companies comply with the duty of care legislation in both New Zealand and Australia.
Unlike any other online travel booking system before, the online functionality of serko.travel will be complemented by expert offline support from Helloworld for Business, Corporate Traveller and Flight Centre Business Travel. For the first time, they will offer Travel Expert services on an ‘on demand’ basis which means travellers only have to pay if and when they need their services.
Darrin Grafton, Serko CEO, understands the challenges that small to medium businesses face when it comes to booking and managing business travel, and not only wants to give them access to the same technology and travel deals, but also the same customer service as their larger counterparts.
“If you have a problem when you’re away on business you really need to be able to speak to someone that knows what they’re talking about, and the services of Helloworld for Business and Flight Centre will be an important asset in ensuring serko.travel customers can book and manage their travel in the most efficient way possible.
“The support from Flight Centre and Helloworld for Business will complement partnerships with some of the biggest travel brands in the region, including Expedia, Wotif, Booking.com, Qantas, Air New Zealand, Virgin Australia, Jetstar and AVIS who provide all of the content” Darrin said.
Research undertaken by TNS Research in New Zealand confirmed that 46% of the one million+ SMEs in NZ and Australia travel regularly for work. These SME’s book an average of 30 trips per year, with approximately six hours of an owner operator or employee’s time being spent on booking and managing each travel itinerary.
The research highlights that there are two main booking methods used by SME’s today. Approximately 33% of SMEs regularly book via a travel agent and 66% book directly on supplier or aggregator websites, which tends to be a time consuming and inefficient process, considering that between 25% and 40% of business trips change at least once.
Business in NZ and AU can register their interest at www.serko.travel now.
serko.travel will also launch in other global markets such as the USA.
Thursday 7 July - Legendary businessman and motorsport aficionado Tony Quinn will be joined by a number of New Zealand motor sport legends at the annual CHEMZ Gathering of Geezers Charitable dinner held Wednesday 9 November 2016 at Wanaka’s Warbirds & Wheels museum.
Celebrating the exceptional careers of Kiwi motorsport legends here and overseas, the ‘Geezers’ event brings New Zealand motorsport heroes together with motoring enthusiasts for an evening of fun, story-telling and reminiscing.
Highlands and Hampton Downs owner Tony Quinn will be this year’s keynote speaker at the event which is now in its fourth year. Quinn will talk about his love of motorsport, what brought him to the industry, why he loves the sport so much and other tales from his soon-to-be-launched book Zero to 60.
Once again hosted by Sky Speeds’ Stephen McIvor first time ‘Geezers’ include Andy McElrea, Garry Running, Andy Buchanan and Steve Horne.
In a gentle nod to the ‘not-quite-retired’, this year sees the addition of “Geezers In Training” Craig Baird and Greg Murphy, as well as Guest Geezer, Australia’s Garry Rogers.
Making his Geezers debut last year Australian and NZ Championship winner Jim Richards will return adding to the impressive line-up of legends who will grace the stage.
Joining the first time Geezers are returning inductees Graeme Crosby, Chris Munro, Aaron Slight, Bob McMurray, PG Knight, Leo Leonard, Heather Spurle, Shane Drake, Tony Teesdale, Graeme Lawrence, Owen Evans and Paul Fahey.
More Geezers will be announced in the coming weeks and months. A Geezer is a retired legend of motorsport who has won a major NZ title, its equivalent, or a world title across any discipline, from single seaters and rally to saloon, race boats, drag racing, speedway and bikes or someone who has made an outstanding contribution to NZ Motorsport in another arena such as administration or media.
The event format is a three course banquet dinner including beverages with corporate tables available and individual tickets. Each corporate table is ‘hosted’ by a Geezer and throughout the evening ‘café-style’ Q+A sessions will be led by MC Stephen McIvor delving deep into the lives and careers of some of the Geezers, exploring the triumphs, lows, close calls and adrenalin-fueled moments.
Warbirds Over Wanaka Community Trust and the Upper Clutha Children’s Medical Trust, two of Wanaka’s most loved Trusts, are once again set to benefit from the charity auction.
Another highlight of the event, with some big ticket items auctioned, last year’s Gathering of Geezers Charitable dinner raised just under $20,000 for the Trusts.
This year’s auction promises to be just as popular with items such as helicopter flights, $10,000 NZME Radio advertising package, Warbirds Over Wanaka corporate tickets, two nights at the stunning Punaikaki Resort on the West Coast and some sought-after racing memorabilia already confirmed.
Warbirds & Wheels director Robert Duncan said the event had “grown year after year” and was becoming a “well-known event on the NZ motorsport calendar”.
“We’ve managed to grow yet again with more tickets sold every year than the previous one, plus a constant stream of exceptional Geezers to invite,” said Mr Duncan.
“Word has started to spread that this is one of the best dinner events in the country for motor sport, attracting a huge interest from those who’ve made their mark on the industry.”
