New Zealand research consortiums release information on favourable financial statuses

Four of New Zealand’s 10 Centres of Excellence have reported surpluses for 2023.

Not all reports for the centres, which operate as consortiums of interest across the country, have been made available yet, but some of the more prominent ones have said they are doing well.

The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology reported increased total income in 2023 of NZ$9.29 million compared with 2022’s NZ$8.56m, due to a surplus from the previous year, while government funding remained stable. It increased its spending on salaries by NZ$700,000 and returned a 2023 surplus of NZ$931,000.

The report said MacDiarmid had been focused on “the need for scale-up support for startup companies as they outgrow their university origins”. Deep technology was a “sector of critical importance to Aotearoa New Zealand’s economic and sustainability ambitions”, it said.

MacDiarmid’s report said two new companies had been spun out in 2023, and that existing spin-offs were employing nearly 90 people. 

‘A clear vision’

Te Hiranga Rū QuakeCore’s 2023 report revealed a surplus of NZ$8,000.

It said it had created a new early researchers’ network in 2023, and its researchers contributed to 101 peer-reviewed publications and 38 conference proceedings.

Santiago Pujol has been appointed director of Te Hiranga Rū QuakeCore. A professor of civil engineering at the University of Canterbury, Pujol will take over the role on 1 January 2025, according to a 12 July announcement. 

“Santiago has a clear vision for his leadership of Te Hiranga Rū QuakeCore as it heads into the next level of maturity, and we were very impressed with his ideas and energy.  I think Santiago is well positioned to build on Brendon’s excellent accomplishments as director,” QuakeCore’s board chair, Mike Mendonça, said.

‘Land management decision-making’

The report from Bioprotection Aotearoa emphasised its efforts to “train our researchers to be culturally cognisant and ethical in their work”. It said there was increasing demand for “research to support land management decision-making”.

Bioprotection Aotearoa, which takes in 11 partner organisations, worked with 18 principal investigators, 16 associate investigators,12 postdoctoral fellows and 31 research students during the year. 

It spent NZ$4.052m for the year, with an increased surplus of $NZ1.314 million compared with 2022’s NZ$1.066m. 

‘We are in an excellent position’

Charlotte Walshe, chair of the governance board for the Dodd-Walls Centre, is quoted in the report as saying 2023 had been the centre’s “greatest year of change, refocusing and energising since its inception eight years ago”. 

According to new director Frédérique Vanholsbeeck, Dodd-Walls Centre is involved in producing a forthcoming “report that will constitute an excellent tool to leverage additional funding for photonics and quantum technologies in Australia and New Zealand”. 

“We are in an excellent position to finalise the 2025 midterm review and work on a strong research programme,”  wrote Walshe.

Dodd-Walls’ financial statements show it had income of NZ$6.72m in 2023, well over the projected NZ$4.9m. This meant it returned a surplus of NZ$384,445 for the year instead of the expected deficit.

The post Several Centres of Excellence report surpluses for 2023 appeared first on Research Professional News.

Users of national e-science platform told to prepare for change

The New Zealand eScience Infrastructure programme has begun a significant upgrade of its technology.

In a July update, science engagement manager Georgina Rae said the work had already begun at the University of Auckland’s Tamaki data centre.

The programme operates New Zealand’s high-performance computing facilities for researchers in a partnership between the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, the Universities of Auckland and Otago, Landcare Research and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research.

The upgrade will provide “more powerful central processing units, next-generation graphics processing units, enhanced storage capabilities and new cloud-native development environments”. Announced in February, it will cost NZ$3.5 million in a deal with Hewlett Packard, Xenon, Sempre and Dell.

Users will begin moving to a new platform in August, with the programme asking for expressions of interest from potential “early access” users. The new platform is expected to be fully online in September.

The programme is “planning to run migration in stages in order to avoid any lengthy outages and to maintain a smooth user experience”. It has warned that some users may need to pre-test their use of the system before migration.

Future of e-research

Programme director Nick Jones said that the service was “seeing a diversity of computational and data management needs driving demand for a richer array of services” among its researcher stakeholders.

“With new partners coming to the table through our infrastructure refresh, we’re looking forward to what this enables for how we power the future of e-research and the future of computational and artificial intelligence capabilities in the country.”

The programme is running “office hours” online chats to help users plan the transition.

The post New Zealand begins e-science infrastructure upgrade appeared first on Research Professional News.

This week: a special journal edition, Plant and Food Research appointments and booming Antarctic studies

In depth: The New Zealand eScience Infrastructure programme has begun a significant upgrade of its technology.

Full story: New Zealand begins e-science infrastructure upgrade

Also this week from Research Professional News

Tackling climate change requires R&D commitment, experts say—Underfunding of science could undermine New Zealand government’s five-point strategy 

Here is the rest of the New Zealand news this week…

Journal plans research edition

The New Zealand Science Review has said it will publish an entire edition devoted to the “wider research system” in the country. Its current edition focuses on the “crisis” in universities and it says that “funding cuts are leading to widespread job losses and concerns about generational damage to the research and science system”. It has called for submissions on a range of topics, including the impact of research, the history of institutions, workforce issues and how to get “more effective and stable support of research and science”. The journal is run by the New Zealand Association of Scientists. 

Plant and Food Research appoints directors

Candace Kinser and Paul Connell have joined the board of Plant and Food Research, a Crown Research Institute. Kinser has a technology business background and is a former chief executive of the industry body NZTech. Connell is a chartered accountant who is currently chair of the certification authority Telarc. Board chair Nicola Shadbolt welcomed the pair, saying that “their experience, particularly of organisations with a strong scientific foundation, will hold Plant and Food Research in good stead”.

