Auckland Foundation Sponsors
Synapse is Chiasma Wellington’s premier networking event, with the opportunity for students to network and find out about the science industry. With networking over free drinks, a panel discussion with local industry leaders, and free pizza, it’s a perfect opportunity to grow your skills and make connections with potential employers.
Chiasma Wellington is the capital branch of a national student-led non-profit organisation that fosters connections between university students and the science and technology industries in New Zealand. As the capital branch of Chiasma we cultivate strong relationships with Science Ministries and the many Crown Research Institutes in the greater Wellington region. We nurture science innovation, entrepreneurship and inter-disciplinary networking by hosting networking events and workshops throughout the year.
Book now on https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wellington-synapse-2020-tickets-115314360356
Live streaming begins at 5:30 PM, 15th September! Check out the link here: https://www.facebook.com/chiasmawellington/posts/3341702949224456
Update:
Due to the national alert of COVID-19 and the uncertainties, the Wellington Synapse event is postponed to 15th of September (assuming we will move to Level one before that). We apologize for the inconvenience.
Join us for our flagship event to hear inspiring guest speakers and network with a diverse range of companies from various areas of the STEM industry, you may even meet your next employer!
Catering and drinks will be provided and entry is free for all!
Update 12th August:
With a heavy heart, the Chiasma Auckland team has decided to cancel our Synapse event due to the re-introduction of Level Three lockdown restrictions. Chiasma strongly believes that discouraging large social gatherings is one of the most effective methods of keeping New Zealand safe and healthy. This decision is in line with the latest advice given by the government and by lead researchers in the field.
Despite this unexpected interruption to our scheduled events, plans are already underway to provide new digital ways for our student members to hear our amazing speakers present. We are also preparing other digital methods to still provide our learning opportunities and events that we know you all love.
As a team, we are sending all of our love and support to those who have been affected by COVID-19 and strongly believe that doing our part to stop the chain of transmission is the best way to save lives! We encourage everyone to follow the Ministry of Health guidelines on staying healthy during this time and will be sending more information your way soon!
Kia Kaha,
Lois Gregory – Chiasma Auckland CEO
Accademics-turned-industry (and visa versa) discuss importance of adaptive skills.
Booking TBC.
This year, the theme for Synapse is ‘Our Corner of the Earth – The Future of New Zealand’s Industry’. The focus will be on how we can move forward and protect our industries in the current economic and political landscape, as well as connecting students with New Zealand companies.
We will start with a panel featuring prominent New Zealand scientists and industry members, showcasing diverse career journeys and sharing valuable insights to inspire YOUR future. To finish the night you will have the opportunity to mix and mingle with these panelists over drinks and nibbles, as well as browse the various booths of other STEM companies to see what they have to offer you!
Book now through https://forms.gle/PpZYEPLkrBHgp6c98
Update:
Due to the national alert of COVID-19 and the uncertainties, the Dunedin Synapse event is postponed to a later date. We apologize for the inconvenience. Further announcements will be made when we have more details around holding events.
5 panel speakers from key Otago industries discuss the “how to” of industry jobs.
Booking TBC.
6-8 speakers representing a wide range of minority groups in STEM talk about their journey.
Booking TBC.
Chiasma Chat #3 is run by the Chiasma Systems team, themed around Virtual and Augmented Reality.
Our first speaker Mr. David White works as a software architect/developer and a lecturer at the University of Auckland. With his expertise, David is involved in the development of various information systems used by the University, including CECIL, the University’s former Learning Management System before Canvas. David will be giving an introduction into VR and AR to provide us more insights into these technologies.
Our second speaker Dr. Peter McAtee is a scientist at The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Ltd. With years of research, Peter has advanced understanding and skills in various fields including plant physiology, molecular biology, data analysis and programming. Peter will give a talk about how he makes use of VR/AR technology in his research projects.
A panel discussion will be held after the speaker session, during which you’ll be free to ask questions and share your ideas about VR/AR.
Following the panel discussion, there will be multiple HoloLens and VR headsets for you to hand on and try out by yourself! Free pizza will also be provided.
If you are interested in VR/AR, come and join us on the night!
Chiasma Chats are a series of informal discussions with previous topics ranging from the latest innovative advancements in the technological world, to science communication and stories of unconventional pathways professionals took to their career.
This mid-semester break, we’ve secured an opportunity for a group of students to explore Level Two! This deep tech business incubator hosts a range of start-ups working on everything from genetic modification and organ transplants to drone silencing technology and microbial mining.
Located a 15 minute walk from the Auckland University city campus, this represents a unique chance to get a sneak peek at some incredible technology in development while also networking with a wide range of potential future employers. Many of our alumni are now working there, and students have secured internships with businesses there in the past!
If you find that circumstances change and you can no longer attend, please email Sneha Chatterjee (sneha.chatterjee@chiasma.org.nz) as soon as possible. If you sign up, but fail to attend, we may potentially bar you from participating in future events.
Some times when we are trying to step into a new domain, we feel blind, we feel confused, we feel at sea. People in that world are speaking in a different language, using symbols we have never seen and doing all sorts of stuff that we don’t understand. They do their jobs like walking in their backyard but appears to be amazing acrobatics to us. Some times, there are domains just like secret gardens surrounded by tall fences, we know they are there, but we can only have a short glance at them through small holes and don’t know where can we go into it. But what we don’t usually know is that once we step into the garden, it is not secret anymore. There might be some trees and flowers you have never seen but that’s it, it is nothing more than a fancy version of our own backyards.
Programming is definitely one of these “secret” gardens. You can find a lot of jargons in programming, a lot of symbols, signs, and words combining in strange ways and magically got the works done. But we would like to tell you, don’t be frightened, programming is just like a slightly special language, once you know it, it is just like English and any other language in the world, with practises, you will code as fluently as you are writing an email using your mother language. All you need is a hidden path to go through the “fences”, and you will find out, wow, this is such a beautiful world, and you know you can walk around it and get the best view out of it.
Such a hidden path isn’t that easy to find by oneself, and that’s what we are trying to bring to you through our coding workshop. Python, as a general-purpose programming language, and one that is very close to natural language, are often the first language to use to start learning to programme. It is the third most popular language behind Java and C and is wildly used in web development, scientific programming, artificial intelligence projects, and many other areas. It can both be used in supporting your expertise area and giving you a variety of career options in the future. In this coding workshop, we will combine lecturing, quizzes and games, tutoring, and get on hand creating a simple project, to introduce you to the world of beauty of Python programming! Free food and drinks will be provided in this free workshop, and we welcome everyone to join this event with us.
To give you a quick start point, read through this handout below to get an idea about some jargons and basic operations with Python, and get ready for our workshop!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PEoOD4KE96-_kf4iDoQjQIRxCPxer9G5kGsMgEAymfs/edit?usp=sharing
