New Zealand: Tauranga research institute to open this year
Last July, the New Zealand government announced it would provide $8.42 million in funding towards the institute over five years. There will also be additional funding from the industry.
The business case was put forward by Priority One -Western Bay's economic development agency- alongside the University of Waikato and a consortium of eight local companies with the working name PlantTech.
Regional research institutes such as the one at Tauranga are designed to bring research and science closer to local industries. The institute will have a permanent staff of about ten scientists and researchers. It will produce cutting-edge research around the application of digital technologies to industries in and around horticulture, ranging from sensors and data to automation. The organisation's key research themes are in data integration and analytics, autonomous devices and vehicles and point-of-use decision support tools.
According to an article on nzherald.co.nz, Tauranga Mayor, Greg Brownless, said PlantTech would provide inspiration for young people in the area who, traditionally, if they wanted a science, engineering or technical education, had to look outside the city.
PlantTech was founded by Trimax Mowing Systems, Plus Group Horticulture, Zespri International, Eurofins, Bluelab, Cucumber, GPS-it and Waka Digital, alongside the University of Waikato and Priority One.