They are seeking to align someone wanting to enter a degree programme with a path towards a greater purpose or career passion ( my fav = “what’s it going to take to grow NZ?”). Alternatives in the past have focused more on promoting specific jobs.

Whether this resonates with incoming uni students is another thing though

____________________________

Graeme @ graemefielder.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCblncsE8wQ

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Graeme @ graemefielder.com

Action notes: I’ve always been searching for an app to take meeting notes. To date I have relied on Evernote (discussed later) for this purpose. However I have come across (c/o Claire McGowan) an app called Action Notes. This sleek app acts like a dated notebook. It enables you to take meeting notes in a listed form which you can highlight. It has tabs which I use for different types of meetings. Each tab has a summary page of all your notes (i.e. each meeting). The selling feature is the fact that you can select which points in your notes are action points. These are automatically compiled and can be view from a dashboard across all meeting types. Notes can also be emailed out to attendees with the same sleek formatting.

For subsequent versions hopefully they will release additional features such as allowing you to allocate people and deadlines to specific action points.

Evernote & Web Clipper: Evernote is your go to note repository.  Previously I had used it for meeting notes. Now I use it for writing ‘to do’ lists, storage of mind maps, blog post drafts and ideas and generally just writing notes about ideas or readings. However more and more I am using it to collect titbits off the web using the web clipper add on in Chrome. This is a great alternative to bookmarking everything you come across.

Evernote also allows you to email notes directly to it using a custom email address that can be tagged for a specific note book. This means you can even send your ActionNotes meeting notes to it.

Dropbox:  This is a well known cloud tool for storing your data. I currently store all info I might need when I am mobile and a back up for key documents. I now also us it as a way to transfer files, PDF particularly, on to my iPad to read and annotate. 

The good thing with dropbox is that many apps now integrate very nicely with it e.g. goodreader (below). This makes it easy to keep everything easily accessible and synced.

Apparently it is also a great tool for document sharing within a team of individuals however I have yet to try this out.

Pen Ultimate: Tool for making drawings on your tablet by hand or stylus. This app is more accurate and responsive than I thought it would be. After making a drawing I email it to the relevant people in addition to storing it in my Evernote notebook. Recommend getting a stylus if you intend to use this app a lot.

Good Reader: This is one of the best PDF annotators out there and is rated one of the top iPad apps. It integrates nicely with dropbox, google docs, mobileme, mail servers, box.net and more.

I have yet to try all the features out, but you do seem to be spoilt for choice.

A simple but nice feature is that when annotating a PDF you can choose to create a separate annotated version while keeping the original untouched.

Furthermore, there is a file sync function. I have this currently set up for a few files in my dropbox so that when I make more and more annotations to a document these are updated on the dropbox version as well.

You can also open PDFs you come across in your browser in Goodreader like you would do for iBooks.

Only problem I’ve encountered so far is that it wont let you import PDFs from iBooks which is where I currently store them. Moving to a Dropbox storage, which can sync with goodreader, or solely using goodreader as my sole PDF storage facility would negate this.

iBooks

The inbuilt app for turning your iPad into a library and book reader. However I use this for reading PDFs and other documents (that don’t need annotating) mainly because I just started opening them in iBooks from Safari. While this works it just doesn’t feel right probably because it doesn’t offer the integration into other apps e.g. drop box from iBooks. It also has a simple file collection system.

It is good however because you can access these PDFs offline unlike dropbox.

This is where goodreader may end up taking over this role as it too allows offline access to documents.

Custom Icons for key websites

Not an app but definitely makes life easier. When you go to add a bookmark next time, if it is a regularly visited website consider just ‘Add it to Home Screen’ instead. This creates an icon which will automatically launch a Safari window for that webpage. I have used for TradeMe (I don’t want to use the actual App) and a directory page for my work.

Word Processing App

I am still trying to decide on a word processing App, either Documents to go or Quickoffice. Quickoffice is the newer entrant and has greater usability (UI is great) and links up with google docs, dropbox and Evernote seamlessly ( also enabled sharing on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Yammer). The only main downside is that it can’t create pptx files, cant insert pictures (I believe) and is more expensive. Documents to go on the other hand has got all the feelings of a slow innovating piece of enterprise software. This is without even using the App (first impressions count these days). However it does seem that it does offer a greater amount of features. To bad you can’t trial them.