“We’ve worked on different ideas this year to enable us to hear from more Geezers in a format that is sure to yield some hilarious tales. Our MC Stephen McIvor stepped things up a notch last year and we’re looking forward to what he’ll bring to the table this year,” added Mr Duncan
A Warbirds & Wheels press release
Each year the selected Geezers are given a certificate and commemorative shirt inducting them into the Geezers Hall of Fame.
NZMEA, Wednesday 6 July 2016 - There is an obvious disconnect between our education system, both secondary and tertiary, and what industry needs to grow our economy and prosper. Manufacturers and other sectors are increasingly struggling to find the skilled staff they need to grow, say the New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association (NZMEA).
NZMEA Chief Executive Dieter Adam says, "The availability of skilled people coming out of our education system is an issue that manufacturers have identified for some time, and there have been comments recently of other sectors feeling the same.
"The shortages we often hear about are among the ‘skilled practitioner' level and highly skilled trades workers (NZQF levels 5 and 6), be that a technically skilled team leader in a manufacturing operation or a hotel manager in the tourism sector. Manufacturers are also facing shortages in the area of ‘highly skilled experts’, for example, graduate mechatronics engineers.
"An aggravating factor is the fact that it is exactly these skilled people who are in short supply in many advanced economies - including Germany, for example, as I found in discussions with German manufacturers during a recent visit there. Young New Zealanders with a good technical education are well-regarded internationally and we are increasingly exposed to a global hunt for talent" says Dieter.
"Immigration is a tool in the short term, provided that migrants come with the appropriate skills and levels of practical experience, however, this should not be the long term solution. New Zealand has high rates of numeracy, literacy and problem solving skills when compared to other OECD countries - the key step is helping students gain the additional professional skills being in demand, and making them aware of where opportunities lie.
"The Government has taken excellent initiatives in selected areas, such as the engineering e2e initiative, but beyond its current pursuit of partial solutions the Government needs to undertake a root cause analysis of the underlying problems if it wants to ensure sustainable growth of the New Zealand economy.
"Everybody talks about the need for our economy to move towards value-added products and services, be that in agriculture, tourism or manufacturing. Without enough suitably qualified young people emerging from our education system, that cannot happen, especially with an aging workforce taking skilled workers out of the talent pool and demographic trends reducing the supply of young people entering the workforce.
"The Productivity Commission’s inquiry into new models of tertiary education currently undertaken is a needed step in the right direction. We hope this translates into real change to make our education system more responsive to the needs of industry and where opportunities for well-paid skilled employment exist." says Dieter.
Business grandee speaks of “Ordinary Brit.”
VALLEJO, Calif. (BRAIN) July 6, 2016 — Wren Sports, LLC has appointed Llevant Carbon Fatbikes as its New Zealand distributor and authorized service center. Llevant is also using Wren's suspension forks on its fat bikes.
Kevin Wren, owner of Wren Sports said, "The quality of the Llevant build is second to none and we are thrilled to be equipped on such a fine bike." Wren has recently introduced new models to accept standard and plus-sized hubs.
Rod Mudge, owner of Llevant, said, "We deliberately didn't want to build just a snow bike and worked for years testing different components to present the best 'ride it anywhere' type of fatbike. When we came across the Wren fork, we were impressed by the performance and versatility to fit various wheel sizes. Wren's service center program is outstanding. We received factory training and service parts before our first fork delivery."
Along with the Wren forks and components, Llevant will be stocking all service parts and providing service and warranty repairs through their factory-trained service department.
Connexis is leading the way with its strategies around creating a more gender diverse workplace in New Zealand's infrastructure industries.
Connexis has been working to attract more women into trade and technical roles within New Zealand's infrastructure industry in a bid to fill a large void in the workforce. These strategies have been led by Connexis Board Chair Frances Hague, who since 2010 supported by her all male Board, has worked to gain buy-in from the Chief Executives and key decision makers in Electricity Supply Companies, to address the under representation of females within their industry in an initiative called 'Ultimit'.
In 2015 the initiatives run through Ultimit were rolled out wider beyond just the Electricity Supply arena to all the industries Connexis services, including Civil Infrastructure, 3 Waters and Telecommunications.
As a result the Connexis strategies have been instrumental in changing the mindset of a significant number of large companies within the industry about the value women bring to non-traditional trade and technical roles, resulting in a whole of industry movement towards the active recruitment of women.Women in Governance Awards 2016Frances' work with Connexis was recognised at the recent Women in Governance Awards 2016 where she was awarded the Inclusive Leader – Gender Champion award. This accolade recognises a woman who has made a remarkable contribution to championing gender balance and equality of opportunity in her organisation. It recognises the vision, leadership and enduring commitment to support, and mentor female talent resulting in a lasting culture change.
Frances says, "It has been an enormously rewarding challenge and privilege to establish and lead this initiative for the wider infrastructure sector. As Chair of Connexis I have had a very real opportunity to influence businesses to embrace diversity at the highest level in the infrastructure sector. I see myself as having had to work consistently and with relentless commitment for inclusiveness and diversity in a male dominated business community. I will continue to focus on this initiative as I have the fundamental belief that women should have the opportunity for career choices irrespective of their gender."
