Ngāi Tūāhuriri welcome you all from 9.45 so we ask you to be seated by then.

Thank you to Spark Health for their Sponsorship of this day.

Ngāi Tūāhuriri welcome you all from 9.45 so we ask you to be seated by then.

Opening Address by Rt Hon Hamish Campbell MP

This presentation focuses on the wellbeing of young adolescents, we explore how technology positively impacts the mental health and overall wellness of young people. We discuss how tech innovations such as mindfulness apps, online therapy platforms, and virtual support communities provide accessible resources for young people to manage stress, anxiety, and other mental health challenges. By harnessing the power of tech, we can empower adolescents to prioritise their wellbeing and seek support when they need it. Angela discusses how technology can positively impact the mental health and wellbeing of young people. How they can manage stress, anxiety and other mental health challenges, using technology.

Between speaking sessions, Canterbury Tech invites you to mix and mingle with like minded people working in technology enabled organsations and businesses looking to use tech that’s good for the world!

Exploring how technology is being used in different settings to enhance clinical models of care – better access, more flexible teams, better integration of data – all supporting better health outcomes and better working environments.

Between speaking sessions, Canterbury Tech invites you to mix and mingle with like minded people working in technology enabled organsations and businesses looking to use tech that’s good for the world!

Part 1: Al Duncan, Webtools & Karl Donaldson, Webtools –  Setting HealthTech on FHIR 🔥 – Building a connected and standards-based digital health ecosystem

Since launching their Centrik platform in 2022, Canterbury innovators Webtools have been at the leading edge of health FHIR standards adoption in Aotearoa, changing the way health data is accessed and shared. Hear from Al Duncan (Chief Growth Officer) and Karl Donaldson (CTO) on their experience building patient apps with FHIR APIs, how Webtools approached standards implementation, what they’ve learnt, and how they’re continuing to deliver innovative healthtech that is the key to a connected and patient-centric digital health ecosystem.

Part 2 : Jim Brown, Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora gives an update on the health API Marketplace and their interoperability vision.

Between speaking sessions, Canterbury Tech invites you to mix and mingle with like minded people working in technology enabled organsations and businesses  looking to use tech that’s good for the world!

The Health Technology Centre manager Madeleine Martin hosts a panel of experts discussing the triumphs, ups and downs of the journey to certify their innovative technology for clinical use.

Team members from the Deloitte Health Practice will facilitate a workshop on using AI in healthcare to improve patient outcomes, where participants will discuss practical applications to improve efficiency and accuracy in healthcare delivery. Participants will gain a better understanding of AI use cases in healthcare and explore challenges and risks around its integration.

Would you like to sponsor an evening event on this day?

Support Canterbury Tech and the Canterbury Health Innovation Network

We ask you to be seated by 9.50

Thank you to See Tommorrow First for their Sponsorship of this day. Check out their workshop running in the afternoon ( requires seperate registration.

Startup Aotearoa offers a wealth of support for your technology startup journey, whether you have a kernel of an idea or are already in the market. Learn how Startup Aotearoa can introduce you to new pathways and support across a range of industries supported by technology.
Pete Howard from UCE and Mr. G – Galeno Chua from Startup Aotearoa will explore and give actionable insights for startup ideation level startup founders looking to validate and bring their ideas to market. This session is perfect for those looking to understand the journey and gain an understanding of the ecosystem of support and players in the market.

Between speaking sessions, Canterbury Tech invites you to mix and mingle with like minded people working in technology enabled organsations and businesses looking to use tech that’s good for the world!

Ministry of Awesome presents a dynamic panel of expert advisors offering quick-fire advice to guide you through the early stages of your business journey. Our experts will demystify industry jargon about governance and structure and clarify how today’s decisions can impact the future success of your business.

Between speaking sessions, Canterbury Tech invites you to mix and mingle with like minded people working in technology enabled organsations and businesses looking to use tech that’s good for the world!

Explore the topic of experiment driven design and riskiest assumption testing as a way of operating a start-up. Imagine a jenga tower – your job as a founder is to try and pull the riskiest blocks first, if it doesn’t fall over you know you have a robust foundation for your business.

A separate registration is required for this free workshop – Register here

2.30pm – Registrations Open

3.10pm – Opening Remarks

3.20pm –  Power of Collective Story-telling
Value of Brand NZ and why you should leverage it. Introduction to New Zealand values and Brand New Zealand tools, leveraging See Tomorrow First.

David Downs – CEO, New Zealand Story

3.35pm – Market Research Perceptions
How New Zealand tech companies are perceived in four global markets. Why country of origin matters to tech buyers and what drives purchase decisions.

Jordan Gunn –  Campaign Activation Manager, NZTE

Emily Lynch –  Research Specialist, NZTE

3.55pm – Insights from the Market
NZTE’s in-market experts beam in from San Francisco, Singapore and Sydney with their latest market insights (via Zoom).

Ruth McLeod –  Trade Commissioner, San Francisco

Hamish Campbell – Trade Commissioner, Sydney

Erika Sirimanne – Trade Commissioner, Singapore

4.20pm – Leveraging New Zealand’s Tech Story – See Tomorrow First
Understanding New Zealand’s tech story and how best to leverage it to benefit your business.

