We enjoyed hearing from a range of speakers, including our staff and students, on the topic of sustainable development at two online events yesterday.

First was the New Zealand Sustainable Development Research Symposium conducted jointly by TechTALK and OPAIC.

OPAIC Group Chief Executive Sam Alavi opened the event saying OPAIC is committed to supporting a strong research culture. The organisation supports staff and students to be research active, he said.

He said sustainability is an important research strand here at OPAIC, often explored through cross departmental student projects

Speakers included our master’s student Manoj Asrani who talked about sustainability in road construction and our bachelor’s student Maimiti Manate who talked about OPAIC recycling initiatives.

We also heard from researchers at the Eastern Institute of Technology and Unitec on topics including climate change and beekeeping technology.

The research symposium was followed by a TechTALK, also on the theme of New Zealand Sustainable Development.

TechTALK is a series of events that bring together technological leaders, industry experts, communities, innovators, educators, and learners.

Last night’s event featured four amazing speakers with both industry and education backgrounds, including OPAIC Applied Management Principal Lecturer Marianne Cherrington.

Marianne has been actively working on various projects focusing on sustainability and disruptive innovation involving students and staff at OPAIC.

She talked about going circular with The Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0). Industry 4.0 refers to the automation of traditional practices, using smart technology. Her talk was well received by the audience.