YKIA National Conference 2027: Tickets Are On Sale
Drafted with AI assistance.
Key takeaways
- The YKIA National Conference 2027 is on Friday 12 February 2027 at Novotel Auckland Airport, 8:30am to 5pm, with drinks after.
- It is built for students, young professionals and the people hiring them.
- Early-bird tickets start at $79 for students and run until 15 December 2026.
- The day has keynotes, talks, two panels, a young builders showcase and an hour of speed networking.
Tickets are on sale for the YKIA National Conference 2027, New Zealand’s first national conference for young Kiwis in AI.
It runs on Friday 12 February 2027 at Novotel Auckland Airport, 8:30am to 5pm, with networking drinks after. It is a full day built to put the country’s most AI-engaged students, grads and early-career builders in one room with the people hiring, building and leading in AI.
Why we are doing this
Since January we have run meetups in Christchurch, Auckland, Hamilton, Dunedin and Palmerston North, with Wellington this Friday. Every one has had the same pattern: people building real things with AI, mostly on their own, finding out for the first time that there are others doing the same.
The conference is that at national scale, with the businesses who want to hire them in the room too.
Who it is for
Students at uni, polytech or school who are curious about AI or already building with it. Young professionals in their first few years of work who want to use AI better or move into an AI role. And industry: hiring managers, founders and teams who want to meet the next wave of AI talent.
No experience needed. If you are interested in AI and want to meet people who are too, this is for you.
What happens on the day
The full timings are on the programme. The headlines:
Opening and closing keynotes, with speakers still to be announced.
Breaking in without the perfect path, with Hanna Siebdrat, who moved from Germany to New Zealand in March 2025 barely knowing anyone and now runs her own AI operations advisory, Nayamind.
A hiring panel on what businesses actually want now, with Dan Fowlie, co-founder and CEO of Airclerk, and two more panellists. Then my talk on personal brand in the age of AI.
The young builders showcase: five young Kiwis demo real AI builds, five minutes each, starting with Ollie Cashmore from WeTalk.ai. Got something cool to show? Email blake@harknessai.nz.
After lunch, Contented on building an AI company that lasts, and Donncha Hand from Blue Horizon AI on how they built an AI agency from 0 to 6 figures revenue. Then an hour of speed networking, in zones by what you are after: building something, getting hired, using AI at work, or research.
To finish, a panel on AI inside large New Zealand businesses with Brodie Dye (AI Integration Engineer, ZURU), Georgia Singleton (AI Engineer, Trade Me) and one more, a talk on ethics and responsible AI, and the closing keynote. Networking drinks from 5pm.
Angus Quigley is MC for the day. Lunch, morning tea and afternoon tea are included.
Tickets
Early-bird prices run until 15 December 2026. All prices are NZD and include GST, with no added booking fee.
Student (currently studying): $79 early-bird, $99 standard. Young Professional (under 6 years of work experience): $149 early-bird, $179 standard. Industry (6+ years of work experience): $249.
Group bookings of up to 10 go through in one checkout.
Getting there
The venue is a few minutes’ walk from the international terminal, so flying in for the day works. Driving, it is about 25 to 40 minutes from the CBD, and ticket holders get a discount code for airport parking in their ticket email.
Thank you to our partners
The day is backed by SoftSource vBridge (Talent Partner), Airclerk (Supporting Partner, and bringing the coffee cart), N16 Consulting (Supporting Partner), Contented (Event Partner, recording the sessions) and Harkness AI (Organising Partner).
If your company wants to be in the room, the sponsorship tiers are published. See you in February.
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