ECTUS Launch Planned From Waikato Innovation Park

ECTUS Launch Planned From Waikato Innovation Park

Waikato University’s Waikato Innovation Centre for electronic Education (WICeD) is due to be re-launched as Ectus and become a major national and international player in the online learning products market.

It is proposed that Ectus will be the first new company to be launched directly from the Waikato Innovation Park in Hamilton, officially opened today by the Minister of Economic Development Jim Anderton.

Negotiations with the Endeavour-iCAP fund over the Ectus launch are in their final stages. Endeavour-ICAP was one of the funds created as part of the Government’s Venture Investment Fund.

Endeavour-iCAP is due to put more than $1 million into Ectus, while the university contributes WICeD’s intellectual property. It’ll be amongst Endeavour-iCAP’s first investments.

The money will enable the joint venture to market WICeD-developed products nationally and internationally.

The CEO-designate of Ectus, Mark Topping, says the new company will be an excellent example of the university and venture capital coming together to create a new hi-tech company for New Zealand. “It also shows that Industry New Zealand’s investment of $2 million in the Innovation Park is already set to pay dividends soon in terms of wealth creation for Waikato.”

Dr Topping says Ectus will build on the university’s world-leading intellectual property in the area of on-line collaboration and the creation of online learning communities.

“WICeD’s work has helped academics move to teaching online and it has also developed a range of products and services to support online learning. It is considered the best online learning group in the country. Waikato University offers 20 qualifications that are available entirely or mostly through online study, the greatest number of online qualifications offered by one institution in NZ.

“Our due diligence work means we’re confident we’ll find a ready market for our products nationally and internationally.”

Further details will be announced once negotiations between the university and Endeavour-iCAP are concluded.

ENDS

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