MAnalyt meetUp at Spark New Zealand

Dear members,

Happy Waitangi weekend!
Sincerely, hope this summer is treating you all well, especially those who live in Auckland. Hope the floods didn’t cause too much of damage to your house and living.

In this email, I’m super excited to share the news that the leadership members of our MeetUp group has grown, meet Vineet Sodhani!
Some of you may have already known Vineet as your classmate, or through peer groups and business events. Vineet is a true business person, highly experienced and skilled in management and leadership, has a strong network both domestically and internationally. Vineet is now working at Spark New Zealand, he is also one of the alumni of the Master of Analytics programme at Massey University.
Vineet, welcome and thank you for your ongoing support to our MeetUp group, the “MAnalyt” community! We are thrilled to have you on board!

Wait, that’s not all. Vineet has also scored a great opportunity to host our next MeetUp event at Spark this month!
Please find the details below, you wouldn’t want to miss it.

Venue: Spark New Zealand Headquarter, 167 Victoria Street West, Auckland CBD.
Time: 5pm - 8pm, Thursday 23rd February, 2023.
Guest Speakers:

• Madeline Newman is the Executive Director of AI Forum New Zealand, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting and promoting the development of artificial intelligence (AI) in New Zealand. She brings extensive experience in strategy, transformational change and helping people to see the potential that innovative technologies bring. Originally from New Zealand, Madeline has been working with AI and Tech in mental health, financial services and regulation spaces in the UK, where she helped to shape and deliver the Financial Conduct Authority’s internationally renowned RegTech innovation programme. Most recently she was Head of Innovation and Product for a science based digital mental health service. She brings new thinking and international connections to our AI community. She will talk about The AI Forum New Zealand’s purpose and how they get up to delivering that.

• Catherine Moran is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. She is responsible for the overall leadership of the university's academic programs, research initiatives, and student support services. With a background in Communication Disorders , she has served in various academic and administrative roles at universities in New Zealand and Australia. She is committed to promoting academic excellence and ensuring that students have access to high-quality educational experiences that prepare them for success in their careers. She will be talking to us about impact of Chat GPT on Education.

• Habib Baluwala is a PHD from Oxford University and at Spark is a Domain Chapter Lead for Commercial Data that looks in monetization opportunities through smart use of technology and data. A seasoned technology professional with over 15 years of experience in India, UK and NZ, Habib has worked with organizations such as IBM, University of Auckland and Inland Revenue and has been leading and transitioning organizations with his enormous knowledge and problem solving skills. In his talk, Habib will explore importance of adopting a systems thinking approach in AI development.

There will be pizza and drink provided at the event. Please try to make it on time for networking. The first speaker will start at 5.30pm.
Joining Online is also available. We will send out the online meeting link to those who have reserved in a reminder email as the event date approaches.

Lastly, on behalf of the leadership members, we can’t wait to see you all there in person. Let’s make this one a successful one and show some gratitude to Spark who has been one of the most supportive business partners to our Master of Analytics programme. Your attendance each time leads to the continuity of our group and the MAnalyt community. Thank you to every one of you who have attended the past events either as audience or guest speaker, you are all noted!

See you on the 23rd Feb!

Best regards,
Marsha