Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More

Local Govt | National News Video | Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Search

 

Legacy Project to Create Tech-Savvy Generation for Dunedin

Legacy Project to Create Tech-Savvy Generation for Dunedin

A $90,000 GigCity Community Fund grant has been awarded by Chorus to a network of technology educators in Dunedin who plan to create a new generation of tech-savvy youth.

Under the governance of Connected Education Trust, The Hive will bring together education providers including Hatch Education, Tinkerschool, Fab Lab Dunedin, and Fun Science, alongside partners The Malcam Trust and Otago Polytechnic, to deliver youth-education programmes that work to inspire digital citizenship, creativity and tech skills.

The funding – part of the $500,000 awarded to the city for gig community projects as part of winning the Chorus Gigatown competition – was announced at a GigCity celebration event held at Precinct Food on Vogel Street in Dunedin last night.

The Connected Education group will connect on a regular basis to run HIVE events and showcase their latest innovations, while also developing a mobile education outreach service. In this way, the group can support local schools in their own teaching efforts with tech programmes developed around specific tech-related areas such as robotics, virtual reality, Minecraft, 3D design and printing, plus more.

Chorus NZ Dunedin Liaison Manager Kim Stewart says the Connected Education grant creates an inspiring opportunity for Dunedin’s youth that becomes a legacy of the Gigatown competition win.

“As New Zealand’s first GigCity and winner of our Gigatown competition, Chorus has tried to create a foundation for Dunedin’s tech community to thrive. Enabling the youth of the city to access fantastic tech-related education programmes is a vital part of ensuring the benefits of the Gigatown win continue well into Dunedin’s future.”

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

Other grants awarded in this round include $22,000 for Anglican Family Care for its Primary Community Data Project – a partnership between Anglican Family Care Centre’s Family Start programme and WellSouth. The project aims to develop an electronic data exchange warehouse that allows client data sharing to improve health outcomes for Dunedin’s vulnerable children.

A collaboration between the University of Otago’s Geography Department, and six other organisations (Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, Orokonui Ecosanctuary, Te Tumu, The Otago Museum and Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ōtepoti) received $20,000 for the ‘Ahe Pepe MothNet’ project to develop a UFB-supported game and app that encourages engagement in Te Reo Māori by testing users’ knowledge of moths while teaching the story of the origin of moths from the Kai Tahu Lorero.

An additional $12,000 was awarded to ChatBus to redevelop its website and mobile counselling platform to streamline the organisation’s online needs and allow counsellors to update information remotely.

The latest $147,000 of grants takes the total funding allocated to almost $455,086 out of the $500,000 allocated to gig-related community projects from Chorus for the Gigatown win.

Ms Stewart says an additional funding round – opening next month – will be held to allocate the final $44,000.

“We had some impressive ideas come through in this application round but many of them were still in the incubation stage. We’re hoping an extra couple of months will allow organisations to consider our judges’ feedback and take the projects to the next level.”

Applications open 10 November 2017. To apply, go to gigcitydunedin.co.nz.

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.