Connexis also won the Not-for-Profit Gender Diversity award at last week's awards, which recognises an organisation that has put in place programmes, initiatives or strategies that are effecting change at an organisational and cultural level to create a more gender diverse workplace.
A key initiative is Girls with Hi-Vis, which encourages Infrastructure companies to open their doors for a day and allow women to gain insight into the industry and careers available to them. Another annual activity is the Women in Infrastructure awards, which brings together key decision makers in the industry to challenge increased activity to addressing the gender imbalance.
Connexis CEO Helmut Modlik says, “Diversity is a key focus for Connexis – both in terms of the industries we serve and within our own organisation. Over the last five years, our Ultimit initiative has made great inroads in increasing female participation in the infrastructure industries.
“I would like to thank the Women in Governance Awards for recognising our achievements and giving us the opportunity to share our story. We are in great company with the other finalists – their calibre is testament to the fact that New Zealand is becoming a world-leader in promoting diversity.”
A release from Connexis by Abi Kibble | Jul 06, 2016
Words have made transition from officialese & gobbledygook to standard usage
A virtually unknown motorsport in New Zealand will be showcased for the first time at CRC Speedshow in Auckland this month.
An internationally competed for series, known as Formula SAE, will see both engineering students from Waikato and Auckland Universities work hard to outwit each other, and battle it out on the race track during the two-day event at the ASB Showgrounds, 16-17 July.Formula SAE is an international student engineering design competition organised by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE International). It’s performed on tight tracks demanding fast-accelerating, agile cars more suited to autocross courses rather than open circuit racing.
The group holds competitive meets throughout the world – currently Waikato University’s team, which has only been participating for 10 years, is ranked 85th out of 528 teams representing competing university and technology institutes from around the world.
The Waikato team, WESMO (Waikato Engineering Students Motorsport Organisation), has only nine members, who are all in their final year of an engineering honours degree. Many overseas teams have 30 to 70 people, says Wesmo’s sponsorship coordinator and suspension engineer, Nathan Senior.
“Generally, New Zealanders haven’t encountered Formula SAE because it’s held outside of the country and is limited to university students who are studying engineering,” he says.
There are only three Kiwi teams involved; Waikato’s WESMO and one each from Auckland University and The University of Canterbury.
“Currently Formula SAE is a relatively unknown sport here. It’s only people who become directly involved who truly know about it. Kiwi teams are always complimented on the quality of our cars, and we’re competitive in the Australasian region which has about 30 cars,” he says.
Senior describes this scene as basically students playing F1, and there’s always a professional, competitive, yet good humoured atmosphere at get-togethers. Students work next to each other and learn about their rivals’ designs – it’s a great learning environment.
“It would be awesome to see more of the New Zealand universities and polytechs get involved in Formula SAE to increase the Kiwi presence. It would be great to send Kiwi teams to other competitions in Europe and the USA.
“At CRC Speedshow we taking part in the Ultimate Speed Machine Challenge and running our 2015 model against the Auckland team, and other types of vehicles in the arena. We’ll also have a stand in pit lane and people are welcome to come by and talk with us,” says Senior.
His team is constantly looking for companies to help represent them – both at home and overseas.
“We’re really looking forward to attending CRC Speedshow and being able to display our 2015 car. It’s going to be interesting to see how both of the SAE cars perform - not only against each other - but also against the different types of speed machines.”
The concept behind Formula SAE is that a fictional manufacturing company has contracted a student design team to develop a small Formula-style race car. The prototype car is to be evaluated for its potential as a production item.
The target marketing group for the race car is the non-professional autocross racer. Each student team designs, builds and tests a prototype based on a series of rules, the purpose being to ensure on-track safety (the cars are driven by the students themselves) and trigger problem solving.
The prototype car is judged in a number of different events, both static and dynamic.
Static events assess the overall design, manufacturing quality and business logic, where teams are able to share their design ideas and display excellence in the aspects such as marketing and finance.
Dynamic events test a vehicle’s track performance, acceleration, skid-pad and autocross track handling, and endurance.
The competition regulations mean that teams have to work to strict restrictions. These include a 20mm air restrictor on the intake, E85 or 98RON fuel only, 1525mm minimum wheel base, combustion engine limited to 610cc maximum engine displacement, 232kg weight, and the ability to reach - 100km/h in four seconds.
Senior says the Waikato’s WESMO aims to produce a reliable and strongly competitive race car, while at the same time offering students an experience to develop valuable engineering skills that will help with their future careers.
A CRC press release
Palace of the Alhambra, Spain
By: Charles Nathaniel Worsley (1862-1923)
From the collection of Sir Heaton Rhodes
Oil on canvas - 118cm x 162cm
Valued $12,000 - $18,000
Offers invited over $9,000
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
Mount Egmont with Lake
By: John Philemon Backhouse (1845-1908)
Oil on Sea Shell - 13cm x 14cm
Valued $2,000-$3,000
Offers invited over $1,500
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242