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Graeme @ graemefielder.com

Why?

1. Limited to NZ market. My model is not scalable. Very much geo restricted. Scalable variants are operating in the US and only serve the US. They dominate that market making it hard for incumbents. Even though the business could be made into a scalable weightless model this will be compromised because of the type goods being exchanged on it.
2. It’s not a large market in NZ to make a lot of money.
3. It’s a NZ market. I really want to be hitting the international scene for my own personal experience.
4. I’m a busy person and it hasn’t been a top priority.

The problem is:

1. From a social view point it would have a great positive impact for the NZ research community.
2. Its easy and cheap to set up.
3. I have the connections/ resources to fuel it.
4. Easy business to run.
5. Good experience for my first ‘business’.

Solution:

I am currently in pre-launch!

www.launch.labtrader.co.nz 

So for some more background on the business..

The typical scenario: There is an all to familiar site seeing laboratory equipment being under utilised or wasting away in a room when another researcher down the road will have no idea of its existence and then goes and buys a brand new one.

THE PAIN: buying and owning lab equipment is an expensive task which imposes a financial strain  on researchers. This limits their access to technology and reduces their funds for investment into research activities. This leads to a reduced research output – quality and volume.

So what is LadTrader NZ?

LabTrader NZ Ltd is a New Zealand focused broker for quality and affordable used laboratory equipment and supplies. At our online marketplace www.labtrader.co.nz (when it’s launched) you will be able to find, purchase, lease and sell used laboratory equipment to other NZ based researchers.

While free-flow peer to peer trading can take place in the online marketplace we prefer to act as a broker and reseller. Particularly because these items are of significant value, of a high technical nature, we can offer maintenance packages and rent to own options, and for safety reasons as well.

We strive to help the NZ research community :

1. save money on owning laboratory equipment and extend technical capabilities by providing access to quality and affordable pre-loved equipment,
2. provide a channel for researchers or lab managers to on-sell unused laboratory equipment through. This enables them to recover value from unused and depreciating equipment before its too late,
3. supporting NZ research through grants and scholarships.

So……..Got any lab items you want to sell?

Come on I know there’s something.

Send me an email graeme@labtrader.co.nz

Currently it’s just me running the little beast but would love to bring in some more hands. Particularly people with design, IT, marketing and sales. I’d actually prefer current grad students including a sales rep at Waikato and Otago universities. Know someone? Let me know!

I’ve got a few items in the inventory ready to sell. But I’ll be putting together my first lot of inventory for launch in early Feb 2011.  Until then I will deploy some marketing to attract some inventory and potential buyers.

Sign up at our prelaunch site www.launch.labtrader.co.nz to receive our announcements.

Graeme @ graemefielder.com

Machines are getting smarter, sensitivities and specificities are increasing, efficiencies are being improved, tasks are becoming unified, less labour intensive and being designed to suit our time demanding and digital lives.

It won’t be to far off when a scientist becomes a desk job (some would argue it’s pretty much there given the amount of time that is dedicated to grant writing these days). They will be able to perform all their experiments using robotics and integrated machinery from the comfort of their own office desktop PC.

A couple examples I wanted to share that illustrate this innovation are:

1: Invitrogen iBlot and BenchPro

These two items are targeted at reducing the time and effort it takes to undertake a Western Blot. The iBlot is able to transfer proteins from a separating electrophoresis gel on to a membrane for blotting purposes. This takes 7 MINUTES!!. An average transfer for me takes 1 HOUR!. The BenchPro addresses the next step in the Western Blot, the application of antibodies, blocking solutions and washes. This can be a lengthy process, one which you tirelessly wait around waiting for probing to occur so you can wash it and then do it all over again. This machine automates this > 2hour process.

Next incremental innovation? Combined iBlot and BenchPro into 1 unit.

2 Biomerieux. These guys are in the business of full microbiological lab automation. One particular innovation I have come across is their PREVI™ Isola. This is a large scale automated agar plate streaking machine.

3: Remote Desktop.  While this one is not specifically for the science research industry it does have a very interesting application for it. It allows a scientist to leave the lab with an experiment running say a chromatography experiment, real time PCR, spectroscopy experiment or in fact any machine that is connected to an intranet connected PC. The scientist can then dial into the PC to access data, change parameters, fix the machine or just turn it off after the run. You can even do it on your smart phone these days!

