ITP Techblog

Wow, what an amazing week last week.

As well as running the ITx Innovation Days in Wellington and Nelson with good crowds and excellent talks, we also ran the CITRENZ Conference Weds-Friday, the ITP Board met on Thursday, and the outstanding 2021 NZ Excellence in IT Awards gala dinner on Friday night.

So who won the EXes this year? Check them out below!

And please, if you're in Hamilton, Auckland, Dunedin or Christchurch, come along to your ITx Innovation Day. We're trying something a little different with this model but so far they have been truly amazing.

  

Some thoughts on the EXes

Well we're still buzzing from the 2021 NZ Excellence in IT Awards (winners below!) and the gala dinner on Friday.

The dinner event itself was authentic and real, celebrating authentic and real people. From the deliberate lack of black ties and a BBQ dinner rather than posh affair, through to the amazing people who were honoured including some of the most authentic, inspiring and passionate acceptance speeches I have ever witnessed, this was a night none of us are going to forget.

While taking absolutely nothing away from previous finalists, I have to say I've never seen such an incredible round-up of 30 people and teams across the 10 categories. We had a huge number of entries and the quality was incredible. We could easily have given 20 more EXes away.

The increasing diversity of our industry was on show as well, with some absolutely amazing wahine coming through our industry and being recognised. And I have to say, these winners were not chosen because of their diversity - they were chosen because they are absolutely amazing leaders and deserve every inch of recognition.

They say a picture's worth 1000 words. I couldn't help but share this pic of the top 3 winners on Friday. All 3 are incredible, passionate and driven people and demonstrate well how our sector is changing:

2021 IT Professional of the Year Kylie Reiri, Young IT Professional of the Year Eteroa Lafaele and Excellence in IT Education winner Rosalie Reiri.

More needs to be done of course - these are the pioneers, but the change is happening and that makes it a truly exciting time to be in our industry, for all of us.

Another big winner on the night was Shayne Hunter and the team at the Digital and Data Directorate of the Ministry of Health. They really have achieved a massive outcome for New Zealand during this Covid-19 pandemic. Did they get everything right? Probably not. But when you look at the sheer scale of the job they've done, under the most difficult circumstances imaginable, they thoroughly deserved their double-win in the GovTech and HealthTech categories.

Thanks to the hundreds of people who shared the Wellington ITx Day and Excellence in IT Awards with us on Friday. Our team loved looking after you and we hope you got as much out of these events as we did putting them on.

And now we're heading North! Come along to the Hamilton and Auckland Days this week, and Dunedin and Christchurch next week. Hope to see you there.

 

2021 NZ Excellence in IT Awards - Winners

Here are all the winners from the 2021 NZ Excellence in IT Awards. There were a huge number of entries across all categories and some truly amazing entries and finalists.

The winners were awarded at a gala dinner last Friday. The dinner event was amazing and authentic. No black ties and a BBQ theme, and some of the most amazing people in tech today.

A massive salute to all entries and finalists and especially the winners - chosen by a panel of 15 independent judges.

 

New Zealand IT Professional of the Year

A massive congrats to Kylie Reiri, the 2021 New Zealand IT Professional of the Year.

Kylie Reiri
Kylie Reiri has shown huge leadership in New Zealand, melding te ao Māori and western approaches in the field of data analytics. Kylie demonstrates that when you bring together culture, values and technology it enables people to bring their whole self and energy to the work they do.

 

Young IT Professional of the Year

An amazing woman, Eteroa Lafaele's acceptance speech personified the EXes - passion, fire, energy and accomplishment! Nice one.

Eteroa Lafaele
Eteroa puts in a huge amount of work supporting Māori, Pasifika and women in IT through mentoring, specialist software development and working with government agencies.

 

Excellence in Software

Gillian Robinson from HCSL receiving the award

Healthcare Compliance Solutions Ltd (HCSL) Aged Care Software team
This software has made a major contribution to the efficiency of many clients in the Aged Residential Care sector. The software has disrupted and changed how health care records are updated and accessed in its target sector and during the COVID-19 outbreak.

 

Project Excellence Award

The awesome team at Igtimia help run the massive America's Cup - with software and hardware developed from their base in Dunedin:

The 36th Americas Cup Race Management Development Team 
The project involved the creation of the Race Management System (RMS) for American's Cup 36, consisting of suite of complex hardware and software solutions. It had to be right, and it had to be on time or the race couldn't run. A well-executed complex Project run from Dunedin.

 

Excellence in Digital Health

Absolutely worthy recognition to the team from the Data and Digital Directorate from the Ministry of Health.

Data and Digital Directorate, Ministry of Health
Covid-19 placed massive pressure on the NZ Ministry of Health, and it was the role of the Data and Digital Directorate to respond to a new set of unique challenges with an unprecedented level of urgency. The MOH staff and partners delivered a host of new solutions to manage NZ's COVID-19 response.

