SpaceBase “Space for Planet Earth Challenge 2023” seeks applicants from the Pacific region leveraging space technologies to address climate change.
Auckland, NEW ZEALAND, [18 May 2023]
The “Space for Planet Earth Challenge” officially kicks off today and invites students and innovators from New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines, and the Pacific Islands to participate. The Challenge seeks innovative ideas to combat climate change in the region.
Auckland based organiser SpaceBase is calling applicants to specifically use satellite data, in combination with other data sources, to help develop scientific methods to identify target areas of methane emissions around the world.
“SpaceBase leverages incentive prizes and space-based technologies to solve grand challenges on Earth”, said CEO and Co-founder Emeline Paat-Dahlstrom. “We hope the solutions created will further R&D as well as spark products and services in the realm of methane identification and monitoring in the region.” Methane contributes about a third of global warming worldwide and traps heat 25 times more than CO2.
The competition is open to two categories: high school level and university/start-up level. Qualified teams will be invited to participate in a three month incubator programme that will include learning about remote sensing and data analysis, as well as design thinking and prototyping. Shortlisted teams after the incubator will be invited to pitch their ideas during the final event hosted in Auckland in March 2024.
The grand prize winners and finalists will win cash prizes up to $25,000 NZD, mentorships, and more. Proposals to participate in the incubator programme can be submitted online between 18 May and 31 August. Full Challenge applications are due 25 February 2024.
The Challenge is sponsored through organizations like K1W1 Ventures, Callaghan Innovations, and the Auckland Space Institute. Our partners include the Government of New Caledonia, and the Australian and Philippine Space Agencies. See full list of sponsors and partners on the SpaceBase website.
For more information on submitting a proposal and other details, go to: https://spacebase.co/challenges/space-challenge-2023 or contact info@spacebase.co
New Chorus Node expands Wellington Data Centre solutions at Xtreme Networks.
Xtreme Networks, a leading local provider of data centre and networking solutions, announced today that it is further expanding its capabilities with the launch of the new Chorus Data Centre Connect node for Wellington, Available to order from May 1, 2023.
The new node, located in its colocation data centre at 191 Thorndon Quay, will provide an accessible Point of Presence for Internet Service Providers and enhanced connectivity options for businesses requiring high-quality data services, throughout the region and beyond.
Chorus Data Centre Connect is a high-performance, low-latency service that allows ISPs to easily establish a local Point of Presence and enables businesses to easily connect to other data centres using Chorus’ fibre infrastructure.
With the new node at Xtreme Networks, businesses will have access to Chorus Handover services and Chorus L2 Products. Service Providers and business customers can purchase either 10G or 100G connections to take the traffic back to their designated Chorus exchange and onto their nominated footprints.
“We’re excited to have worked with Chorus to bring this new data centre connect node to Wellington,” said Dion Hallam, Managing Director of Xtreme Networks.
“This investment provides yet another building block for us, in ensuring the region has ample access to high-performance networks directly into Chorus’s core infrastructure. We believe it will be hugely beneficial for ISPs to build a new point of presence in the Wellington region and will further simplify local data hosting for Managed Service Providers and their clients,” Dion Hallam said.
Having also launched their new channel partner program for MSP’s, 2023 will be a year of continued growth & investment in providing robust local data storage and connectivity to New Zealand businesses.
“It’s been a pleasure working with the Xtreme Networks team to launch our new DCI node into the Wellington Data Centre” said Mark West, Network Product Manager at Chorus.
“This investment will give businesses in the region the unique opportunity to connect to the Chorus Handovers and backhaul services across New Zealand with options for both 10G and 100G transport service. We are really excited about this venture and look forward to what’s next,” Mark West said.
Xtreme Networks is a locally owned and operated data centre with a reputation for providing highly responsive service and world class connectivity and hosting facilities for more than 23 years.
The new Chorus Data Centre Connect node at Xtreme Networks in Wellington is set to go live on May 1, 2023. For more information about accessing the service, contact the Xtreme Networks team directly.
For more, see: https://www.xtreme.nz
New Zealand’s Top 50 Construction Firms Revealed
Auckland, New Zealand – 17 APRIL 2023 – BCI Central is pleased to announce the publication of the inaugural New Zealand edition of the BCI Construction League.
