The Impact Series with Tim Gander

Loneliness is on the rise around the world, impacting the GenZ population the most (18-24yrs old now). It's no coincidence that this generation are also digital natives and live their lives online. Social media for all its promises of social connection is in fact exacerbating this epidemic of loneliness. Its unhealthy algorithms offer quick hits of dopamine but that's reducing opportunities for deeper, truly human connections.Our guests today are both graduates of the Master of Technological Futures at Tech Futures Lab. Independently Melissa and Ben used their Master's to look into aspects of mental health in Aotearoa and how technology, namely social media is having negative impacts on wellbeing.Melissa's focus was on the loneliness epidemic our societies are facing, not just here but all around the world. She explored the drivers behind why more people are experiencing loneliness and what some of the strategies or remedies might be to reduce this issue in our communities.Ben took interest in how COVID and the lockdown periods moved the way we connect with one another to the virtual space and how people used social media as a primary form of staying in touch. What he found was Social Media can lead to problems with poor mental health if not managed with a healthy balance. So he developed a framework - the Socially Nourished Pyramid, borrowing from the well known Food Pyramid to propose how we might think about our social media use in the context of a wider, healthier social lifestyle.

If we're going to be living to be 100 years old, what needs to change in the workplace and in society and culture to make both those latter years more enjoyable for the person and beneficial for our communities?People today will live longer than ever before. We also have a quarter of the world under 14yrs of age. In the years ahead the workforce will be filled with people at the start and end of the career curve - a truly multigenerational workforce. Instead of creating problems in the workplace and an ultra-competitive job market, could it instead be an opportunity for us to work in different ways? Where mentorship, job sharing and collaboration provides a chance for everyone across the age band to learn from one another?These two women are using their experiences and their research to propose what new opportunities might look like in the future of work and the role of learning to support both continual innovation and wellbeing.Our guests today come from different backgrounds but have a common and perhaps vested interest in the opportunities available to those in the later stages of their careers. Emma Watson is a graduate of the Human Potential for the Digital Economy postgraduate certificate at Tech Futures Lab, and Judy Christie is the Communities Manager for The Mind Lab and Tech Futures Lab. Emma has worked in the commercial business sector for much of her career, with a large part in the information technology space in a range of strategy, operations and finance leadership roles.For some time, Emma has had an interest in age diversity in the workplace - both young and old. She saw the Human Potential for the Digital Economy programme as a chance to explore how we can ‘learn and earn for the hundred year life', and nurture age diversity as an opportunity for both innovation and wellbeing in society.Judy, sometimes known affectionately as ‘Aunt Judy', has spent a large part of her career in the education sector, but sees her role more about people and fostering potential in them. Judy is all for diversity, of all types, but has experienced first hand what it's like to be shut out because of her age. Now as our Communities Manager, Judy spends a most of her time connecting with our learners and alumni who have inspired her to continue her own learning journey. A graduate of the Digital Skills for the Workplace micro-credential, Judy is now seriously considering taking on the Master of Technological Futures.

The agritech sector in Aotearoa New Zealand is ripe with opportunities for innovation. But jumping to solutions without working through the real problems, with a wider group of stakeholders, could mean we stay in the box as a commodities-producing market….In this episode of The Impact Series, Tim chats with Master of Technological Futures graduates Andrew Willougby and Damon Stewart, who both started with a firm focus on solutions for the agricultural sector but ended with a broader view that the ingredients to creating successful solutions come from holistic thinking and a deep understanding of the problem.

Kia ora and welcome to the impact series.  This episode delves into the collective interest and points of view on the topics of Big Data, Ethics, Ai and Health.Reza Jarral is currently a GP in central Auckland and the clinical director of the virtual GP platform, CareHQ. He is an Edmund Hillary Fellow, Winner of the Princess Diana Memorial Award and the Acumen Generosity Award. A member of the World Health Organisation ‘AI for Health' Focus Group and also works with the Impact Collective on innovation.Craig Hilton Craig has a PhD (1995) in genetics and biochemistry from the University of Otago and was a research fellow with the Malagan Institute of Medical Research, Craig worked at Harvard Medical School and the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He returned to New Zealand in 2003 and obtained a Master of Fine Arts from the Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland. Currently, he is National Academic Director at The Mind Lab and Tech Futures Lab in Auckland.

