NZTech is organising a major New Zealand education technology summit in Auckland on July 5 and 6 for schools, tertiary institutes, edtech organisations and relevant government departments.

Muller says technology is becoming increasingly vital in today’s teaching environment, as part of the curricula, part of the classroom and the wider school infrastructure.

“Technology needs to be seamlessly integrated to ensure students are well prepared for the digital economy of the future. This summit brings together tech leaders and teachers to focus on the challenges and opportunities tech presents.

“The tech sector is the fastest growing sector in New Zealand and with this comes an insatiable demand for skilled graduates. There are almost 100,000 people working within the tech sector, and a further 20,000 ICT workers employed in other sectors.

“These people are some of the highest paid in New Zealand, have incredibly diverse and interesting roles and are building the future. Yet the tech sector continues to struggle to fill roles. As the catalyst for the growth of the economy it is essential that more children develop an interest in science technology engineering and maths subjects and can get on a pathway that will lead them to opportunities across the diverse and growing tech ecosystem.

“The tech leaders and policy makers at the summit will align around critical actions needed to develop tomorrow’s tech workers. They will seek solutions from questions such as: Is the curricula ready? Are there enough teachers prepared? How can we excite and encourage the children? Are there clear pathways into tech jobs? Is the industry reaching far enough into education to support?

“Edtech will be a $200 billion global market opportunity by 2017. We can learn from this market for our New Zealand schools and for the development of our education technology businesses. We will be looking at the future for digital technologies through to hearing from local edtech organisations.

“Other topics include: Ed Tech Futures – where will we be in the next 10 years? digital disruption in education technology – closing the gap for 21st century education; the road to export markets – capabilities, experiences and the next great opportunities; Mindsets and the future of education technology; and what is the perfect environment for innovation to occur in schools?”

Technology is becoming increasingly important in New Zealand schools – whether as part of the teaching curricula, part of the classroom or the wider school infrastructure. Technology needs to be seamlessly integrated into today’s teaching to ensure students are well prepared for the digital economy of the future, Muller says.

A Make Lemonade press release May 10, 2016