NEW ZEALAND LABORATORY NEWS | NEW ZEALAND BIOSCIENCE ISSUE 115 | OCTOBER <strong>2016</strong> Strong industry focus to Applied Science Qualifications at Ara Ara Institute of Canterbury has long offered a Graduate Diploma in <strong>Laboratory</strong> Technology, which successfully provides BSc graduates with the skills necessary for a science laboratory career. With the rapid growth of advanced, value-added manufacturing, Ara has now added two new national qualifications developed following industry feedback – the New Zealand Diploma in Applied Science Level 5 and the New Zealand Diploma in Applied Science Level 6. The level 5 diploma provides graduates with the high level of skills needed for modern automated manufacturing systems, alongside necessary soft skills and the Level 6 Diploma is aimed at meeting employer needs for well-trained and skilled laboratory staff. Dr David Hawke, Programme Leader in the Department of Science and Primary Industries at Ara, said all three qualifications focus on developing practical and industry relevant skills, including soft skills with technical skills and are delivered in modern training environments. The development of soft skills is designed to encourage team work, communication skills and ethical workplace behaviour making it easier for students to make the move to full time employment. “The multifaceted approach works. If you walk into any lab around Christchurch about two-thirds of the technicians have studied with us – this is a huge number given that we train only five percent of science graduates in Canterbury.” “Our relationships with employers are extremely important to us and we are committed to making sure our graduates are able to work safely and competently in a lab environment or manufacturing environment,” Dr Hawke said. Students also learn about legislative compliance and quality systems, topics often not taught within academic institutions. Consequently, employees can be confident that graduates are work ready from day one. “Our work placements give students the opportunity to apply their skills in industry which means employers are confident that graduates are ready when they complete their studies. Many of these placements lead to full time employment before they have even graduated.” ARANZ Medical wins global technology award Christchurch-based ARANZ Medical recently won an international award in Brasilia at the World Congress of Information Technology (WCIT). The conference is run by the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) which is the global organisation over-arching all world technology organisations. NZTech chief executive Graeme Muller says the ARANZ Medical success is equivalent to an Oscar of global technology. “We nominated ARANZ Medical and other NZTech members after they won New Zealand Hi-Tech Awards in May. “With this success they have effectively been recognized as world champions of cool technology and took out one of the most competitive awards. ARANZ Medical was [ 6 ] also recently named a supreme winner at the Champion Canterbury Awards.” ARANZ Medical specialises in 3D scanning and informatics solutions for the healthcare sector that transform clinical assessment processes, improve quality of care, and make service delivery more cost-effective. ARANZ Medical carries out all research, development and manufacturing in Christchurch with 98 percent of products exported to 35 countries. Muller says ARANZ Medical is at the forefront of emerging health trends globally. The increased prevalence of diseases like diabetes, an ageing population, more accountable healthcare and the telehealth trend is driving demand for our solutions and our rapid growth. The Christchurch medical company is also a finalist in four categories in the <strong>2016</strong> New Designing Health Conference – <strong>October</strong> 24 - <strong>October</strong> 25 <strong>2016</strong> It’s time to think about tackling the health care system problems in a new way. You are invited to the inaugural Designing Health Conference on 24 and 25 <strong>October</strong> <strong>2016</strong>, at the Stamford Grand, Adelaide. What’s this conference all about? The conference will bring together health care professionals, operations researchers and designers – all people who are interested in improving our health system. The focus will be on connecting and learning about how we can contribute to improving the health care system through design thinking, systems thinking and operations research. Who’s speaking? Professors Terry Young (Cumberland Initiative, UK) and Prof Harrold Nelson (USA) will provide the international perspective, while those already applying these methods from Australia will also feature at the event, including Professor Don Campbell (Monash Health) and Dr Meike van der Bijl-Brouwer (Designing Out Crime Centre). Who should attend? Anyone looking to help solve health care sys- NZTech chief executive Graeme Muller Zealand Innovators Awards. The winners will be named in Auckland on <strong>October</strong> 20. tem problems – doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, designers. If you’re interested in learning more about how design thinking, system thinking and operations research can be used to benefit the way we deliver health care, then this is for you. Registration: Go to http://pay.flinders.edu.au/HealthCare- Management/menu or contact mark.mackay@flinders.edu.au There’s a Facebook page https://web.facebook.com/designinghealthconference?_rdr that has additional information.
NEW ZEALAND LABORATORY NEWS | NEW ZEALAND BIOSCIENCE ISSUE 115 | OCTOBER <strong>2016</strong> [ 7 ]
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