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NZ's first National ICT Innovation Institute opens

Friday 24 April 2009, 2:03PM

By University of Canterbury

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NZi3 helicopter
NZi3 helicopter Credit: University of Canterbury

CHRISTCHURCH

New Zealand's first National ICT Innovation Institute, known as NZi3,
has opened at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch.

The new purpose-built facility has also been recognised as the most
environmentally-friendly educational building in the country.

Prime Minister the Hon John Key was the official guest at yesterday's
opening. He was joined by three other Cabinet members, senior
representatives of the Institute's founding partners Hewlett-Packard,
IBM, Jade Software Corporation and Tait Electronics, and other
stakeholders.

Mr Key said Christchurch's reputation as a hub of innovation in New
Zealand would be cemented by the establishment of NZi3.

He said economies benefitted from partnerships between universities and
industry. The New Zealand Government awarded the University of
Canterbury $9.7 million for the development of NZi3 through its
Partnerships for Excellence programme, on the proviso that it secured
matching funding from the private sector.

NZi3 Director Dr Darin Graham said the Institute, with its location on
the edge of the University of Canterbury campus and its external focus,
would allow greater interaction between researchers and industry.

Tait Electronics Managing Director, Michael Chick, spoke on behalf of
the Institute's founding partners. He paid tribute to his company's
founder the late Sir Angus Tait who, he said, was a "powerful mover in
the establishment of the Institute".

"In no small part we are here today as a result of Angus's tenacity,
vision, commitment and determination. And of course, like the other
founding partners from industry, because Tait was prepared to put its
money where its mouth was."

The opening coincided with the announcement that the New Zealand Green
Building Council had given the new purpose-built facility a five-star
green rating. The NZi3 building is the first educational building in New
Zealand to be awarded a 5-star rating.

Among the researchers based at NZi3 is PhD student John Stowers
(pictured) who is working on the development of vision for the control
and navigation of unpiloted aerial vehicles.