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Young alumni

Hamish Janett

24 July 2023

BE(Hons) Mechanical Engineering 2017

COO of Pyper Vision

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Tell us about Pyper Vision and your role as COO?

Pyper Vision is a kiwi company working towards making fog delays a thing of the past for travellers, airlines and airports around the world. Using our intelligent dispersal system, we’re able to create safe visibility in the air around airports so that aircraft can take off and land as scheduled, getting people to where they need to go on time. As COO, I’m fortunate to be working with a great team of people, leading the development of our fog dispersal products and operations, and growing Pyper Vision.

What excites you most about Pyper Vision?

The concept of fog dispersal is so scalable. For right here in Aotearoa we can address a problem that has global implications in a way that is sustainable for our people, our planet and our business. I really enjoy working in an environment with a mix of technical R&D and commercial operations, and I’m fortunate to be working across both sections of the business at Pyper Vision.

Has your career evolved in the way you expected? Tell us about the path that led you to your current role.

My career has evolved quite differently from what I expected while studying at UC. Since high school I typically disliked anything related to electronics, and that stayed with me through my early years at UC. I found it difficult to understand concepts that I couldn’t see or touch. My hesitancy toward electronics quickly changed when I discovered their more practical side through an internship, and later graduate position at Meridian Energy, and through my involvement with the University of Canterbury Motorsport’s first electric race car.

Although I studied a mechanical engineering degree, electric race cars and the electricity industry led me to electric air taxis at U.S. company Wisk Aero, where I started as a Flight Test Engineer at Wisk’s South Island testing centre. Throughout more than four years at Wisk, I had the opportunity to work in a number of other positions, including product management and finally as Market Engagement Manager for the Asia Pacific region, where I led the establishment of Wisk’s Australian business.

At Pyper Vision I’m continuing to work with electric aircraft systems, and while I never thought I’d follow a career in electric systems, I find the technology fascinating and in strong alignment with my own views on sustainability and the need to reduce carbon emissions wherever possible.

You studied Mechanical Engineering at UC. Did you have a career in mind when you chose your subjects?

Not at all. I simply chose subjects that I found interesting and hoped they would lead me somewhere. Personally, many of the underlying skills learned through my study at UC, such as the ability to think critically and approach problem solving systematically, have been more important in my career than much of the subject specific content.

Looking back on your time at UC, what memories and experiences have stayed with you?

The friends I made and people I met during my time at UC are by far my fondest memories of life as a student. The comradery created by student life, and in organisations such as University of Canterbury Motorsport, which I was fortunate enough to be a part of for half my time at UC, have both taught me a lot about working as a team, and left me with enduring friendships.

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