The 'bid champions' were honoured at the Tourism New Zealand Business Events National Awards, held in Auckland, alongside 38 others who have successfully bid for and won international conferences over the past year. The conference wins reveal a wide variety of new research opportunities, with the bids developed in collaboration with Business Events Wellington and Tourism New Zealand
“It was an honour to attend Tourism New Zealand’s annual awards dinner alongside such an esteemed group of colleagues,” said senior lecturer Brian Diettrich.
“Business Events Wellington and Tourism New Zealand offer extensive guidance and support for conference bids, from creating a financial feasibility study to the design of a the bid document, to announcing the conference and planning the event in Wellington.”
The bids were developed in close partnership with Business Events Wellington who work to secure new conferences in the capital.
The following staff were recognised at the awards:
- Dr Nadia Pantidi, senior lecturer, Te Kura Hoahoa—School of Design Innovation
OzCHI 2023 - Computer-Human Interaction Special Interest Group Conference - Professor Alex Richter, Te Kura Tiaki, Whakawhiti Kōrero—School of Information Management
Australasian Conference on Information Systems – ACIS 2023 - Dr Corinne Seals, senior lecturer, Te Kura Tātari Reo—School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, and Professor John Macalister, formerly Te Kura Tātari Reo—School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies (retired)
Linguistic Landscape 15 – 2024 - Dr Brian Diettrich, senior lecturer, New Zealand School of Music—Te Kōkī
ICTMD 2025 - International Council for Traditions of Music and Dance World Conference - Associate Professor Lee Davidson, Stout Research Centre
Association of Critical Heritage Studies Conference - ACHS 2026 - Professor Alejandro Frery, Te Kura Mātai Tatauranga—School of Mathematics and Statistics
International Conference on Machine Learning for Geoanalytics and Remote Sensing – MIGARS
“Business events are extremely important to the future of Wellington and Aotearoa,” says Irette Ferreira, Business Events Wellington Manager.
“We're grateful for the hard work of these individuals whose knowledge, influence, and passion attract events to our city. These conferences not only drive economic benefit by attracting visitors, they also provide an opportunity to share knowledge, forge academic and industry relationships, and elevate the University's international presence."