Two visiting professors joined us for an insightful panel discussion about international perspectives on education, applied research, and industry collaboration yesterday.

Our guests were Dr Jürgen Jung from the Business Information Systems and Enterprise Architecture Management department of Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences in Germany and Dr Ari Aharari from the Department of Computer and Information Sciences at Sojo University in Japan.

Dr Jung teaches Enterprise Architecture and Strategic Process Management in postgraduate programmes as well as architecture, integration and system development in undergraduate courses. He has vast experience with logistics, process management, and enterprise architecture.

Dr Aharari has led over 40 research projects as a Principal Investigator and collaborates with more than 50 Japanese companies, government labs, and universities. His research focuses on IoT, AI, robotics, and IT-driven agriculture.

The two academics joined staff and students in person and online for an interactive session. They discussed how academic and industry collaborations in New Zealand compare to those in other countries, the key skills employers seek, and how students can prepare for a rapidly changing job market shaped by AI.