Education futurist Frances Valintine has been named as a top 50 innovator in the world in the Makers and Shakers of Education Technology Index in London overnight.

Image: Frances Valinitine

As the only New Zealander on the list, Frances sits amongst world leaders including Salmon Khan of the Khan Academy, Satya Nitta from IBM Watson, David Braben from The Raspberry Pi and Demis Hassabis from DeepMind.

Frances is the founder and Chair of The Mind Lab by Unitec, a learning laboratory committed to technology, science and discovery. She also recently launched Tech Futures Lab, running courses for senior executives in New Zealand business and government.

“To be recognised on the list of 50 outstanding global educators was beyond all expectation – not to mention being the only New Zealander. New Zealand often falls off the radar in international awards or education studies so the very fact that we were included in the geographic sweep of the world is a great step,” Valintine says.

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Coca-Cola Amatil New Zealand has received the Aon Hewitt Best Employer Accreditation for 2016.

The Aon Hewitt Best Employer Accreditation was announced at a luncheon held at Sydney Tower last week and recognises some of the most respected companies throughout New Zealand and Australia.

Each year, this accreditation recognises the very best businesses that are seen to have excelled at delivering an exceptionally positive workplace experience for their employees. This is done through a stringent auditing process that also covers outstanding people practices and high employee engagement scores.

CCANZ managing director, Chris Litchfield, while proud of his company’s achievements also feels humbled by the recognition.

“We have worked very hard to ensure that our people are at the forefront of everything we do and I feel very honoured, on behalf of Coca-Cola Amatil, to receive the 2016 Aon Hewitt Best Employer Accreditation. This prestigious recognition is a credit to all of our people and their commitment and passion to making our business a great place to work,” said Litchfield.

Image, left to right: Libbi Wilson (Group HR Director CCA), Chris Litchfield (MD CCANZ), Steve Gaffney (CEO Aon Hewitt Pacific), Emma Rutherford (HR CCANZ), Neil Waka (CCANZ Corporate Affairs Manager

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Dulux has announced the chosen five recipients of its newest design tour scholarship, in collaboration with the Design Institute of Australia (DIA) and the Designers Institute of New Zealand (DINZ), DIAlogue on Tour.

The five Dulux DIAlogue on Tour winners are:

• Keri Cunliffe  (Studio106 Architect) – New Zealand
• Carole Whiting (Carole Whiting Interiors and Design)
• Matt Gibson (Matt Gibson Architecture + Design)
• Neil Cownie (Neil Cownie Architect)
• Scott Bagnell (One Alliance Project Consulting)

The winners will engage in open dialogue and share ideas and viewpoints with their hosts, showcasing the talent coming out of Australia and New Zealand and returning home with a taste of inspiration to reinvigorate their own design style and career.

Image: Keri Cunliffe

Richard Hansen, Executive General Manager Dulux NZ says, “Dulux is excited about supporting this new opportunity for like-minded designers to collaborate and share ideas and perspectives. This experience will help the professional growth of these designers by immersing themselves in this once-in-a-lifetime cultural opportunity.”

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European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica, and the New Zealand Minister for Foreign Affairs, Murray McCully, have inaugurated Europe House in a plaque unveiling ceremony in Auckland today.

Europe House is a state-of-the-art, event and conference space, in a prime location in Auckland’s Central Business District. It is a product of a unique collaboration between the EU Delegation to New Zealand and Auckland University of Technology (AUT University) and the wider academic community including the New Zealand European Union Centres Network (EUCN). It is the first time that an EU Delegation has created an outpost, or ‘antenna’, together with a university.

“The creation of Europe House points to the extraordinary relationship between the EU, Auckland University of Technology and New Zealand’s wider academic community. It also provides very tangible proof of the fast-growing EU-New Zealand relationship,” EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica said.

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