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News and Events

2026 Professional Development Award – nominations open

The EEA Professional Development Award supports the attendance of an EEA member or staff member of a corporate member at an overseas course, conference or other professional development opportunity.

Awards are presented at the annual EEA Conference and Technology Exhibition. The winner will receive $5,000 toward travel and accommodation expenses.

2026 Entries close Friday, 31 July 2026. The entry form can be found further down this page.

2025 Winner – Andrew Foote,  Network Controller, Powerco

Andrew has progressed throughout his career in electricity, starting as an electrical apprentice, moving to be a line mechanic and now in his current role as Network Controller.

Andrew’s proposal is to attend the IET International Conference on Advances in Power System Control, Operation and Management in Hong Kong in November this year. This Conference is a leading international event focused on the latest developments in power systems, including grid operations, control systems, renewable integration, and emerging technologies.

This is a fantastic opportunity to for someone like Andrew to gain insights and bring them back for the benefit of not just Powerco but the wider industry.

Judging Criteria

  • The personal relevance of the course, conference or other development opportunity to the entrant’s professional development needs.
  • The strategic relevance of the course, conference or other development opportunity to the needs of the New Zealand electricity supply industry.
  • The character, leadership potential, social skills and academic achievements of the entrant.

Judging Panel

The judging panel will comprise of the EEA President, EEA Vice President and EEA Past President. Each member of the judging panel undertakes to observe the confidentiality of entries and to declare or avoid any possible conflict of interest.

Entry Requirements

All entries must comprise of the following material:

  1. A completed official entry form, signed by the entrant and their employer if not submitted online (in the event that the entrant is self-employed, the entry can be self-nominated).
  2. Electronic PDF submission to admin@eea.co.nz, or online application using link below.
  3. The title, dates and location of the course, conference or other development opportunity for which the Award is sought.
  4. A proposal of no more than 400 words outlining the reasons why attendance at the course, conference or other development opportunity nominated in (3) above is important for the entrant and how the event will add value to their professional development and the New Zealand electricity industry.
  5. A brief CV (of no more than three pages) outlining the entrant’s business and personal background, including academic achievements and relevant experience in the electricity industry and community.
  6. If employed, whether the entrant’s employer would make any contribution towards the entrant’s expenses, and details of such support.
  7. A proposed budget outlining total costs e.g. travel, accommodation and meals for attending the development opportunity.
  8. A high quality colour photograph of the entrant in jpg format, which can be used for publicity and promotional purposes.
  9. Any other relevant information.

How to Enter

Please use the form below or email your entry to admin@eea.co.nz

Professional Development Award Winners’ Reports

As part of the Professional Development Award criteria, recipients are requested to submit a report to the EEA, which includes a brief outline of the PD event programme, a summary of related activities undertaken whilst attending the event, and an explanation of issues that may impact upon the New Zealand electricity supply industry.

Within six months of returning to New Zealand, recipients are requested to provide a short report outlining evidence of practical application of the knowledge acquired.

Please note that the content and/or views provided in these reports are those of the authors and not necessarily the views of the EEA. These reports are available for download below.

Previous Winners and Reports

2019 Brian Campbell, Connetics Ltd: Power Forward 2020 IEEE PES T&D Conference and Exposition, Chicago & Illinois, USA:
2018  Graeme Johnson, Electrix Ltd: National Electricity Contractors Association Conference (NECA), Philadelphia, USA

2018 Prof Dev Award Report Graeme Johnson
2016  Goran Stojadinovic, Northpower: 2017 Ninth Annual IEEE Green Technologies Conference (GreenTech), Denver, Colorado, USA

2016 Prof Dev Award Report  Goran Stojadinovic
2015 Dr. Thahirah Jalal, Unison Networks: IEC General Meeting and Technical Visits, Belarus
2014  Rob Orange, Mitton Electronet: Down to Earth Conference, Perth, Australia
2013 Amitoj Singh, Genesis Energy: Doble – Life of a Transformer Seminar, USA (2015)
2012 Michael Whaley, Powerco Ltd: CIGRE Session 44, Paris, France and Johan Hendriks, PSC New Zealand: 2013 Life of a Transformer Seminar
2010  Suman Poudel, Electricity Ashburton: 2010 Western Protective Relay Conference, Washington, USA
2008 Huazhuo Lin, WEL Networks: 3rd World Congress on Engineering Management and Intelligent Maintenance, Beijing, China
2007 Harvey O’Sullivan, Harvey O’Sullivan Consulting: Edison Electric Institute Occupational Safety & Health Conference 2007, California, USA; Andrew Ward, Transpower NZ: IEEE Power Engineering Society Conference 2007, Florida, USA, and Raymond Brown, Meridian Energy: European Wind Energy Conference 2008, Brussels, Belgium

 

Application form: Professional Development Award

Please use this form to submit your entry for the Professional Development Award

Entry details

Note here if it's a conference, course or something else

Proposal

Maximum of 400 words

Entrant details

Employer details

Agreement

I /We declare that I have read and accept the terms and conditions of entry for this Award
The entrant accepts and agrees to the following terms and conditions: The entrant must be an Individual Member or a staff member of a Corporate Member of the EEA. The Award is valid for one calendar year from the date on which the Award is presented. The entrant shall obtain the permission of all relevant parties to proceed with the entry. All entries and supporting documentation must be received at the EEA by the deadline indicated. The award shall only be used as a contribution towards travel, accommodation or course costs to attend an overseas course, conference or other development opportunity. The entrant shall be responsible for all other costs, including travel and medical insurances. The assessment results of the award will not create any legal obligations between the entrant and the EEA. Should the entrant be announced as a finalist, the entrant must meet the costs of attending any formal presentation ceremony. Within two months of returning to New Zealand, the entrant shall submit a full written report to the EEA, which includes, but is not limited to: A brief outline of the course, conference or other development opportunity programme. A summary of related activities undertaken whilst attending the course, conference or other development opportunity. An explanation of issues arising from the course, conference or other development opportunity that may impact upon the New Zealand electricity supply industry. The report will be made available to all EEA members and the entrant will be expected to make a presentation of their report at nominated EEA events. Within six months of returning to New Zealand, the entrant shall provide to the EEA a short report (approximately 1,000 words) outlining evidence of practical application of the knowledge acquired. Any report, commentary, article, editorial or publication authored by the entrant arising directly from the award shall contain an acknowledgment of the award. The EEA reserves the right to publish any aspect of the award, including its presentation. The entrant gives permission to use any of the material provided for publicity and promotional purposes. Unless specifically arranged, submissions and supporting material will not be returned to the entrant. The award may be terminated by the judges on receipt of an adverse report on the entrant during the term of the award. The entrant accepts that the judges' decision is final and that no correspondence will be entered into. Judges reserve the right not to make an award where, in the judges' opinion, no entry of adequate standard has been received. The judges undertake to observe the confidentiality of entries and to declare or avoid any possible conflict of interest.
I/We declare that all the information provided is factually accurate and complete
I/We have included my CV, photo and proposed budget
Max. file size: 256 MB.
Max. file size: 256 MB.