  

Gerard MacManus Award for
Excellence in IT Education

Rosalie Reiri's efforts over many years leading education for Māori students was absolutely worthy of top recognition. This award was recently named after Gerard MacManus, another star and leader in the education sector who sadly passed away last year.

Rosalie Reiri
Rosalie's passion to drive an understanding of Te Ao Māori across a number of people and organisations in the technology education sector should be commended. This work is critical in the education sector to help redress the imbalance that exists with the IT sector currently.

 

Excellence in Inclusion

Patrick Dowling's efforts at broadening inclusion at Techtorium were recognised by the judges.

Patrick Dowling
Patrick has led some significant improvements to inclusion at Techtorium, backed up by impressive data showing the lift in Māori and Pasifika inclusion in training. Their commitment to diversity will make a big difference to the future of our industry.

 

Excellence in People Leadership

Kylie Reiri's seriously impressive approach to leadership also won her the inaugural Excellence in People Leadership award.

Kylie Reiri
Kylie Reiri, CEO of Nicholson Consulting, brought together te ao Māori and western approaches to create an environment where everyone can express and develop their ideas. An impressive leadership story blending bold leadership and a clear focus and care for their people.

 

Excellence in Govtech

The Data and Digital team from the Ministry of Health completed their clean sweep of their two awards - well deserved!

Data and Digital Directorate, Ministry of Health
The data and digital directorate were faced with an unexpected and extraordinary situation in 2020 and a need to respond quickly to support the Government's Covid-19 response. The sheer number of releases achieved in a short time frame and high-pressure context is impressive.

 

Excellence in Tech Communications

One of the biggest stars in Technical Communication, Emma Harding, was recognised in 2021.

Emma Harding
In 1999, Emma and her husband Ian founded Streamliners as a technical communication company. The company has grown and evolved, and now employs over 100 people who help develop guidance for practitioners in health and education impacting over 30 million people in NZ, Australia, and the UK.

 

A massive, massive congratulations!! to all of our winners, and a big thanks to our team of 15 judges for completing a massively difficult task.

 

And a big thanks to our Awards Partner, Assurity!

 

 

 

2021 ITx Innovation Days

This year, the big ITx conference is going on the road. In fact, we'll be running 8 different mini-conferences right across New Zealand, each showcasing the latest tech trends, local talent, case studies and so much more.

These mini-conferences will be AWESOME! We have some amazing speakers to announce shortly, right across New Zealand.

The next ITx Innovation Days will be happening on these dates:

• 21 July Hamilton 1-6pm
• 23 July Auckland 9am-6pm
• 27 July Dunedin 1-6pm
• 29 July Christchurch 9am-6pm

Drinks and refreshments will follow each Innovation Day.

It's not too late - get along to your Innovation Day and register today.

Find out more here

 

Become an ITP Mentor

As many ITP members will be aware, we recently re-launched our Mentoring programme for tech professionals. The free programme helps our people set clear career goals and objectives, understand that they have the ability to achieve these, and put in place a plan to do it.

The launch has been a huge success... so much so that we need more mentors! We're especially looking for senior developers, people who have moved from ops into management roles. and anyone with gaming or design type experience.

The process is super easy, and we provide induction, guidance, resources etc - you're not on your own.

Does that sound like you? Check out more info here

 

Get your ITP gear

Now is the perfect time to head over to the ITP store and grab yourself some sleek and practical items for work and play. These customizable items come in a variety of designs and are perfect for work, networking or casualwear.

The official ITP store has a whole bunch of professional and casual clothing options, some which can be co-branded with your company. It's a great opportunity to show that you don't just "do IT" - you're also serious about professional practice. 

Pop on over to shop.itp.nz to check it out.

 

Previous webinars - all available free to members

All past webinars are available on the ITP Video Library for members:

• 2020's Top 10 Hacking Techniques
• Down-to-Earth Leadership Skills for Technical Geniuses
• How technology enabled the health response
• How Covid is impacting the Gaming Industry
• Creating a plan for Digital Skills
• Cybersecurity and the recent attacks
• Tech legal update - what you need to know
• An afternoon with Nanogirl
• Taking kiwi tech to the post-Covid world
• Tech startups in a post-Covid world
• The IRD Transformation
• Digital Government and Covid-19
• Tech and the Covid-19 recovery
• Privacy in the days of Covid-19
• Leading Wellness in uncertain times
• Meet the ITP Workshop Presenters
• The data behind Covid19
• Innovation in tough times: Don't Hunker in the Bunker
• Covid19: Tech and the Law
• Cybersecurity from home
• Clarke Ching on disaster innovation
• CITPNZ and CTech: The What, How and Why
• Working Remotely - How to get through

Check out the webinar section here

Heaps coming soon from the Innovation Days in Auckland and Wellington!

  

Have a great week.