From what’s going on in Antarctica, how to make a great app and who owns the Princess Leia AI, writer Bernadette Basagre got all the answers during her time at Innovate Ōtautahi.
At the heart of Ōtautahi Christchurch is the Te Pae Convention Centre. Since opening two years ago, it has become renowned for its world class status and ability to host everything from conferences to concerts.
But in late September, the centre shone a light on Ōtautahi itself, with a series of events devoted to the city’s hidden abilities.
Dubbed Innovate Ōtautahi, the week kicked off with the Aerospace Summit. Fun fact – Christchurch was voted the most suitable home in Aotearoa for the aerospace industry, thanks to its low air traffic and relatively consistent weather.
Local start-ups, like Kea Aerospace who are designing solar powered aircrafts for the stratosphere and Dawn Aerospace who are working on sustainable space transport, are championing the scene in their own backyards by doing X, Y and Z.
Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland based deep tech company Outset Ventures hosted a panel session focused on investing in the industry 101, with both investors and founders joining in on the discussion.
Partner at Outset Ventures, Angus Blair acknowledged that while the panel was a bit of a ‘man-el’ (man panel), women hold a significant role in the industry despite the lack of them in STEM.
James Palmer, Associate at Blackbird and Hidetaka Aoki, Co-Founder and Director at Space Port Japan & Partner/Fellow at Global Brain were the key standouts from this panel.
Together they provided insights into the minds of those making the decisions on what to invest in.
For Aoki, he mentions that what every venture capital firm is looking for is longevity.
And, adds Palmer, “Can you turn a 10% investment into a billion dollars?”.
The founders on the panel also discussed balancing ambition and practicality when it comes to the world of venture capital.
But sometimes venture capital firms want to invest in the most ambitious because they are solving the bigger and harder problems, says Palmer.
The day continued with the Aerospace Summit’s very own venture capital pitch, giving people in the industry a look into the future of New Zealand’s deep tech industry.
Read more: Technology, innovation and aerospace events converge in Ōtautahi Christchurch
Stand out pitches included Frond Space Systems, who are looking into low cost and effective satellite disposal, Oasis Aero, who are creating ‘lighter than air’ autonomous airships to collect data and Printgig, who provide specialised 3D printing for the industry.
On the summit’s second day, the international guests took centre stage.
NASA’s Charity Weeden had the opening presentation which was followed by an all-female panel focused on championing aerospace for good.
Pauline Harris, Deputy Director Māori of The MacDiarmid Institute says it is important to address the importance of Māori involvement when it comes to space.
“It is all about respecting the land, air and space and the values that come with it,” she says.
The panel also discussed the importance of diversity in innovation, saying it is valuable to hear others’ stories whilst also showing young people there are no boundaries for them.
Throughout the day, attendees were treated with updates from people in the industry on what is coming up for them.
This included a sneak peek into Antarctica, where research teams based on the cold continent are hoping to study the land with the help of drones flying in all the way from Christchurch.
The summit ended with a panel on government engagement with the sector. Here Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins announced the Ārohia Trailblazer grant recipients.
The grant is allocating $17.5 million in co-funding to Astrix Astronautics, Basis NZ, Emrod, Fabrum Solutions, Toku Eyes, Zincovery Process Technologies and Zenno Astronautics.
Following the Aerospace Summit, Innovate Ōtautahi shifted its gaze to the Tech Summit.
Emceed by comedian Jeremy Corbett, the aura at the Tech Summit was immediately vibrant. CEO of Canterbury Tech Louisa Taylor kicked off the proceedings by announcing the organisation’s rebrand.
Melissa Clark-Reynolds – who was awarded by the late Queen Elizabeth II for her services to tech in 20XX etc – was the first keynote speaker. She talked about being the only woman in her engineering class in the 1970s to what the current state of tech looks like with AI in the mix.
“Innovations are slow and can be s… before the public can accept it and it becomes useful,” Clark-Reynolds says about AI.
Her presentation also looked into who owns AI content, using the artificial generation of Carrie Fisher’s Princess Leia in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story as an example.
She questioned who owns the intellectual property of Fisher’s AI face – the creators or the estate? Clark-Reynolds believes it should be owned by the estate. (Idealog would love to hear your thoughts on our socials).
The tech summit continued by breaking into smaller streams, giving attendees the choice to learn what applied to them.
Key streams included award-winning app developers Smudge, who talked about what makes a great software and app design (the answer is that the business, technology and human side of any app should help each other out) and Christchurch’s regenerative economic ambition.
Tech Summit came to an end with Seequent CEO Graham Grant’s closing keynote on connections.
Seequent is a geoscience software company headquartered in Ōtautahi. In 2021, it was sold for $1.45 billion to US owners.
Grant shared how connections – whether that be within the community, international folks and both – make the Canterbury tech space better, not only for the region, but for the country.
“Coming together can create more solutions, so let’s get connected and stay connected,” he ends.
After a week of insight into what Canterbury can do, it is clear that Ōtautahi Christchurch is a city that thrives on community and working together for the good of all Kiwis.
