It announced a partnership with California-headquartered tech company Palo Alto Networks yesterday to co-design and deliver education programmes in the resort town, starting with short executive courses in the next 12 months.
Otago vice-chancellor Grant Robertson said it was the first partnership of its kind in the university’s history and part of its vision for engaging more closely with businesses that employed its graduates or provided research opportunities.
"This partnership solidifies our commitment to supporting the Queenstown Lakes region to become an international technology centre."
Getting a new academic course approved took time, but the bigger challenge would be providing accommodation for staff and students, he said.
That could take up to five years.
"We could get a master’s degree course approved for delivery from 2027. The piece we have to fill in is getting accommodation for students and the facilities."
Mr Robertson said the partnership could not have happened without the efforts of tech entrepreneur Roger Sharp, who founded non-profit agency Technology Queenstown early last year with a goal of growing the sector’s contribution to the resort town’s GDP from 1.5% at present to more than 15% within 20 years.
Palo Alto Networks New Zealand managing director Misti Landtroop said it already had partnerships with 3300 high schools, colleges and universities around the world through its cyber-security academy.
However, it was the first time a university had asked it to jointly design an academic programme.
She hoped that was only the first step in the partnership.
"When things start getting going, then potentially we could have internship programmes where we cross-pollinate," Ms Landtroop said.
"We might have students from the University of Otago in Queenstown go to our headquarters in Santa Clara, and then vice versa, have some people come back here.
"I think the sky’s the limit."
Former prime minister Sir John Key, who has been on the Palo Alto Networks board since 2019, said the global cyber threat was "actually terrifying for organisations".
Cyber-crime was "incredibly sophisticated" and only going to get worse —
"We’re really only at the tip of the iceberg and it’s going to get more and more deep."
Public and private sector leaders in New Zealand needed to better understand how to guard against that threat.
Main points
— University of Otago partnership with Palo Alto Networks
— Palo Alto Networks is world’s largest cyber-security company
— Co-designing cyber-security education programme
— Short executive courses in Queenstown within a year
— Aiming to offer a master’s degree in the resort
