New Zealand Tech Alliance calls for event submissions for nationwide festival of tech

  • : NZTech
  • : 30/01/2020

  • New Zealand Tech Alliance, a group of over 20 independent technology associations, is calling for submissions from organisations keen to take part in Techweek2020, a nationwide series of events showcasing and celebrating New Zealand tech innovation during the week 18 – 24 May.

    Tech Alliance Chief Strategy Officer Julie Gill says Techweek2020 is a fantastic opportunity for everyone involved in New Zealand’s vibrant tech innovation ecosystem to meet, share ideas and find new ways to work together.

    “Techweek is when everyone in the tech sector can showcase the amazing innovation that is taking place in Aotearoa,” Gill says.

    “Techweek2020 marks the fifth year, with the first iteration of Techweek including 55 events attended by 10,000 people in Auckland. It has now grown to become a nationwide event that attracts over 46,000 attendees around the country. The theme this year is ‘Connecting our future’, which recognises that as we begin a new decade, we need to be thinking long-term about how new technology is impacting our nation.”

    There are three distinct pillars of activity during Techweek – community, education and business – and submissions are welcome from organisations with ideas for events that support one or more of these pillars. Events can vary from major conferences to small meetups on niche topics, hackathons, workshops and networking events.

    “Whether it is a two-day conference with multiple speakers or a 30-minute pitch session for fledgling start-ups, we’d love to hear from anyone interested in taking part,” Gill says.

    Gill says she is delighted that AUT and Callaghan Innovation have once again signed on as strategic partners, and that ANZ Bank and Chorus are Festival Partners for Techweek2020. For ongoing updates and information about Techweek2020, visit www.techweek.co.nz.

  • : Julie Gill
  • : Chief Strategy and Commercial Officer
  • : julie.gill@techalliance.nz
  • : 0274585671
  • : https://techweek.co.nz/
  • https://www.facebook.com/TechweekNZ/ | https://www.instagram.com/techweeknz/ | https://twitter.com/TechweekNZ

Precision Driven Health announces sponsorship of Hack Aotearoa 2020

  • : Precision Driven Health
  • : 09/01/2020

  • Precision Driven Health (PDH) is excited to return in 2020 as a major partner for Hack Aotearoa.

    Building on the success of the 2019 conference – the first of its kind in New Zealand – Hack Aotearoa 2020 continues to innovate and will include a health datathon in addition to the main Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare conference.

    This globally recognised Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Critical Data event aims to spark cross-disciplinary collaboration and learning of data science to improve healthcare. Hosted by the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Critical Data, the event will see local and international data scientists, academics and healthcare professionals come together to present opportunities for the use of data science and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in health.

    The overarching theme for the 2020 event is ‘Advancing the Quadruple Aim’, while the ethical use of data, and the use of data for Māori health equity, are key event themes. Hack Aotearoa is an exciting opportunity to advance the digital health and data science landscape in Aotearoa.

    During the datathon, healthcare professionals and data scientists will have the chance to work with the MIT eICU Collaborative Care and MIMIC Critical Care datasets. The aim is to harness insights from these datasets and search for better ways to diagnose and treat critical care patients.

    Precision Driven Health returns as a major partner for the second year running. Chief Executive Dr Kevin Ross is looking forward to the event.

    “As New Zealand’s premier health data science collaboration, we are looking forward to another gathering that looks to unlock the value of data for our population. Hack Aotearoa combines local expertise and values with international know-how to bring a unique, hands-on experience over a few days,” says Dr Ross.

    Philips ANZ is another major partner of Hack Aotearoa. As a leading health technology company, Philips ANZ provides connected care solutions powered by advanced analytics in order to improve health outcomes and the delivery of care. At the crux of transitioning towards value-based healthcare, the measurement of system-wide health outcomes and the improvement of patient care delivery is based on a combination of multiple datasets.

    “As the owner of the largest translational ICU dataset in the world composed of 7.5 million ICU episodes, Philips is proud to contribute to events like Hack Aotearoa in order to drive academic and practical insights for New Zealand. We need to look at new, more efficient ways to increase access to care and improve care collaboration. Philips believes Hack Aotearoa is a great setting to start those conversations,” says Joe Cain, Business Manager Population Health, Philips ANZ.

    Hack Aotearoa will take place 17th to 19th January 2020 at the Owen G Glenn Building, University of Auckland.

    About MIT Critical Data
    MIT Critical Data is an affiliation of research labs at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) who are engaged in research in and around data that has a critical impact on people’s health.

    About Precision Driven Health
    The Precision Driven Health partnership (PDH), established in 2016, is one of the most ambitious data science research initiatives to be undertaken in New Zealand. The partnership unites the health IT sector with healthcare providers and universities to create health and commercial opportunities for New Zealanders. Research is focused on applying new data science techniques to understand the massive volume of data about an individual captured by health information systems, consumer devices, social networks, genetic testing and other sources. To date, PDH has supported more than 75 projects in health data science, including summer and postgraduate scholarships, a joint PDH-HRC Postdoctoral Fellowship scheme, and multi-million dollar discovery and transformation programmes in several areas, including de-identification and deep learning. PDH researchers are also exploring vital concepts such as bias in machine learning, the ethics of AI use, and consent paradigms for enabling the next wave of health data research. Find out more at www.precisiondrivenhealth.com.

  • : Nicole Gray
  • : Communications Specialist
  • : nicole@precisiondrivenhealth.com
  • : 0212290811
  • : https://precisiondrivenhealth.com/
  • https://twitter.com/HealthPrecision | https://www.linkedin.com/company/15212839/