The free report ranks the country’s top 50 builders by the total value of projects that commenced construction in 2022 within the commercial, community, industrial, legal and military, and multi-residential (3+ houses/units) sectors.
- New Zealand’s top 50 builders commenced construction on 488 projects in 2022, with the top 10 builders accounting for 167 of these projects.
- The top 50 builders’ total value of projects came in at $8.9 billion, with an average project value of $37.3 million.
- The top 10 firms commenced construction on just under $5.8-billion worth of projects in 2022, with an average project value of approximately $124.5 million.
- Only $2,000 separated the top two construction firms. Mansons TCLM’s three commercial projects secured them the top spot in the League.
“While 2022 saw restrictions lifted in most parts of NZ, the ripples of the pandemic continued to impact the construction industry. Shortages and severe cost increases in skilled labour and supplies caused project delays, cancellations and the collapse of numerous companies in the sector.
“Despite the mounting challenges, numerous new companies got their start and thousands of projects commenced construction across the country. NZ’s builders are persisting and adapting to meet the unwavering commercial and residential market demands”, Chief Data Officer, Michelle Aizenberg, said.
The Construction League report, researched from a variety of sources including BCI Central’s construction project database and direct submissions from construction companies, provides valuable insights into the state of the New Zealand building industry, the projects and businesses shaping our built environment.
The full report is available for download on the BCI Central website (https://www.bcicentral.com/download-the-bci-construction-league/).
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About BCI Central
Established in 1998, BCI Central was founded to create efficiencies and enhance transparency in the intrinsically complex construction industry. BCI’s software solutions and related services achieve this while simultaneously enabling its clients to identify sales opportunities, make informed decisions and connect with key target markets. Today, BCI Central plays a crucial role in empowering businesses around the world with construction-centric tools to succeed.
Lagom Receives Cloud Delivery Excellence Award at Inaugural SAP New Zealand Partner Excellence Awards
AUCKLAND — Lagom is the recipient of the SAP Cloud Delivery Excellence Award 2023 for New Zealand. The award is presented by SAP for clear adoption of SAP best practices to support delivery and growth, and helping customers adopt innovation easily, gain results rapidly, grow sustainably, and run more simply with SAP cloud solutions.
“We are honoured to have received this award at the inaugural SAP partner excellence awards,” said Lagom Director Deepak Pratap. “Lagom is the cloud partner New Zealand businesses can trust to deliver complex ERP projects and provide end-to-end support to help our customers with their business transformational projects. We look forward to another successful year in 2023.”
Celebrating the outstanding achievements of SAP’s best-performing partners over the past year, the SAP Partner Excellence Awards cover six categories including excellence in innovation, customer engagement and cloud delivery. The categories aim to reflect how partners are helping customers achieve their ambitions and continue to grow, especially in the cloud.
Lagom received the partner excellence award at SAP New Zealand’s Partner Kick Off Meeting. The event was held at Auckland’s Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and hosted by Adrian Griffin, Managing Director, SAP New Zealand and Mark Hettler, Head of Partners and Channels at SAP Australia and New Zealand
About Lagom
Lagom is a delivery centric consultancy with a core focus on doing the best thing for our customer. We know that having the correct systems in place can make all the difference to the inner workings of your business. That is why our mantra is “Delivery Done Right” – and we love to do just that. Lagom has been involved in delivering complex ERP projects for many years, providing end to end offerings to help our customers with their ERP or business transformational projects. For more information, go to lagomgroup.co.nz.
Generational divides revealed: Kiwi investment preferences explored in new report
Highlights
- Younger generations are most likely to invest in shares, while Gen X say they are just as likely to invest in crypto. Term deposits are the top choice for Baby Boomers.
- 52% of Kiwis think 2023 will be a better year for investing than 2022.
- 87% think it’s important to invest in a socially responsible way.
Auckland, New Zealand – There is a distinct difference in investment preferences across generations of Kiwis, shows a new report from Banked. The personal finance website surveyed 1,020 New Zealand adults about their inclinations and attitudes to investing.
When asked what type of investment they were most likely to invest in, the top choice for Gen Z and Millennial Kiwis was shares (26.8% and 24.2%, respectively).
