In recent years STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) has become an important topic for everyone. Our society has been developing technology and moving further ahead with STEAM at an alarming rate in comparison to the rest of the education sector. The younger generation has been immersed in technology their whole lives and always will be, including in their jobs. While we need STEAM, society’s current fixation with it has had an impact on other disciplines. We still need other sectors to flourish like accounting, finance, and entrepreneurship.
Date: Thursday 11 August
Time: 6.00 - 8.00pm
Location: Great Hall, King's College
This event is free, and is aimed at students in Year 7 and above, so all are welcomed!
Registration for tickets is mandatory to attend.
We'll be exploring STEAM and entrepreneurship with the following guest speakers:
- Greg Cross, CEO and co-founder of Soul Machines
- Cecilia Robinson, Founder and co-CEO of Tend Health
- Maru Nihoniho, Managing Director of Metia Interactive
- Dr Michelle Dickinson, Founder of Nanogirl Labs
This will be an interactive session as we will be discussing the current issues and beyond. Join us on Thursday 11 August 2022 from 6.00 to 8.00 at King’s College.
We'll also have our amazing food trucks available throughout the event for a bite to eat. PastaMASTA and Nom Nom will be onsite serving up some of their delicious meals for attendees to enjoy!
Register For Your Free Ticket
This year's speakers
Greg Cross
Greg Cross is CEO and co-founder of Soul Machines now spending most of his time living and working in the US. He is one of the original tech nomads, spending his career traveling to and living in every major tech market in the world. Most recently PowerbyProxi, a wireless charging company he co-founded, was sold to Apple in 2017.
In 2016 Greg co-founded Soul Machines to build a HumanOS for Artificial Intelligence and explore the future of human-machine cooperation. Soul Machines is at the cutting edge of AGI research with its unique Digital Brain, based on the latest neuroscience and developmental psychology research. With global corporations and brands as customers, Soul Machines is re-imagining what is possible in the delivery and underlying economics of highly personalized customer experiences and specialized knowledge. He recently launched a digital entertainment business for the metaverse with digital twins of celebrities like Jack Nicklaus, Carmelo Anthony, Marilyn Monroe and K Pop star Mark Tuan of Got7.
Greg is Chairman of luxury fashion retailer Dadelszen and is also the Sir John Logan Campbell Executive in Residence at the University of Auckland Business School. He was recently inducted into New Zealand’s Technology Hall of Fame as the recipient of the 2019 Flying Kiwi Award and was an Auckland Grammar Augusta Award winner in 2020. In 2018 he was named by the World Economic Forum as a Technology Pioneer.
Dr Michelle Dickinson
Dr Michelle Dickinson spent two decades as a biomedical engineer building nanotechnology solutions for the hi-tech and medical industry.
In 2016 she founded Nanogirl Labs, a socially conscious business dedicated to creating innovative and accessible ways for young people to create positive relationships with science and technology.
She is a bestselling author, TV presenter and was recently awarded the hi-tech inspiring individual of the year.
Michelle and her team work collaboratively with communities around the world to create education solutions that are delivered with context in ways that are accessible, engaging and effective.
Cecilia Robinson
Cecilia Robinson is the Founder and Co-CEO of Tend. Cecilia founded her first business Au Pair Link, aged 21, with husband James Robinson.
Cecilia’s primary focus is Tend which was founded in 2019, motivated by a vision that “our children and the children of New Zealand don’t deserve to inherit our healthcare system”. The Robinsons founded Tend Health to “make kiwis the healthiest people in the world”.
Tend is a full-service primary healthcare provider, offering GP services online and in clinic. Tend is reimagining healthcare as we know it, at Tend clinicians and world class engineers work side by side driving the best healthcare experiences and outcomes.
The founding team bring together formidable New Zealand leaders, including former PushPay Chief Product Officer, Josh Robb, and Harvard educated Dr Mataroria Lyndon as Clinical Director. Today Tend has tens of thousands of patients, three clinics across Auckland and employs over 100 people.
She is also the founder and former CEO of My Food Bag. In 2016, the founding team sold 70 percent of the company to Waterman Capital. In 2018 Cecilia and James retired as CEOs. Waterman Capital subsequently listed My Food Bag in 2021.
Cecilia is founding Trustee of The Prince’s Trust New Zealand focussing on Youth Entrepreneurship and the Environment and supports multiple NZ charities and social enterprises.
Maru Nihoniho
Maru Nihoniho is managing director, game producer and designer, and development team leader for her award-winning business Metia Interactive.
Maru’s first game ‘Cube’ (a puzzle game with action elements identified as being a great test of mental rotational skills) earned a special mention for innovation in game design in the 2009 United Nations World Summit Awards. In 2011, she went on to win the e-Health and Environment category of these awards for SPARX, a game to help youth manage depression. SPARX also collected a UNESCO Net Explo Award in 2013.
Maru became a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2016 for her services to the gaming industry and mental health, continuing on to collect an Innovator Award in the 2017 Women In Games Awards and the 2018 Māori Entrepreneurial Leader Award in the University of Auckland Aotearoa Māori Business Leaders Awards. In 2018 she was named as one of the World’s Top 50 Women in Technology by Forbes magazine.
