An associate professor in EIT’s School of Business, Jonathan Sibley was recently appointed the new Director of Research and Innovation@EIT. 

The Research and Innovation Centre was established on the Hawke’s Bay campus in 2016 and research and innovation continue to develop at EIT, growing and building stronger links with community as well as extending the institute’s influence nationally and, in some areas, internationally.

After a career that took him to Australia, the UK and the Middle East, Sibley settled back in Hawke’s Bay, joining EIT’s School of Business where he is research mentor and programme coordinator for postgraduate programmes.

Based at the centre two days a week, he will continue to manage these roles within the business school. 

Sibley has a strong commitment to research, particularly research which facilitates innovative solutions to community development.

His previous work with the United Nations Development Programme, Capital Development Fund and the World Bank reflect his underpinning philosophy that research must contribute to people being better able to lead the lives they want to live and contribute to the development of communities.

His current applied research work comprises several related strands which have implications for Hawke’s Bay and EIT, in particular. 

He is involved in projects working alongside groups and organisations that include Ngāti Kahungunu, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, the Ministry of Social Development, Matariki Economic Development Strategy, Business Hawke’s Bay, the Hastings District Council and Napier City Council, local businesses and Hawke’s Bay secondary schools.

He is currently working with a team of researchers at the School of Business to identify the growth of businesses in Hawke’s Bay.  As part of that, the team’s study is looking at the patterns of demand for skills amongst businesses in the region.

“For many businesses, finding skilled labour is challenging,” Sibley says.  “That, in turn, affects prosperity and growth, particularly in an environment in which the skills required for many jobs are changing rapidly.

“What skills are the next generation going to need?” he asks.  “How can EIT facilitate the learning needed for those industries?”

Sibley takes on his new role at the Centre for Research and Innovation from Professor Bob Marshall, who retired in July after 16 years at EIT. 

Originally from Canada, Marshall taught at the University of Otago and the University of Western Australia, and he was Associate Professor and Foundation Head with the Department of Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Auckland before being appointed EIT’s first research professor in 2002.

Marshall became the institute’s first research director in 2011.