4: Microfluidics. This technology utilises micro scale pumps, tubes, valves or sensors like flowmeters and viscometers capable of  handling and analysing  extremely small fluid volumes. Together these form a ‘Lab on a Chip’ capable of performing a micro scale experiment. It converts a labour intensive multi step experiment into an automated one that uses minimal sample (hence they are referred to as Total Analysis Systems sometimes).

Some examples include:

(a) The ‘Lung on a Chip’ device ‘reconstitutes the critical functional alveolar-capillary interface of the human lung’. This is used to test the effects of environmental toxins, absorption of aerosolized therapeutics, and the safety and efficacy of new drugs.  [REF]

(b) PCR on a Chip [REF]

Some chips are now commercial and are matched with reader machines [REF].

5: Robotic Liquid Handling Systems

Basic lab robotics have been around for ages. But each year they get more advanced and user friendly. The most common sort are the liquid handling systems. But companies are also producing task specific robots e.g. for running entire DNA extractions or ELISAs. We also aren’t that far off seeing these systems being unified e.g. liquid handling and PCR run, within the same robotic process.

graeme@graemefielder.com

I’ve also come to know how universities work, their role in your education and how you should be managing your time there to get the best out of it. So I’ve decided to put together some pointers/insight for new under grads (1st and 2nd years) that will hopefully be of some use.

• 1st year is chaos. You’ll be totally fixated on study (or socialising). You’ll be living from one exam/ test/ assignment to the next.  This is fine and normal, don’t worry just get through it.
• Push your work limits of what you think you can manage. Find a new threshold.
• Find out how you learn best as quickly as possible. Refine it and use it.
• Focus on discovering a passion and building a knowledge base around it. If you really want to be someone who makes a difference while loving what you do don’t be a person who takes paper A for the purpose of getting job A.
• If you insist on fantasying on a job. Investigate that job  first. Chances are you are idolising the wrong one for you. What do you really want to be doing?
• Change will happen, brace yourself for it. You will change you’re mind about what you want to learn. Change for a logical reason. Is your judgement sound?
• The undergraduate degree is not worth much these days. Consider your first three years as compulsory, like high school. Its sole use is to build your foundation of knowledge. Use postgraduate studies to differentiate yourself by specialising.
• For some of you academic study is only part of your total university experience. Engage in the rest of what the university has to offer e.g. clubs and societies. This will mould you into the person you want to be. The experience you gain will be just as valuable if not more than your degree.
• Keep an eye on and get involved in your industry. It most likely currently consists of old grey headed guys. In most situations they love seeing fresh blood getting involved. Make contacts. Get people noticing you.
• Socialise with people at university. Take up opportunities to meet other people. In 10-20 years time those are the people that will be doing cool things in cool places. 
• Create something! Start making an impact on something or someone/ people.

graeme@graemefielder.com

As our lives get increasingly complex and fast paced we find ourselves adopting a result driven work ethic to perform at our max productivity.

This is something that I have experienced when pursuing my PhD time and time again. You get totally fixated on pumping out results.

While most of the time this is a good thing, this work ethic can kill off that innovative and creative core that makes ‘cool things happen’.

Because I’m now at the stage of my thesis where it’s forcing me to STOP, READ & THINK on a daily basis, I’ve suddenly realised the benefits I’ve been missing out on by not doing this more often.

Schedule days when you do give yourself time to chill out and read up on the latest news, broaden your knowledge base or re-interpret/evaluate your outputs (e.g. data, results, reports). It is then neurons will start firing. Ideas will connect with one another. Revelations will appear. Concepts will evolve and hypotheses will be born.

The result?

Discoveries & innovation! 

Graeme @ graemefielder.com

An article I wrote advocating the need for high(er) speed broadband in this country, because of its ability to fuel business growth, was published online today on the Unlimited website.

Check it out @

http://unlimited.co.nz/unlimited.nsf/opinion/bring-on-the-cable-guys

Graeme @ graemefielder.com

During my time with Spark I’ve always tried to search for female entrepreneurs to profile or get involve in the programme (to act as inspiration for our female participants). The problem is I always found myself stretched trying to think of who I could get simply because they are 1: there aren’t as many prominent female entrepreneurs compared to male entrepreneurs and/or 2: they are not profiled else where enough. Just looking through E&Y’s Entrepreneur of the Year awards NZ hall of fame – 1 out of 13 winners was a woman.

