Design agency-school collaboration for innovation precinct

Media Release

26 March 2013

New innovation precinct welcomes world leading design agency and school’s collaboration

Auckland’s epicentre for innovation is to be the new home for the region’s first digital design graduate school borne out of a ground-breaking business collaboration.

A partnership between advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand and Media Design School, will establish the Media Design Graduate School offering a Master of Interaction Design*.

The graduate school is perfectly poised to showcase Auckland’s renown innovation capabilities to the world from its new premises in the innovation precinct at Wynyard Quarter on the city’s waterfront. Mayor Len Brown says the new tenant perfectly encapsulates the Council’s vision for the ICT and digital innovation precinct.

“I congratulate Saatchi’s and Media Design School on their choice of a new home for this exciting venture. The development of the Media Design Graduate School is an excellent fit with the precinct and the calibre of businesses and talent it will attract,” says Mayor Len Brown.

Auckland has over 6700 ICT and digital businesses, employing more than 31,000 people and contributing around $4 billion to the region’s GDP.

“The graduate school will accelerate growth in Auckland’s already high performing digital sector by providing a hotbed of talent for the future. Already 55 per cent of New Zealand’s ICT GDP is produced right here. The ICT sector is fast growing and tipped to be the country’s second largest foreign exchange earner by 2020,” says Mayor Len Brown.

The Auckland Plan and Economic Development Strategy set ambitious targets for Auckland’s economic growth – 6 per cent growth in exports, 5 per cent real GDP growth and a 2 per cent increase in productivity every year.

“The innovation precinct is critical to achieving the region’s economic growth goals. It will also help boost Auckland’s ranking from fifth currently to the innovation capital of the Asia Pacific region,” says Mayor Len Brown.

“Last year, 17 Auckland based businesses made the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 list for the Asia Pacific region. Auckland is also home to seven of the country’s top 10 companies in the Technology Investment Network (TIN) index.”

Innovation precincts are designed to nurture new ideas, support established companies research and development, and link multinational businesses and smaller ventures through collaborative partnerships.

Internationally, like-minded businesses are pooling together to learn and collaborate, creating a fertile environment where innovative ideas become commercial opportunities.

Auckland is using innovation hubs, like in Wynyard Quarter, to accelerate the region’s economic growth in priority sectors. The FoodBowl in Manukau and a virtual Health Innovation Hub are already proving beneficial.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

* The degree is currently being assessed for approval by NZQA.

Auckland’s innovation status

Auckland was recently named as one of the Asia Pacific region’s most innovative cities in a new report, beating major centres such as Tokyo, Seoul and Taipei. The Most Innovative Cities in Asia Pacific report was prepared by Singaporean consulting firm Solidiance. The report examined six links between what a city has to offer and the amount of talent that relocates to that city. The links are:

• the availability of a skilled talent base;

• a strong higher education system;

• the liveability of a city and environmental sustainability;

• technological advancement; and

• government regulations that support financial freedom and global integration.

Auckland ranked fifth in the survey, beating a number of major Asian cities. Singapore was named as the most innovative, followed by Sydney, Melbourne and Hong Kong.

Background on the Wynyard Quarter Innovation Precinct

The Innovation Precinct is a purpose-built ICT and digital media hub that brings together innovative entrepreneurs, multi-national companies, as well as research and development intensive organisations. It provides the focus, resources, connections and opportunities to launch high-tech business for success on the global stage.

Located in Wynyard Quarter on Auckland’s waterfront, 48,000m2 of space is being developed to attract new and emerging ICT and digital media businesses, alongside more established companies, with the aim of rapidly growing the local ICT sector and building on the success and growth already achieved by smart NZ high-tech companies.

The precinct will provide budding entrepreneurs with the ideal fertile environment in which to start-up, with stylish workspaces and close proximity to business, financial and legal advice. It is a place where like-minded and complementary high-tech companies can work alongside one another, collaborate and create new and exciting opportunities.

The precinct is made possible through the investment of Auckland Council’s economic growth and waterfront development agencies, Auckland Tourism Events and Economic Development (ATEED) and Waterfront Auckland, the support of central government and the participation of leading New Zealand companies.

Initial focus for the precinct’s development is a block of gritty, industrial buildings on the corners of Halsey and Pakenham streets, with the first refurbishment work set to begin later this year on the character full, 90 year old John Lysaght Building. The refurbishment is funded as part of Auckland Council’s commitment to heritage infrastructure and the balance of the precinct will provide opportunities for private sector investment.

Keep updated on this exciting development at www.wqip.co.nz

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