It was a privilege to host Hon. Andrew Bayly, New Zealand’s Federal Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing, and Minister of Statistics, alongside Will McKenzie, Political Advisor, and Paul Stocks, Departmental Secretary, Building Systems and Performance, MBIE, at Automated Manufacture of Advanced Composites (AMAC) during their visit to UNSW on March 27, 2024.

Accompanied by esteemed industry leaders including Ms. Troy Coyle, HERA CEO, Dr. Mikhail Karpenko, HERA GM, Craig Stevenson, Chair and Director of Building Structures, Aurecon, Dave Anderson, Technical Director, John Jones Steel, David Moore, MD, Grayson Engineering, Wayne Carson, MD, D&H Steel, Matthew Cross, MD, TE Group, and Gareth Evans, MD, Farra Engineering.

UNSW Provost Scientia Professor Vlado Perkovic extended a warm welcome to the delegation. During this enlightening visit, we engaged in productive discussions centred around collaborative opportunities, joint innovation, and the prospects of our industries. It provided a priceless occasion to exchange ideas and explore avenues for advancement together. Dr. Abby Bloom and Dr. Steve Gower welcomed the delegation to ACM CRC, while Prof. Gangadhara Prusty guided the team on a tour of the Automated Manufacture of Advanced Composites (AMAC) laboratory, where we delved into composites manufacturing, testing, and techniques for structural health monitoring. We are also thankful to Prof. Julien Epps, Dean at UNSW Engineering, and UNSW MechEng Head of the School, Prof. Chun H Wang, for joining the delegation.