Series 2 Episode 1: Creating Positive Experiences on Social Media.In this first episode of The Impact Series 2, Tim talks about all things social media and its darker side. Social media may give you a direct line out into the world, but it is also a direct line into you, with no filter, no protection, and no holds barred, and it can attract some nasty commentary. That kind of toxicity is unhealthy, but without any way to protect yourself from it, your only option is to leave. So while it would be better if we all behaved ourselves, and treated each other with respect, technologies like AI and machine learning are being used as commentary overseers, stepping in to drown out the negative, with positive, reinforcing messages. Our host Tim Gander caught up with two incredible Whāhine, who have taken it upon themselves to fight online toxicity. Jacqueline Comer and Rebecca Lee, Master of Technological Futures graduates speak about what drew them to collaborate and develop Fair Play Bot, a solution now offered by tech start-up, Areto Labs as a culture-changing cure to help combat hateful commentary directed at athletes on social media.#racialequity #sportstech #socialmedia #onlinehate

There's usually someone we can think of in our lives who is able to stretch more out of everything - every hour, every day, every idea, they just know how to balance and juggle a ton of things while seemingly sailing through it all making big waves as they go.Michael Khuwatteanasenee is one of those people - a go-getting entrepreneur who seems to have been born with an innate ability to spot opportunities and spring into action at the right time. Although he admits he's used any opportunity to refine his techniques, Sacha spoke with Michael and found that his drive and spirit to keep learning, discovering and testing things out has led to a long list of ventures, one of which could well shake-up the packaging industry for good. Want to learn more?More about Michael: Read his bio and connect on LinkedInProduction credits: Interview by Sacha McNeil, supporting content and project management by Anna Reid, Kate Bruce and Rhian Bedford-Palmer from Tech Futures Lab.  Vision and sound by Braam Compton and Bernadette Weitsz from Compton Creative, and graphic visuals by Megan Ying.

Sometimes there's things that happen in your life that make such an impression, you're driven to do something about it. That's what happened to Josh Hobbs who took inspiration from a tragic event and funnelled that experience into creating a solution to help keep New Zealanders safer. And in doing so, he's created a whole new job for himself. Sacha caught up with Josh over a Zoom call to learn more about his journey from technology enthusiast to technology innovator.Want to learn more?More about Josh: Read his bio and connect on LinkedIn.Blog article: The robots are coming... but could it make work more fulfilling?Production credits: Interview by Sacha McNeil, supporting content and project management by Anna Reid, Kate Bruce and Rhian Bedford-Palmer from Tech Futures Lab.  Vision and sound by Braam Compton and Bernadette Weitsz from Compton Creative, and graphic visuals by Megan Ying.

When you team an innate entrepreneurial flair with a massive existential challenge, expect phenomenal game changing results. Louise Nash is someone who's landed in exactly the right place at the right time - but it is by no coincidence. Her collaborative nature, clear foresight and strong determination has led her to develop a circular transformation agency that's hell bent on supporting businesses to radically redesign themselves for a resilient and regenerative future. Sacha caught up with Louise to learn more about what drove her to change the course of her very successful strategic communications career to one that's focused on positive social and environmental impact, for all.Want to learn more?More about Louise: Read her bio and connect on LinkedIn. Blog article: What goes around, is better for all.Production credits: Interview by Sacha McNeil, supporting content and project management by Anna Reid, Kate Bruce and Rhian Bedford-Palmer from Tech Futures Lab.  Vision and sound by Braam Compton and Bernadette Weitsz from Compton Creative, and graphic visuals by Megan Ying.

Making every dollar count for good isn't what you'd expect from a corporate banker but Guillaume Dehan is out to prove that it's not just possible but incredibly satisfying to do just that.Sacha spoke with Guillaume about his past life in investment management and his new one as the founder of Fund a Future, helping kiwis to reclaim or re-gift the unseen tax rebates eligible on donations. Click here to watch this interview on our YouTube channelWant to learn more?More about Guillaume: Read his bio and connect on LinkedIn. Blog article: How to amplify your impact so everyone feels good. 

Aotearoa and the world is beginning to awaken to the realisation that Māori values and beliefs, so long squashed under colonial societal structures, can offer a more collective, diverse and truly resilient, sustainable approach as we run head on into the digital age.Sacha talked with Sara to find out why she believes it's so important to have diversity in the digital world, what informs her worldview of justice and dignity for all, and her idea of how and why we can use a New Zealand historical document as a framework for our future.Production credits:  Interview by Sacha McNeil, supporting content and project management by Anna Reid, Kate Bruce and Rhian Bedford-Palmer from Tech Futures Lab.  Vision and sound by Braam Compton and Bernadette Weitsz from Compton Creative, and graphic visuals by Megan Ying.Want to learn more?More about Sara: Read her bio and connect on LinkedIn. Blog article: Te Tiriti o Waitangi - a values framework for our digital future?