Search

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce has welcomed SkyCity’s planned submission today of a resource consent application for the construction of the New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC).

“This is an important step toward achieving an international-standard convention centre in central Auckland,” Mr Joyce says.

“The centre will drive a significant increase in tourism expenditure through the estimated 33,000 additional convention delegates that it is expected to bring to Auckland each year.”

Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce today released the summary of submissions received in response to the Government's first Draft National Statement of Science Investment (NSSI), which sets out the current settings and proposed future priorities for the Government’s science investment.

Minister Responsible for Novopay, Steven Joyce, has announced that Cabinet has finalised funding arrangements for Education Payroll Limited for the 2014/15 year.

The customisations of the Novopay software have now been valued at $9.4 million.  This takes the total value of the settlement paid by Talent2 to the Ministry of Education to between $29 million and $32 million. 

Cabinet has also finalised the costs of the transition to and operation of the company for the 2014/15 year, and will make an additional appropriation of $8.7m to meet those costs.

Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce today welcomed the announcement that Wynyard Group will locate its new global research and development facility within the Christchurch Innovation Precinct.

Wynyard specialises in advanced crime analytics and risk management software, and will house about 100 of its staff on the former McKenzie and Willis site, with plans to preserve the building’s historic High Street façade.

Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce today announced appointments to four tertiary education institution councils, including two new council members and three reappointments.

“I am pleased to welcome these high-calibre new council appointees into their roles.  I also welcome the reappointment of three council members in recognition of their high quality contribution,” Mr Joyce says.

“I also wish to thank outgoing council members for the valuable service they have provided.”

The new appointments are:

Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce today announced the appointment of Professor Parry Guilford to the Science Board for a term of three years.

The Science Board is responsible for or the allocation of funding used predominantly by research organisations for science, technology, research, and related activities.

“Science and innovation are major drivers of economic growth and international competitiveness,” Mr Joyce says.

Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce today announced the latest companies to meet eligibility criteria for research and development (R&D) Growth Grants administered by Callaghan Innovation.

Fifteen new companies will be able to increase their investment in R&D through $13 million in Growth Grants, which are aimed at bringing New Zealand’s levels of private R&D investment and innovation closer to those of our major trading partners.

Six groups have been invited to submit full proposals to operate Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Graduate Schools in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce announced today.

The six, comprised of tertiary education providers and business partners, were shortlisted following stage one of a two-stage tender process. They are:

A new survey has revealed the relevance of science and technology to Kiwis’ lives, with 90 per cent of respondents agreeing on the importance of studying those subjects at school.

Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce and Education Minister Hekia Parata today released the Public Attitudes to Science and Technology survey, which was conducted as part of the Science in Society project – an education-science sector collaboration to lift engagement and achievement in science and technology.

Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce today welcomed the announcement of an immediate start to the Canterbury Engineering the Future (CETF) construction project as good news for the University of Canterbury, Christchurch and New Zealand.

The Government is supporting the project as part of its contribution of up to $260 million to fund the redevelopment of the engineering facilities and development of new science buildings at the University. The new state-of-the-art facilities will meet the learning needs of students into the future.

Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce today announced the winners of New Zealand’s most prestigious annual science awards.

“The Prime Minister’s Science Prizes recognise researchers of the highest quality who are working on projects that are of real benefit to New Zealand,” Mr Joyce says.

The Government initiative aimed at encouraging overseas student loan debtors to start repaying their loans has now netted $150 million in additional payments, and the pace of collection is picking up.

Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce and Revenue Minister Todd McClay say the initiative took three years to collect its first $100 million, and just six months to collect the next fifty million. It now has a year-to-date return of $16 for every $1 invested in it.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce will travel to Sydney on Sunday morning to attend the New Zealand job fair.

The Sydney job fair is the second event in the job fair series, which is taking place across Australia. More than 35 Kiwi employers are heading to Sydney to recruit skilled job seekers to help fill emerging skill gaps in the IT, engineering, healthcare, construction and trades sectors. Around 30 employers and 1750 jobseekers attended the first fair in Perth last weekend.

An annual report on the performance of the tertiary sector confirms that the number of domestic students who completed bachelors degrees in 2013 is the highest ever, Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce says.

Profile & Trends 2013, released today by the Ministry of Education, showed that last year 26,200 bachelors degrees were completed by domestic students, up 4,950 since 2010 – an increase of 23 per cent.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce travels to Perth today for a short series of engagements.

This weekend sees Perth hosting the first of four New Zealand job fairs in Australia targeting some emerging skills shortages in New Zealand, particularly in the fields of construction trades, engineering, and computer software and design.  Mr Joyce will attend the job fair tomorrow.

“We have a growing economy that is set to create more than 50,000 skilled jobs over the next couple of years,” Mr Joyce says.

Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce today welcomed the confirmation of three research collaborations with China.

“China is an important and growing science and innovation partner for New Zealand, and President Xi Jinping’s visit this week highlights the strong science and innovation ties between our countries,” Mr Joyce says.

The New Zealand and Australian governments have today re-confirmed their commitment to a single competitive procurement market with the signing of the Australia and New Zealand Government Procurement Agreement (ANZGPA), Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce says.

The ANZGPA has been in existence since 1991 but has recently undergone a review to ensure it is still fit for purpose, in light of evolving procurement practices.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce today announced a Major Events Development Fund (MEDF) investment of $550,000 for an international Golden Oldies event to be held in Christchurch in 2018. 

The Golden Oldies World Sports Festival is a month-long event that will attract masters age teams and individuals from across the world to participate in seven sports: cricket, football, golf, hockey, netball, rugby and softball. 

A Government service to help businesses raise capital and accelerate their international growth is turning its focus to the investment needs and opportunities of highly innovative firms and mid-range companies valued at up to $25 million.

Better by Capital was developed following research that revealed some potentially high-growth firms find it difficult to access capital. Under the programme, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise works with companies to develop a tailored plan to identify the work they need to do to prepare for new capital investment.

Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce today announced the signing with China of two initiatives that will further enhance educational initiatives between China and New Zealand.

The bilateral education arrangements were part of the eighth meeting of the New Zealand-China Joint Working Group on Education and Training, which coincided with the visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to New Zealand this week.

Scholarships have been awarded to 160 top students from around the country to study at Asian institutions next year under the Prime Minister’s Scholarship for Asia programme.

Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce says the scholarships see Kiwi students studying in some of New Zealand’s key markets such as China, Japan, Vietnam and India, with others flying the flag in smaller countries like Myanmar and Brunei.

Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce has welcomed today’s announcement by German Chancellor Angela Merkel of a Memorandum of Understanding between Auckland University’s Bio-engineering Institute and Germany’s Fraunhofer.

“Science is the jewel in the crown of the bilateral relationship between New Zealand and Germany,” Mr Joyce says. “Research co-operation between NZ and Germany is underpinned by the Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement which was signed back in 1977.

Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce today announced the recipients of this year’s James Cook Research Fellowships.

The Fellowships are awarded to researchers recognised for leadership and sustained excellence in their field. The three 2014 Fellows will each receive up to $100,000 a year to undertake fulltime research over two years. 

Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce today announced the recipient of the first repayable grant through Callaghan Innovation’s expanded business incubator network.

Tiro Lifesciences, an early-stage medical diagnostic company focusing initially on the development of technology for the detection of breast cancer in dense tissue, has been granted up to $450,000 over two years to develop a pain and radiation-free medical-imaging tool.