Here are some that I could think of at the time:

• Melissa Clark Reynolds from MiniMonos
• Katherine Corich from SYSDOC
• Wildfire’s Victoria Ransom
• Trilogy’s Sarah Gibbs and Catherine de Groot
• Annah Stretton
• Trelise Cooper
• Linda Jenkinson of LesConcierges Inc
• Diane Foreman of Emerald Group.

Once again this is not just a NZ phenomenon. Its global and is a topic of much discussion of late (e.g.http://techcrunch.com/2010/08/28/women-in-tech-stop-blaming-me/).  Down the bottom I have a few articles i have come across which talk on the topic that you can refer too. But I’ve tried to distil some of the key points below as well.

Females in start-ups

• there are more women getting degrees and more women in the workforce but the tech industry is dominated by men in the US.
• 40% of US private businesses are owned by women. 35% of startups. 25% of US companies, 8 percent of the venture-backed tech start-ups
• Women running venture backed businesses use 40% less capital and  make 12% more revenue than men. However there does appear to be data that contradicts this (e.g. http://www.inc.com/magazine/19860701/4433.html).
• Number of female owned firms is growing twice as fast as all the rest
• Share 35.3% of total entrepreneurial activity in US
• Women fail less often
• Gender diversity improves long-term returns.

Reasons why they aren’t starting up

• old boy networks – most VCs are men
• different motives and different goals come different ways of managing a business between sexes
• “A lot of women suffer from a vision that’s too small”
• “The problem isn’t that Silicon Valley is keeping women down, or not doing enough to encourage female entrepreneurs. The opposite is true. No, the problem is that not enough women want to become entrepreneurs.”
• what do women venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, and founders think is the reason why there are so few women starting high tech companies? women don’t ask for money, women undersell themselves, Men dream big and propose businesses in the largest markets; women think much smaller, men push to get much more for free, would-be founders catch the entrepreneurial bug at about the same age women think about starting a family, lack of respect from men in senior positions, motherhood,
• The study shows that women’s obstacles to innovative entrepreneurship are of 3 types: a) Contextual obstacles: educational choices, traditional views and stereotypes about women, science and innovation. b) Economic obstacles: innovation sector requiring substantial investment and women being seen less credible financially than men c) Soft obstacles: lack of access to technical scientific and general business networks, lack of business training, role models and entrepreneurship skills (REF).
• a macho fratty environment that is the start-up image

How can we get more? 

• get more women speakers at conferences, women centric networking events, reform how we teach tech at schools.
• invite more women to join advisory boards of high tech companies, provide education and networks for high-growth women entrepreneurs.  e.g.http://techcrunch.com/2010/08/05/women-labs-entrepreneurship-founder/, http://www.women2.org/women2-startup-weekend-2011-san-francisco-announcement/
• increase visibility of women entrepreneurs/ inventors to younger generations.
• get them to learn more about start-ups.
• change the image of start-ups to one that appeals to females.

LINKS & REFS

• http://techcrunch.com/2010/08/28/women-in-tech-stop-blaming-me/
• http://www.businessinsider.com/the-advice-for-any-woman-who-wants-to-found-a-startup-2011-1
• http://www.marsdd.com/2011/09/30/infographic-fridays-hail-to-the-female-untapped-tech-talent
• http://blog.startupprofessionals.com/2011/06/men-and-women-start-businesses-with.html
• http://bostinnovation.com/2011/04/19/more-women-in-tech-meet-the-northeastern-cisters/
• http://techcrunch.com/2011/02/20/women-and-tech-focus-on-female-consumers-and-the-founders-will-follow/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
• http://www.foundersatwork.com/1/post/2011/01/what-stops-female-founders.html
• http://www.nytimes.com/external/venturebeat/2011/10/01/01venturebeat-why-more-women-arent-working-in-tech-hint-it-23148.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
• http://shar.es/bmi9u
• http://www.startuplessonslearned.com/2010/02/why-diversity-matter-meritocracy.html
• http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/small-business/4703363/The-difference-between-male-and-female-entrepreneurs
• http://wisepreneur.com/entrepreneurship/why-do-women-entrepreneurs-think-they-are-underrepresented-in-start-ups

Graeme @ graemefielder.com