Welcome   On behalf of Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology and the Applied Business Education Forum   in Nelson it is my pleasure to extend a very warm welcome to all applied business tutors, department heads and staff from across New Zealand to attend the conference from 10-12 October 2011. This conference was originally to be hosted by CPIT in Christchurch until the catastrophic earthquake on 22 February laid waste to the plans and organisation by John West and the CPIT team. We are pleased to be able to help them out in this small way by hosting the conference and wish them all the best in getting CPIT up and running again in difficult circumstances. CPIT had already set the theme for the conference as "Rebuilding, Re-growth, Rejuvenation: Business Education and Practice". This is a perfect theme for this conference as  Christchurch searches for its new future and business educators across the country, both face up to new challenges in the business, economic and tertiary environments. Nelson is a superb location for a conference. Situated on Tasman Bay and on the doorstep of the Abel Tasman, Nelson Lakes and Kahurangi National Parks, it has a wonderful sunshine climate, great scenery, wonderful arts and crafts and a myriad of fantastic businesses on display. Why not pack your bags for a longer stay and enjoy some of these before or after the conference. The conference dinner will be held at the World of WearableArt™ Museum where you will have the opportunity to experience the iconic world of wearable arts. The conference this year has been returned to a three day format to allow for a programme of keynote speakers and workshops and allow plenty of time for networking and meeting with the cream of applied business education tutors in the country. The venue is the Rutherford Hotel in the centre of the city and is close to a variety of bars and restaurants and other amenities. Come and listen to the speakers, participate in the workshops and view the exhibits. For more information follow the links from the New Zealand Applied Business Education website www.nzabe.ac.nz and keep up to date with the developments. See you in October Ian Lister Head of School, Business and Computer Technology Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology