Rob Wilkinson’s electrical engineering career spanned over 30 years. He specialised in the development of telecommunications in New Zealand during a period when there were major advances in this kind of technology.
Rob studied electrical engineering at the University of Canterbury under a New Zealand Post Office bursary, graduating in 1963, followed by two years on a graduate fellowship to British General Electric Company.
From 1962 to 1987, he worked in various junior to supervising engineering positions at the Post Office, specialising in the redevelopment of the telephone system from analogue to digital technology. He also worked on corporate strategy and quality at the newly created state-owned enterprise, Telecom New Zealand, during which time it became a public company.
From 1993 until his retirement in 1996, Rob was principal consultant in Telecom’s international consulting unit. He also did private consultancy work on innovative product design for Production Engineering in the 1960s and 1970s.
Rob served on the Executive of the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand (IPENZ) from 1985-1993.
