Two Massey University students have proved to have the best innovative business idea on the Albany campus.
GO! Competition unleashes entrepreneurial skills
Business to Business Tuesday, 06 October 2009
The Business Student Group at Massey University Albany has encouraged students to unleash the entrepreneur from within. The GO! Competition, aiming to find the best innovative business idea/product based on a genuine gap or opportunity, held the finals recently at the Albany campus.
The competition accepted entries from students from all disciplines (including Science, Engineering, Design, Business, Mathematics and Social Science) on the Albany campus and the 16 entries were evaluated in an initial round by judges at the ‘e-centre’, the university’s business development incubator.
“There was a huge difference in the quality of the entries-we had everything from a one sentence Email to a 50 page long business plan,” one of the preliminary judges of the e-centre, Sabrina Nagel, said. Read on ...
e-centre Opportunity For Massey University Business Entrepreneurship Graduates
e-centre ltd and Massey University College of Business have launched an internship programme for outstanding Massey University Graduates in order to actively support the entrepreneurs of tomorrow.
The programme is aimed at students majoring in Entrepreneurship and began in June 2009 with the appointment of graduate student Sabrina Nagel. She and future graduate interns will work with a range of companies from those developing concepts to others developing global markets. The e-centre has a range of clients with technology businesses based at the Bob Tindall Building, and a number of “virtual” (offsite) clients.
Read more ...
In the intensive care unit at Temerloh, Malaysia's largest hospital, a stream of data is silently transferring from a patient to drug pumps, vital sign monitors, ventilators and other life support machines.
Grace Xue began whostolemymoney.com out of personal necessity – to track down exactly where her money was vanishing.
Arriving in New Zealand from China nine years ago, aged 19, with no money or family support, she put herself through Auckland University. She graduated with distinction in information systems and operations management in 2002, then took a well-paid job with a retail management software company. “Before too long I asked myself, ‘What’s happened to all my money?’ I had nothing to show for it except fun,” says Xue.
Software company Orion Health has capped off a good year with another award win.
Named a winner in the 2008 Red Herring Asia top 100 award for technology companies, the victory places the Mt Eden company among the top 100 private tech companies in the region.
It was the only New Zealand company to win, although Auckland-based Precept Health was also a finalist. Computerworld NZ, December 1 2008
TelstraClear deploys start-up tool in its datacentre
TelstraClear has deployed locally developed datacenter management software across its three datacenters in Auckland, Hamilton and Wellington.
The tool, developed by Auckland based Centeros, (e-centre virtual resident), aims to help datacenter managers more easily manage the assets in their facility, says the company’s founder James Crossley.
"The enhanced support and extra funding for business incubators will extend their capacity and capability," Pete Hodgson said.
The Incubator Support Program was established in 2001 to support business incubators around New Zealand. Business incubators provide assistance to fledgling New Zealand businesses to become established and viable during their start up phase. They do this by providing shared premises, business advice, business services, mentoring; a full-time, hands-on management team, and access to investors, markets and international networks.
"The enhanced programme means that business incubators will be able to increase resourcing to better service their client firms, facilitate closer relationships with universities and crown research institutes, expand the range of services they offer to include pre- and post-incubation, and develop international networks with overseas business incubators," Pete Hodgson said.
Funding support for selected incubators will be spread over multiple years, giving them more certainty than they currently have with annual funding rounds.
"The additional funding, and the greater certainty from multi-year funding, means that incubators will be better able to attract and retain high-quality managers who have the knowledge and networks to successfully drive growth," Pete Hodgson said.
The New Zealand incubation industry has developed an international reputation for the quality of its services, evidenced by a recent World Bank study that used New Zealand as an exemplar of best practice. However new practices are emerging as the industry continues its rapid global growth and NZTE will work closely with New Zealand incubators to identify these practices and consult with them when designing and implementing enhancements to the program which will take effect from 1 July 2009.
"Evaluations of the Incubator Support Programme in 2004 and again in 2008 found that firms that were incubated had better business outcomes than those that were not. Other research has shown that incubated firms are more likely to remain in business, have accelerated growth potential and have successfully attracted investors," Pete Hodgson said.
For further information on business incubators go to www.nzte.govt.nz and click on Business Incubators under Business Development.
Founder and chief executive Grace Xue (www.whostolemymoney.com) said effective budgeting was becoming necessary for people of all ages and incomes, and the number of people seeking advice was on the increase.
She said the first thing to look at was what you earn in the hand, how much you spend and what you spend it on.
She said it was vital to understand your spending and identify necessary expenses and luxury items.
The second step is to plan. Decide on your goal and establish a spending plan that is achievable, sustainable, and tailored to your needs.
Finally, you need to track. Monitor your progress and if your situation changes, adjust the plan accordingly.
A tracking system might entail pen and paper, a spreadsheet or more automated systems.
How to spend less
1. Convenience costs!
Whether you're buying groceries at a convenience store or using an ATM machine that charges you extra fees, you're almost always paying more than if you had planned ahead.
2. Do your homework.
Especially when it comes to big-ticket items, you can save a lot of money if you know the costs involved and all your options before you buy.
