Auckland Mayor Phil Goff shares, “Like many cities around the world, Auckland is experiencing a shift towards a knowledge and service economy and, fuelled by innovation and entrepreneurship, our city is emerging as a knowledge capital in the Asia-Pacific Region.”
Being the largest city in New Zealand, there are a lot of (international) minds put to work every day. 40% of Auckland residents were born outside of New Zealand, which provides ample opportunity for a cultural mixing pot of ideas. 3 of the top universities as well as leading research institutions are located within the city, offering even more meeting space for intellectuals. Another interesting fact is that Auckland is responsible for producing 36% of the national gross domestic product!
Infrastructure
Through our previous stories, I am sure everyone is aware of the (planned) infrastructure increase throughout New Zealand. In Auckland specifically, mid-2019 will mark the opening of the New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC) and over the next 10 years, a new inner city rail link as well as over 2,000 new hotels rooms will be built.
Technology
Over the past 10 years, Auckland’s tech sector has grown by 80%! 53 New Zealand companies were included on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 Asia-Pacific Index based on revenue for the past 3 years. 45% (24) of those companies are based in Auckland! The aforementioned research centres and universities share a heavy focus upon a number of different technologies such as augmented and virtual reality, cyber security and more! Virtual reality will become a major part of the global economy in the upcoming years. Goldman Sachs predicts that the industry will have a net worth of NZ $270 billion by 2025. Since September 2016, the AR/VR Garage has been open to investors and collaborators alike. You can read more in detail about the AR/VR garage inside this online pamphlet page 4.
This past May, two major tech events took place in Auckland. NZ Techweek (May 6-14th) offered almost 300 events and workshops for participants. Techweek took place all over the nation, but a number of events were still scheduled in Auckland. From May 11-12th, the NZ Hi-Tech Awards celebrated kiwi technology ingenuity.
New Zealand’s technology sector has already been able to attract major conferences such as 2016’s International Conference on Privacy, Security, and Trust. Professor Hossein Sarrafzadeh, an instrumental player during the bid for the conference explained, “Being good in this field is all about being smart and innovative, something that the Kiwis do very well. It is exciting that we are gaining increasing visibility globally for [our] work.”
Health
The Kiwis are also quite advanced in the health informatics sector. Within Auckland, there are 4 major laboratories focusing on scientific discovery and the advancement of modern medicine. New Zealand holds the leading position in regards to use of the electronic medical record (EMR) for general practice and was the first nation to adopt a decision support system in primary care to assess cardiovascular risk.
New Zealand’s work and research within the medical field has been recognized through the successful bids for the 35th Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO) Congress and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) 11th General Assembly, which are to be held in 2020 at the NZICC in Auckland.
Food + Beverage
The food and beverage sector accounts for almost half of New Zealand’s total exports. By 2030, the government hopes to triple the amount of food and beverage exports and have already started extensive research within the field. All but 2 New Zealand universities offer majors in some type of food science. At the Auckland University of Technology, for example, professionals can contribute to research in food microbiology and sensory science.
Another successful bid win underlines New Zealand’s leadership standing as a destination in the MICE industry and as a knowledge hub in the food and beverage sector. 2,000 people are expected to attend the 20th International Union of Food Science and Technology World Congress at the NZICC in 2020.
2020 will be a busy year for Auckland!
You can find the originial version of the pamphlet here!
You can find all articles about New Zealand here.
Your contact at Tourism New Zealand:
Leonie Ashford
Business Events Bid Manager
Leonie.Ashford@tnz.govt.nz
tel. + 64 446 28 018
www.businessevents.newzealand.com
Your contact at tmf dialogue marketing:
Sorina Bogdan
Content & PR
s.bogdan@tmf-dialogue.com
tel. +49 (0)931 9002 114
