Auckland is ranked lowest in the “Innovation” and “Knowledge” areas compared to our peer international cities in last year’s State of the City report. Although Auckland has promising advantages in foodtech, fintech and gaming, other cities are accelerating faster and Auckland has funding and infrastructure limitations. Although Auckland’s universities remain magnets for students and research, the supply of skills is not keeping pace with the needs of fast-moving technology sectors and the amount invested in R&D has a lot of room to grow.

The Committee for Auckland is hosting a panel discussion, Auckland’s Innovation Future: the next steps, to address this. It will highlight the good progress underway but also focus on the key opportunities and constraints that Auckland has in these vital sectors, and identity the next steps needed.

Our panelists have extensive knowledge and experience of business growth through their experiences within their respective fields such as business and education. Come along for a stimulating discussion about how Auckland can improve talent growth, international connections, funding challenges, the government relationship and more effective connections between employers and tertiary providers.