3. Wants vs. needs.
Before you buy, ask yourself, "Do I really need this?" If the answer is yes, consider whether it falls within your budget and how it affects your goals.
Misconceptions
1. Budgeting is for low earners.
Good money management is essential for everyone, even if you earn $260,000.
2. More income = less money stress.
New Zealand Herald
5:00AM Tuesday November 13, 2007 Warm to icy beer in seconds
Kent Hodgeson
The portable gadget, which has a cooling capacity almost four times that of regular ice with the advantage that it doesn't water down your drink, could spell the end of lugging a heavy chilly bin to the beach.
The penny dropped for Kent Hodgson, a 22-year-old student from Albany, while having a few quiet ones around a barbecue with his mates early this year.
"We brought along a box of beers which was warm so we put them in the freezer to cool them down.
"I thought how cool would it be if we could replicate that. I mean, no one likes warm beer or a diluted drink and I was inspired."
Mr Hodgson calls his invention Huski, which is among the 30 exhibits from top graduates of Massey University's Auckland School of Design at the three-day Design Exposure 2007 beginning today at Britomart Pavilion.
He explained the rapid cooling beverage process he mastered as being "extremely simple".
"You have plastic cooling cells which are pressed down into the dock which houses the liquid carbon dioxide. The liquid CO2 expands and is pressurised into dry ice in the base of the cooling cells ... in a moment. "You then pop it into your drink and then proceed from there as you normally would."
With a surface temperature of minus 78.5C, dry ice has a cooling capacity almost four times that of the same amount of regular ice.
e-centre deal grows businesses in China
North Harbour News 2/5/2008 Read more about the three year partnership ...
e-centre opens new door to China
“We chose the e-centre as a pre-eminent business incubator in New Zealand,” Kash Zhang, the CEO of HTIBI, said. “We are impressed by the gains the e-centre has made in spin-off business incubation and internationalisation, and see very good mutual opportunities in working closely together.”
About Hi-tech International Business Incubator
The Hi-tech International Business Incubator Co., Ltd. (HTIBI) is an international business incubator, a joint venture corporation comprising Beijing Hi-tech Innovation Service Center and foreign organisations. Beijing Hi-tech Innovation Service Center is the leading incubation center in China and this has led to the development of technology business incubators and a nationwide cooperation network with more than 500 business incubators throughout China
Zeald.com's Success
By chalking up sales growth of almost 400% in the past three years, Zeald.com has pushed its way into a top 20 place in the just announced Deloitte / Unlimited Fast 50 awards.
The Albany-based web site developer recorded sales growth of 391.4% for the period. Its latest result (the company had a 19th ranking in the fast 50), follows on from it winning of the Excellence in Marketing category at this year’s Westpac Enterprise North Shore Business Excellence Awards.
Chief Executive Officer David Kelly says the company’s growth record reflects the passion and commitment which his team has shown over the past seven years. Read more ...
e-centre alumni company Esphion, purchased by Hod-Hasharon, Israel – January 3, 2007 – Allot Communications Ltd. (NASDAQ: ALLT), a leader in IP service optimization solutions based on deep packet inspection (DPI), today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the business of Esphion Limited, a developer of network protection solutions for carriers and internet service providers. Allot believes that the acquisition furthers its vision of offering value-added services on its new Service Gateway platform to help broadband providers build secure, intelligent networks.
Times-7, e-centre resident.
Finalists in Hi-Tech Awards
17 October 2007: The 32 finalists in the PricewaterhouseCoopers New Zealand Hi-Tech Awards 2007 were announced tonight at a finalists event in Wellington.
Inaugurated 14 years ago, the Hi-Tech Awards are recognised as one of the most prestigious accolades for the New Zealand high technology sector. Today many of our leading entrepreneurs, deal makers and innovators come from dynamic and growing technology companies.
The finalists in the Innovation Award section include resident e-centre company. Enatel Innovation Award
Centre for Rapid Product Development, AUT University
Fronde Anywhere
Indigo
OpenCloud Times-7 Holdings www.times-7.com
PH 09 448-5605
Marops were winners of "The Minister of Defence Award of Excellence to Industry 2007"
Project - Act as in-country representative for installation of CarteNav AIMS in RNZAF P3 aircraft.
Marops was subcontracted to CarteNav Solutions, Canada to integrate and install their Adaptive Image Management System (AIMS) in the RNZAF's P3 aircraft.
Judges comments "Both RNZAF and CarteNav were delighted with the outcome of the project. In particular the speed of response, achieved by working with the
RNZAF all day, transmitting test results to Canada late in the day to enable the results and/or changes to be in NZ at the start of the next working day. Technical work was impeccable and quality is outstanding."
Massey's India link sets up five deals New Zealand Herald, Monday July 16, 2007 CMCTEC leads 3 tech firms to India export deals Friday, 6 July 2007, 9:37 am Press Release: CMC Technology Export Centre
CMC Technology Export Centre (CMCTEC), a partnership between Massey University’s e-centre Limited and Indian IT leader CMC. BioDiesel Oils (NZ) Ltd is a New Zealand owned and registered company and the country’s only commercial manufacturer of biodiesel.