Property was the second most common choice for Gen Z, with 19.3% of those aged 18 to 26 saying they were most likely to invest in that investment type.
Along with shares, Gen X say they are just as likely to invest in cryptocurrency (both selected by 21.3% of respondents).
Those of the Baby Boomer generation are much less interested in shares (13.3%) while more than a third (35.2%) say their top investment choice is a term deposit.
“Our report shows a fascinating difference in the investment interests of Kiwis across age groups,” says Kevin McHugh, Head of Publishing for Banked.
“The boom of micro-investing apps and the popularity of so-called ‘Reddit stocks’ has captured the imagination of younger generations and they’ve really embraced investing in shares and funds.
“But as we move up the age groups there’s a declining interest in shares and a much greater attraction to lower-risk term deposits,” says McHugh.
“We also see that while home ownership has become increasingly difficult in recent years, it hasn’t dented the aspirations of younger people to own property.”
See the full report: https://www.banked.co.nz/nz-investor-report-2023
Most Kiwis optimistic for 2023
Banked’s report also shows that a majority of New Zealanders believe this year will be more fruitful for investors.
Asked if they thought 2023 would be a better year for investing than 2022, more than half (52.2%) said yes. Only 17.1% said no, while 30.8% said they didn’t know.
“Twenty twenty-two was a turbulent year for investors, with most investment types losing value. But most Kiwis are feeling more positive about 2023 and some may turn to investing as a way to counter the impact of inflation,” says McHugh.
A nation of socially responsible investors
The new report reveals the importance of environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing to New Zealanders.
A huge 87.1% of respondents say it’s important to invest socially responsibly, and only 12.9% disagree.
Gen Z feel the most strongly about the topic, with 90% saying it’s important. But the belief was uniform across all ages, with no age group dropping below 82%.
For those that say they didn’t think socially responsible investing was important, a desire just to get the best return possible is the main reason for most (42.4%), while 32.6% say they thought it made no difference.
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About Banked
Banked is a financial information and deals website that has the goal of helping New Zealanders make the best decisions on the products they need.
UPDATED: ResolveXO opens New Zealand office
UPDATED: ResolveXO is proud to announce the establishment of a new office in Auckland, New Zealand. This follows the opening of new commercial and industrial offices in Brisbane and Sydney in the last 12 months and signals our commitment to the New Zealand market. The new office will be led by ResolveXO Principal Anna Rusk and both she and ResolveXO Founder and CEO Stuart Allison are excited about the move.
“There is an increasing demand in New Zealand for strategic corporate property advice and we believe it is important to have a permanent presence in that market”, said Mr Allison. “While the market is different to that of Australia, the need for independent, conflict-free tenant advisory services is much the same and we are looking forward to introducing those services to New Zealand.”
ResolveXO will be providing expertise and guidance across all areas of commercial and industrial property including lease renewal, restructuring and negotiation, sale and leaseback, property procurement, market rent reviews, property and lease disposal, reinstatement, portfolio management, occupancy reviews, market research, strategic planning, analysis and benchmarking, and freehold advice. While the office will be based in Auckland, the New Zealand team will work with clients throughout the country and provide a ‘boots on the ground’ service for many Australian clients that also have a New Zealand presence.
While ResolveXO was founded in Australia, the New Zealand office will be New Zealand led. Originating from Northland, Anna Rusk has returned to Auckland to lead the team.
“It’s fantastic to be back in New Zealand and I’m grateful for the opportunity to set up the ResolveXO New Zealand office”, said Ms Rusk. “It’s even more fantastic to be able to help our New Zealand clients strategically plan, negotiate, secure, and manage their property portfolios at a time when independent, qualified advice has never been more important. In New Zealand, we’re seeing a rush to quality office space, the lowest industrial vacancy rates in recent history, and a continuing growth in demand everywhere. Combined with rising costs and sustainability imperatives, this is making decision-making more complicated and difficult. That’s why our strategic advice is proving so critical in helping our clients make the right decisions about their property portfolios.”
