HUTT CITY COUNCIL MEDIA RELEASE

9 November 2018

Hutt City Council Welcomes Science, Technology And Innovation Conference

From cutting-edge technology used in genetics to backyard trappers reversing declines in flora and fauna - the 2018 House of Science Symposium has it all.

It takes a village to raise a scientific community is the theme of the 2018 House of Science Symposium sponsored by Hutt City Council and being held for the first time in Lower Hutt on Monday November 12.

“Lower Hutt is a place where innovation in all areas of science, engineering and technology thrives. Hutt City Council is delighted to host this national event which has attracted high-calibre speakers from diverse disciplines and interest areas across New Zealand,” says Lower Hutt Mayor Ray Wallace who will be opening the conference.

There is an impressive range of subject areas being covered at the conference with three outstanding keynote speakers.

Dr Lance O’Sullivan, 2014 New Zealander of the year, Founder and MD of iMOKO will discuss emergent genetic research and cutting edge technologies that directly impact Māori and Pacific communities. Professor Stuart McNaughton, Chief Education Scientific Advisor for the Ministry of Education, will challenge whether students are achieving the required levels of scientific literacy. Lee Mauger, Founder and Chair of the Space & Science Festival, which has grown to 9,000 visitors, will explain how he and a group of passionate volunteers brought leading space scientists from NASA to Wellington.

A series of seminars will also be held throughout the symposium. Youth ambassadors leading the way to promote science and technology to future generations of young women will address participants in one of five seminars led by Dr Laura Sessions from Hutt City Council and Bridgit Sissons from Engineering NZ. They will discuss how new public-private partnerships are closing the gender gap in science, technology and engineering.

Six interactive workshops will explore the interaction between science and education, ways in which air quality in houses and schools can be improved, electronics for kids, innovative methods of scientific research, and new conservation programmes impacting our marine reserves.

Dr Anne Ryan, Director of Hutt Science says, “We are incredibly excited to host this national symposium. Scientists, environmentalists, educators, thought-innovators, and future-thinkers will converge on Lower Hutt to challenge our preconceptions about change, exploring new advances in science and technology.”

ENDS

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