Knowledge hub will help industry learn

Enabling manufacturers to access research and education is the aim behind a new project at the School of Engineering and Advanced Technology.

Senior lecturer in industrial management and innovation Dr Jane Goodyer is leading the initiative, the only Massey-led proposal to receive funding when the Tertiary Education Commission announced the inaugural Encouraging and Supporting Innovation Fund on 25 March.

The project was awarded $600,000 to develop a knowledge hub to aid the engagement between the manufacturing sector and universities to promote more targeted and responsible partnerships.

The knowledge hub is to be known as the Knowledge HERE (Manufacturing Knowledge Hub for Education and REsearch). This particular hub model is a New Zealand first, and may even be a world first, according to Dr Goodyer. The hub will be based around a website containing information on courses, short courses, degrees, consultancies and particular research interests offered at each of the seven New Zealand universities.

The innovative approach of the hub model is two-fold:, to have all information gathered in one place rather than having to go into the websites of each of the universities and, to create a dynamic interface to connect people in real time.

The hub will provide a one-stop-shop for manufacturers to provide them with anything they want to know about education and research at universities, in order to make them an effective growing business, Dr Goodyer says. “It’s really all about trying to make it easier for the manufacturers to engage in the education sector. “

An additional feature of the website will be the ability to collect statistics about the manufacturing industry, which will help universities to understand how and where they have contributed directly to economic growth in the industry and where they need to go in the future.
It was years of experience in industry and academia and close contacts Trade and Enterprise that made Dr Goodyer aware of the gap in manufacturers’ knowledge of what universities have to offer.
I knew the difficulty we had engaging the manufacturing industry. In New Zealand there are a lot of smaller companies that are very resource-strapped, and the time and the lack of ease of getting information on the education sector is like a brick wall to them . Dr Goodyer’s project is a pilot .

If this project is successful, why not include the polytechnics as well, and if they can be incorporated successfully, why not apply other sectors, such as the health industry? But that is of course the long-term plan.

Important collaborative partners in the project are the Head of School of Engineering at AUT Dr Thomas Neizert, Dr Don Houston from Flinders University, Australia (formerly Massey) and director of specialised manufacturing for Trade and Enterprise Craig Armstrong. The project will run for 18 months from 1 June.