Anna has worked in the corporate property industry for nearly 20 years, representing clients throughout Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. With her significant experience in working with both landlords and occupiers, Anna has an excellent understanding of what motivates each party in a transaction. This experience, combined with her qualifications in commercial law, has made her a canny operator and skilful negotiator. Anna will be joined by David Bygrave who will focus on partnering with clients in the industrial property sector. David also brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our clients across the areas of supply chain, procurement, and strategic business operations.
Both will be working to expand ResolveXO’s New Zealand operations and deliver even greater value to our New Zealand clients.
About ResolveXO
ResolveXO exclusively represents business occupiers of commercial and industrial premises to strategically plan, negotiate, secure, and manage their property portfolios. We are Australasia’s leading corporate property strategists and 100% owned and operated by our principals.
ResolveXO has no association or affiliations with any agency, project management, construction, designer, or landlord entities. We do not and never will represent commercial and industrial landlords in their dealings with commercial and industrial tenants. We take conflicts of interest very seriously – so much so, that we are the only major Australasian corporate property strategy firm that exclusively represents commercial and industrial property occupiers.
As we only work for business occupiers and do not receive incentives or payments from any other parties, we provide independent advice you can trust. From beginning to end, we make sure that we protect the critical business relationships you need to maintain throughout your commercial and industrial property portfolio.
Your commercial and industrial property decisions are critical to the ongoing operation of your business. It makes sense to have commercial and industrial property strategists there to help you make the right decisions.
Contacts
Stuart Allison, CEO
stuart.allison@resolvexo.com.au
M +61 411 506 762 | P +61 3 9021 7500
Anna Rusk, New Zealand Principal
Anna.rusk@resolvexo.co.nz
M +64 27 253 5897 | P +64 9 870 2811
New Zealand collaborators reveal innovative gut health product
A Dunedin company, Zestt Wellness, have launched a new gut health product to help counter the damage caused to our digestive system from processed foods and additives. One of the co-founders of Zestt, Dr Anna Campbell, says that damage to our gut health can be associated with the onset of chronic disease.
Campbell, along with fellow founder, Darcy Schack, were driven to create a science-based gut health product that used New Zealand grown ingredients and innovation.
These ingredients include yacon, which according to Campbell is “a superfood due to its amazing prebiotic properties. Yacon provides a form of sugar that our body can’t digest but our gut bacteria can, this helps the growth of good bacteria and inhibits the growth of bad. Clinical trials have shown that yacon can also reduce appetite and help with weight management”. The Zestt team have partnered with Kerikeri organic yacon producer, Marcus van Boxel, and are excited about the availability and quality of yacon in New Zealand.
Knowing the benefits of yacon and finding a local producer were only part of the equation. Through a collaboration with Blenheim based company, Taylor Pass Honey and a Nelson based food scientist, Grant MacDonald, the team have found a way to turn the yacon syrup into a dried product – something that others have not been able to do. A clever bit of local innovation has meant that they have been able to create the new ‘Thrive’ lozenge that has the correct pH and consistency and that also includes other New Zealand ingredients that are good for gut health, such as gold kiwifruit and probiotics from another Dunedin based company, BLIS Technologies.
Creating a quality product from quality ingredients has its challenges. According to Schack “the trick is to combine these ingredients, without losing bioactivity, so a lot of attention to detail and testing needs to happen along the way to insure none of the goodness is lost”.
The inspiration for Zestt Wellness’ products arises from Schack’s personal health battles with Sarcoidosis, a little-known autoimmune disease, which affected his lung, heart and brain functions. Zestt Wellness was established in 2019 and they released their first product EXhale, a lung health and immunity formulation, that year.
Campbell is excited about the new product “launching a product that is based on quality ingredients, quality collaborations, innovation and a bit of Kiwi magic is something that we are proud of; best of all, we know this will make a difference to the health and well-being of some New Zealanders.”
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About Zestt Wellness
in 2022, Zestt launched their product range in the USA and were named finalists in the Asia Pacific Nutra Ingredients Start Up Company award and winners of the New Zealand China Business Club Innovator award. As a company, they tap into the rich New Zealand science and innovation ecosystem and partner with premium growers throughout the country to develop products with strong science behind them.
To contact Zestt Wellness:
Anna Campbell 027 4861418; anna@zesttwellness.com
Darcy Schack 027 599 2255; darcy@zesttwellness.com