Enlarging New Zealand’s Technical Horizons
A CAE PROGRAMME: “New Zealand’s ocean territory has enormous resources in minerals, hydrocarbons, fish and other biological assets. By promoting increased understanding and research around the ocean’s development CAE is playing its part in national efforts towards responsible stewardship of this vital resource base.”
O C E A N O P P O R T U N I T I E S
M A C B E G G S D I R E C T O R
A CAE PROGRAMME: “One key element for
New Zealand businesses competing and prospering in world markets is the understanding of technology opportunities. CAE can help create opportunity by linking business with emerging technologies.”
E M E R G I N G T E C H N O L O G I E S
S I R A N G U S TA I T
To advance social progress and economic growth for New Zealand through broadening national under-standing of emerging technologies and facilitating early adoption of advanced technology solutions.
Among the driving forces for change in New Zealand’s economic environment are:
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increasing globalisation>
increasing importance of the IT industry in creatingnew marketplaces and the ability to share new know-ledge instantly
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increasing recognition of the potential of advancedtechnology to create high value new opportunities in our primary and traditional industries
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increasing complexity of systems and problems, makingtraditional approaches inadequate
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blurring of the boundaries between industries andA CAE PROGRAMME: “Making the transition to more sustainable communities, businesses and a nation means focusing on what is critical to quality of life and, ultimately, doing many things differently. Organisations such as CAE play an essential role in accessing know-how and technology and making the critical "sustainability connections" – key lubricants for this tough, but essential, transition.”
S U S T A I N A B L E T E C H N O L O G I E S
D R J . M O R G A N W I L L I A M S
Set up in 1987 to mark one hundred years of teaching engineering at the University of Canterbury, the Centre for Advanced Engineering (CAE) has played a strong knowledge-broking role within New Zealand’s engineering and technology sectors, seeking to enlarge this country’s technological capability in areas of national importance. We do so through the facilitation of expert groups across a wide discipline base, and through advancing the ideas, methods and solutions that result from such collaborative effort. We also seek out and import international best practice, for the benefit of New Zealand.
In recent years, we have recognised the need to engage in projects that go beyond current technologies and engineering practice. Our platforms of work recognise the complexity of New Zealanders’ social and economic environment.
It is the ability of CAE to span the technical, economic and societal aspects of key issues that give it a critical role within New Zealand’s technology infrastructure.
CAE can create value and new perspectives through transferring new knowledge and ideas in ways that raise awareness of the underlying technical issues:
> from international practice to New Zealand
> across New Zealand institutional boundaries and disciplines.
An important component is CAE’s ability to leverage interactions between university, research, business, government and the wider New Zealand public. In so doing, CAE enables integrated approaches and action in response to identified needs.
We seek to make a difference, particularly in those areas when the application of the unique problem-solving skill set offered by engineering and its related disciplines will produce dividends within a wider economic and social context. And engineering does indeed impact very widely within these contexts: from electronics to civil engineering, and bio-engineering to aero-space, the disciplines of engineering are as ubiquitous, if not as popularly recognised, as information technology.
C A E C O N T R I B U T I O N S
A CAE initiative bringing together central and local government, engineering expertise and infrastructure groups to upgrade our communities' disaster readiness. Seventeen cities and towns throughout New Zealand use the CAE programme for their own disaster planning under the umbrella of a national Lifelines organisation.
This seminal conference helped to build awareness and focus attention on the economic opportunities and critical environmental importance of our offshore zone, the fourth-largest in the world, and to win commitment by the Government of the day to develop an oceans policy for New Zealand.
1999 OUR OCEANS CONFERENCE:
2002 DISTRIBUTED GENERATION PROJECT:
2001 WASTE MINIMISATION PROJECT: 3 4
Published data shows that within the OECD a 40 percent increase in GDP since 1980 has been accompanied by a 40 percent increase in waste during the same period. With quoted environmental and disposal benefits of approximately $US270 per ton of solid waste eliminated from the production system, the economic opportunities for New Zealand are huge if we can break the link between economic growth and increasing waste.
CAE programmes are grouped within five major technology platforms:
These are the critical areas in which New Zealand must build institutional knowledge. With good technical understanding, recognition of technology options and international trends, CAE contributes as an awareness raiser, knowledge broker and integrator. Beyond this, and by drawing on our excellent New Zealand and international networks, CAE helps to facilitate ground-breaking approaches and early adoption.
MAJOR TECHNOLOGY PLATFORMS: 1: OCEANS
2: CIVIL INFRASTRUCTURE SYSTEMS 3: RISK MANAGEMENT
4: SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGIES 5: EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
To ensure that we focus our efforts well, we have drawn together Programme Advisory Groups (PAGs) comprising leading contributors from industry, government and academia, for each programme area. The role of the PAGs is to:
> Identify areas of importance, gaps in existing knowledge.
> Establish an overall scope and strategy for future CAE involvement.
> Propose programmes of investigation.
> Offer suggestions on preferred technology transfer mechanisms.
> Champion programme areas and networks.
To build our capability and to advance our work, we have adopted the following process framework. This will help us ensure that our programmes are aligned with emerging trends and major technology issues confronting New Zealand.
INITIATION EXECUTION SUSTAINING
> PROGRAMME ADVISORY GROUPS
> PROJECT MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK
> TECHNOLOGY & INFORMATION TRANSFER
> VISITING FELLOWS / EXPERTS
> EXPERIENCED PRACTITIONERS > SECTOR-LED TEAMS > CHAMPIONS
> ON-GOING WORKING GROUPS
> CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS & SEMINARS
> ANALYSIS, INVESTIGATION & DISSEMINATION
A CAE PROGRAMME: “One critical component of our
future standard of living is renewal and enhancement of New Zealand’s built infrastructure. In a time of changing roles and responsibilities, CAE is helping our major players and sectors achieve more effective and efficient integration.”
I N F R A S T R U C T U R E S Y S T E M S
D R F R A N C I S S M A L L
D I R E C T O R , K I N G & S M A L L C O N S U LTA N C Y LT D
A CAE PROGRAMME: “In today’s networked and
interlinked world, risk management has become a key decision-making tool in many sectors of industry and throughout the public sector. CAE is recognised for bringing to New Zealand the latest international research required for significant advances in this field.”
R I S K M A N A G E M E N T
As a future-focused organisation, we intend to continue leveraging our special position to facilitate purposeful co-operation between New Zealand’s excellent but limited knowledge institutions, to enable them to more powerfully contribute to this country’s sustainable economic future.
We also believe the time is now right for CAE to enlarge our role as a catalyst for action to address New Zealand’s emerging technology issues. In this way we will help to accelerate change and achieve results that are beyond the reach of any one organisation or sector. Our objectives are to:
> Progress engineering and technology-related knowledge for the benefit of all.
> Initiate projects and collaboration that advance solutions to emerging issues.
> Stimulate the uptake of advanced technology.
> Raise business and public awareness of the benefits of technological advance.
In achieving these objectives we will produce leading-edge analysis, new perspectives, actionable strategies and technology solutions that will, over time, help to bring an improved quality of life for all New Zealanders.
