Dean Jacqui: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeDean Jacqui: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 18 June 2014. Volume:699;Page:18614. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]6.JACQUI DEAN (National—Waitaki)to the Minister of Science and Innovation: What announcements has he made on the Christchurch Innovation Precinct?Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Minister of Science and Innovation):During the adjournment the Canterbury earthquake recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee and I released the spatial framework for the Christchurch innovation precinct and announced that Vodafone’s new South Island headquarters will anchor that precinct. It will bring together businesses and innovators alongside residential retail hospitality and professional service providers to create a vibrant and exciting new part of Christchurch. Vodafone has announced it will set up an expanded main South Island office in the innovation precinct as well as one of its international zone incubators which will be only the sixth such incubator that Vodafone has set up across the world. The zone incubator offers advice support and assistance to technology start-ups focused on mobile platforms consumer electronics smart charging and automotive technologies.Jacqui Dean: How will the Government support the innovation precinct?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: The Government will be supporting the innovation precinct by developing an additional innovation hub to accommodate start-up companies within the precinct. This purpose-built facility will accommodate Callaghan Innovation and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise’s business-facing services as well as one of three new information and communications technology graduate schools that have been announced as part of Budget 2014. Innovation precincts work best when they bring together a good mix of larger established companies innovative start-ups research and teaching facilities. Offering a low-rent option for start-up companies in this knowledge-rich environment among other innovative firms will help them grow and expand and provides an ideal mix of small and large firms within the precinct.Jacqui Dean: What role will the new information and communications technology graduate schools play in the precinct?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: As part of the Budget the Government is establishing three new information and communications technology graduate schools and one of them will be in Christchurch in the precinct. The new schools will be provided with funding for education research and collaborative initiatives to attract top students and academics and connect them closely with high-value high-tech firms accelerating the growth of New Zealand’s information and communications technology talent. We expect to see a combination of final-year undergraduate and postgraduate programmes at the schools plus an innovative use of internships and research to help improve the connections between providers and businesses and ensure a smooth transition of students into work. It is vitally important that New Zealand lifts significantly the number of people with high-level information and communications technology skills and knowledge so that they can help drive the innovation we are seeing in this rapidly expanding sector.