Smart, sustainable research was on show at our second annual Smart Sustainable Development event held online this month.

Smart Sustainable Development is a conference and project showcase exploring innovative solutions and sustainable practices for a resilient future.

The gathering brought together innovators from 13 countries, uniting in a collective effort towards sustainable development.

The event kicked off with an inspiring opening speech by Karim Dickie, President of the United Nations Association of New Zealand.

Two insightful keynote talks were delivered by Associate Professor Dr Ashir Ahmed from Kyushu University in Japan and Emma La Rocca, a Fashion Designer at emroce, providing valuable insights into the realms of sustainable development.

The program showcased five selected research presentations and highlighted nine shortlisted Sustainable Development Goals projects competing for three prestigious awards.

Topics ranged from sustainable furniture to predicting wildfires to preventing infections.

 A heartfelt congratulations goes out to the deserving winners:

Greg Coppell and Dansy Coppell from Repost Ltd (First Place)

Gerald Hinton from Unitec Te Pūkenga (Second Place)

Dr Masoud Shakiba, Dr Iman Ardekani, and Thanh An Le from Unitec Te Pūkenga (Third Place)

Dr Chan Kim (Te Pūkenga Wintec), Dr Mohammad Al-Rawi (Te Pūkenga Wintec), Dr Anke Nienhuis (Auckland University of Technology), Dr Davis White (Auckland University of Technology), and Dr Seungmin Kim (Hanbat National University) (Third Place).