Wintec Annual Report 2009

HIGHLIGHTS
‘ WE RECEIVED THE GLOBAL ROLE AWARD AT THE NATIONAL
ITPNZ EXCELLENCE AWARDS IN 2009, WHICH RECOGNISED
OUR INTERNATIONALISATION STRATEGY, IN PARTICULAR THE
PARTNERSHIPS WE’VE DEVELOPED IN CHINA AND THE WORK
OF OUR BEIJING OFFICE AND INTERNATIONAL CENTRE.’
PARTNERSHIP WITH INDIAN INSTITUTE
OF TECHNOLOGY GROWS
In September this year, we hosted Professor
Rajendra Singh, Head of Agricultural and
Food Engineering at the world-renowned
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur.
Prof Singh was specifically interested in
Wintec’s commitment to technology transfer
and in particular our Agritec Centre at
AgResearch’s Tokanui Farm, opening
in early 2010.
As a result of the visit, a 10 week summer
internship at Wintec has been agreed for two
undergraduate students from IIT’s Agricultural
and Food Engineering Department.
In addition, our research director will do
a six month guest professorship at the IIT.
We are also considering sending our
Bachelor of Technology students to IIT for
a 3 month module and IIT are interested in
drawing on our technology transfer expertise
to replicate the research farm model.
The visit attracted considerable media
attention, a result of the reputation of
India’s IIT sector.
PART OF AN INTERNATIONAL
ACADEMIC COMMUNITY
We attracted a number of visiting scholars
throughout 2009, including Qiu Li from Hebei
Normal University, China, who spent six
months at Wintec. As Acting Director and
Editor-in- Chief of the Natural Science edition
of the Journal of Hebei Normal University,
Qiu Li came to New Zealand to learn more
about the application of public relations in
periodicals and advance her knowledge of
western journalism.
Dr Takumi Nakano from Toyota National
College of Technology in Japan also spent
eleven months in our Emerging Technologies
Centre as a visiting researcher. Professor
Nakano, a published researcher, teaches
computer engineering, micro-processing
and computer architecture. He chose to
come to Wintec based on our reputation
for excellence in designing, developing and
deploying e-learning initiatives.
SAUDI STUDENTS START
STUDY AT WINTEC
After hosting a third delegation in as many
years from the Tertiary Vocation Training
Corporation (TVTC), we received our first
intake of students from Saudi Arabia, firstlevel
King Abdullah scholarship students.
TVTC is a Saudi Government organisation
charged with the development of applied
and vocational training in Saudi Arabia.
They also signed a collaborative agreement
with PINZ, of which our chief executive is
a board member.
We are well-equipped to handle the religious
requirements for Muslim students, including
single sex prayer rooms and wash facilities
in our Gallagher Hub.
Wintec Annual Report 2009 _ 23