Courtney Peters – Brand and Marketing Manager, NZTech

4.40pm – Break

4.55pm – Breakout Sessions

• Mastering the power of Brand New Zealand in your export storytelling (targeted for CEOs and Chief Storytellers)
• Utilise research insights to focus your export marketing (targeted for any exporter)
• Leveraging New Zealand’s tech brand See Tomorrow First (targeted for marketers)
• Sharing experiences to learn tips and tricks about exporting with others (targeted for new exporters)

5.35pm – Scaling your tech to the world
A panel of tech leaders discuss their experiences.

6.00pm – Drinks & Networking for participants 

(if you’d like to stay for the next evening session from 6.30pm you will required to register for this separately)

If you’d like to attend this free See Tomorrow First Workshop, make sure you register!
Register here

The ever popular Unpopular Opinions event is back to tackle one of the spiciest entrepreneur debates – is it better to bootstrap or find investment for your next big tech venture? Pitting six big brains with big ideas against each other, this rowdy event is sure to get the blood boiling one way or another. Not ones to shy away from a hot take or a big idea, the team from Publica are bringing Unpopular Opinions to TechFest with support from Canterbury Tech.

Each side of the argument will be represented by three speakers, each taking turns to share their Unpopular Opinions within five minutes. If they’re still going at five minutes we get to unceremoniously boo them off stage. Not for the faint of heart, this event brings the perfect mix of content and unfiltered vibes to TechFest 2024.

Please note
There will be some liberal use of the English language and the occasional/frequent expletive can be expected. We take no responsibility for the opinions or content of the speakers and if you believe you may take offence to this, best to choose another session.

Thank you to Invest Hong Kong for their Sponsorship of this day.

Grace De Leon from the Christchurch City Council’s Smart Cities Team will present on current projects, initiatives, trials and future ideas that Smart Christchurch are creating now to build a city of tomorrow.

Smart Cities are a global phenomenon with a vision to bridge the gap between the digital transformation and city planning. This presentation will deliver the Christchurch story of our smart city progress, and a few ways that we are leading way.

Between speaking sessions, Canterbury tech invites you to mix and mingle with like minded people working in technology enabled organsations and businesses  looking to use tech that’s good for the world!

Callaghan Innovation’s Advanced Engineering and Materials team will talk through a few projects where we are working with businesses to develop sustainable solutions to some of the gnarly environmental challenges facing our society. From finding ways to reduce waste, using cryogenic expertise to build lighter motors to allow long-haul aircrafts to be fueled by electricity, or innovating a new flood pump design to provide fish safe passage to the sea for spawning, we will share our problem solving processes that may spark solutions for your business challenges.

Between speaking sessions, Canterbury tech invites you to mix and mingle with like minded people working in technology enabled organsations and businesses  looking to use tech that’s good for the world!

Melissa Baer, Founder of Backstory explains why data about your food will be the next value-add to food exports and how she went from farm to tech entrepreneur

Between speaking sessions, Canterbury Tech invites you to mix and mingle with like minded people working in technology enabled organsations and businesses looking to use tech that’s good for the world!

If you are an architect, engineer or working in building services then a session not to be missed.

Barry Lynch, Co-founder of V-Quest will present on the opportunities that are being missed everyday in construction to reduce carbon emissions but hidden alongside opportunities to increase profits.

Between speaking sessions, Canterbury Tech invites you to mix and mingle with like minded people working in technology enabled organsations and businesses looking to use tech that’s good for the world!

There are some great local energy tech research projects and innovators tackling our energy emission reduction targets.  Hear about how research and ideas have developed into local energy tech solutions being trialled and used here and around the world.   Be inspired by local innovators using software and hardware technology to solve some of our biggest energy challenges, from transport to energy equity.

Hear from companies succeeding in the Hong Kong market with sustainability at the forefront. Find out more about support and opportunities to take your business global through Hong Kong.

The team at Invest Hong Kong and Canterbury Tech invite you to join them for networking drinks and nibbles.

We ask you to be seated by 8.20

Thank you to Information Leadership for their Sponsorship of this day.

To be announced

Between speaking sessions, Canterbury Tech invites you to mix and mingle with like minded people working in technology enabled organsations and businesses – looking to use tech that’s good for the world!

Manufacturing businesses are massively under-supported and under-represented by the tech companies of the world.

We have all heard of Facebook or Spotify for our personal tech needs and Microsoft, maybe WordPress or Squarespace for our website needs. These are famous US based silicon valley tools, but name some products specifically designed for your business if you make or work with the physical world and it is much harder to find good tools or good support. I will talk about some of the art of the possible in the manufacturing sector or for running your real world business, what to look for and what to avoid.

Between speaking sessions, Canterbury tech invites you to mix and mingle with like minded people working in technology enabled organsations and businesses – looking to use tech that’s good for the world!

Sarah Heal and Mark Watson from Information Leadership share real examples of how other organisations are preparing and stepping into new tools that combine large language models with data and give some ideas on how to apply the lessons from these stories to your own situation and business. 

Between speaking sessions, Canterbury Tech invites you to mix and mingle with like minded people working in technology enabled organsations and businesses – looking to use tech that’s good for the world!

The core of getting your business humming is having the right systems (driving your business processes) – but how do you pick the right ones? In this session we will explore tips to help you pick the right tools, and the right partners to support your journey.

Enjoy half an hour between sessions to network and connect.

How do you protect your business from cybersecurity threats?

It starts with understanding what data is critical to your business and what is most likely to lead to a compromise. You can then decide how to best protect your business. Glenn and Jess from Pākiki Security will give you their top 3 tips on how to keep your business safe from cybersecurity threats.