Another Spark Festival tradition, this panel brings together creatives who found their feet at Wintec and have gone on to do great things in their respective industries. This is a must for students of all years and creative areas!

Designer Ryan Delaney will be sharing his journey from when he left Wintec to the launch of his own digital commerce business with 55+ staff, offices in Auckland, Melbourne, Singapore and Kiev, and over 30 clients. Ryan will also be touching on what to expect when you’re knees deep in the industry, the thinking process to design for a range of very different brands, and his expectations when hiring an employee.

Journalist Ruby Nyika initially completed a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, but wasn’t convinced it was a career she wanted to pursue. Luckily for us, Ruby has always loved writing and enrolled in the Postgraduate Diploma of Journalism on a whim. Within a few months she nabbed a job at the Waikato Times and will be returning to Wintec to talk about finding stories. There are wonderful stories everywhere and everyone has one – whether you’re at the dentist, the hairdresser, the movies or the dump, there’s always a hidden gem that’s ready to be shared.

Artist Lance Harris, also known by the pseudonym Ero, is returning from his Melbourne home to share about his extraordinary career change from trained hairdresser to well-known mural and street artist. Ero’s legacy is a six-metre by three-metre mural on the back wall of the Powerstore building in Nelson, and he’ll be sharing some insights into the work that goes into producing a large-scale art piece, his inspirations and the urban art scene.

Look out for workshops by both Ryan and Lance and sign up as they’ll fill up fast.