HRC seeks biomedical expertise

The Health Research Council of New Zealand is seeking members for its Biomedical Research Committee. The council says it wants “researchers who demonstrate strategic thinking, can see the bigger picture and have a commitment to advance Māori health and the health of communities experiencing highest health needs in New Zealand through robust processes”. Its call adds: “The appointment of further basic biomedical, clinical trial and Māori expertise to the committee will seek to diversify and strengthen commitment across all areas within the HRC’s biomedical research portfolio.” Nominations close on 19 August.

Antarctic research boom

Antarctica New Zealand has said that growing interest in Antarctic research was reflected in its most recent work season. In its annual report, ANZ chief scientific adviser Jordy Hendrikx said that “the season encompassed a substantial increase of science activity relative to recent seasons”. “This increase was clearly evident across all science event metrics, including an increase in the number of science events and a more than doubling of the cumulative number of science days in Antarctica. The number of peer-reviewed scientific publications arising from ANZ support also increased relative to past years.”

The post New Zealand news roundup: 18-24 July appeared first on Research Professional News.

Underfunding of science could undermine New Zealand government’s five-point strategy

New Zealand’s new national climate strategy lacks the evidence-based policy and commitment to research it needs, leading scientists have said.

The strategy, released this month by climate change minister Simon Watts, outlines five “pillars” of climate change action, one of which is titled: “World-leading climate innovation boosts the economy.” The government has promised more details on achieving its goals through the second national emissions reduction plan, which it is consulting on until 21 August.

Geoff Willmott, a researcher at the MacDiarmid Institute for advanced materials, said the potential of New Zealand’s science sector needs to be backed to meet the goals in the strategy. “The reality is that any chance for New Zealand to be ‘boosting its economy through world-leading climate innovation’ will be challenged in the context of long-term underfunding of our research sector. Businesses and farmers won’t, and can’t, do this on their own,” he said.

Willmott, who is also an assistant dean for research commercialisation in the University of Auckland’s science faculty, said that the vision of a “win-win” based on “local intellectual property addressing global climate issues while at the same time making us wealthier and more resilient” was threatened by research underfunding.

‘Coherent plan needed’

Anita Wreford, an applied economist at Lincoln University, said the climate strategy appeared to be working against other policies, such as the removal of electric vehicle incentives.

“I sincerely hope we will see more detail and a coherent plan that sits behind this strategy,” she said. “It is hard to see how this strategy gives sufficient thought and gravity to securing a liveable and prosperous future for Aotearoa New Zealand in a rapidly changing climate.”

Alex Heiser, chief scientist at AgResearch, a Crown Research Institute, said that the effects of climate change were already being felt by New Zealand agriculture, but “right now there are limited options available to farmers to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions without cutting livestock numbers and putting their profitability at risk”.

“Longer-term commitment is needed in the research and development of tools such as modified pasture, and methane-reducing feed additives or vaccines, which are complex and take time.”

University of Canterbury political science professor Bronwyn Hayward noted that it was “good news” that “all our major political parties now recognise that there are urgent pressing problems due to climate change”. 

“This was not the case even eight years ago,” she said.

The post Tackling climate change requires R&D commitment, experts say appeared first on Research Professional News.

Save Science Coalition says impact of funding cuts will be felt for a long time

Science in New Zealand is facing a “generational crisis” due to funding cuts, a coalition of science groups has said.

The Save Science Coalition released a report called Science Under Threat on 12 July, detailing recent budget and structural decisions. It says that total job losses across the sector will range between 349 and 359, with hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts.

These include the capital funding for the cancelled Wellington Science City; NZ$64 million annually from the “expired” National Science Challenges, which wound up at the end of June; and numerous smaller reductions to both direct funding and contestable grant schemes.

The group is calling on the government to raise national science investment from just below 1.5 per cent of GDP to 2 per cent.

Also of concern is what the report describes as cuts to “evidence-focused roles” in various public sector agencies, threatening “good decision-making” in government.

The coalition “urgently wants to see the cuts to science funding and science staff across public science institutions halted and reversed”.

Scientists leaving the country

The coalition is led by the New Zealand Association of Scientists. Its 26 members include the New Zealand Ecological Society, the Tertiary Education Union and the New Zealand Public Service Association.

In an introduction to the report, NZAS co-president Lucy Stewart said that the “public good” work of science needs to be supported.

“In the coming years, we are likely to see many scientists leave the country as their jobs are cut and their paths to other local employment are few,” she said, adding that current reviews such as the one being carried out by the government’s Science System Advisory Group would not be completed in time to prevent losses.

The report singles out New Zealand’s “internationally unusual [funding] structures, which are a source of instability and excessive competition, fuelling growing confusion and distrust”.

Declining university revenues and rising costs have also impacted the system, the report says.

Valuable feedback

While the Science System Advisory Group and the connected University Advisory Group are due to report to government ministers this year, the report says that the previous government’s Future Pathways reform programme contained “valuable feedback” that should be used.

It warns that the impact of the current cuts might “show up years down the track” because of the long timeframe for scientific work to show results.

“Right now, we urgently need to save science funding and science jobs before the damage to the sector becomes any worse.”

The post Science cuts in New Zealand ‘are causing a generational crisis’ appeared first on Research Professional News.

This week: an agriculture graduate school, Lincoln Agritech progress and racism against Māori medical students

In depth: Science in New Zealand is facing a “generational crisis” due to funding cuts, a coalition of science groups has said.

Full story: Science cuts in New Zealand ‘are causing a generational crisis’

Also this week from Research Professional News

Application cap on Smart Ideas funding scheme causes concern—Limits introduced in New Zealand fund may hit early career researchers hardest 

Here is the rest of the New Zealand news this week…

Joint graduate school to continue

Plant and Food Research, a Crown Research Institute, has signed an agreement guaranteeing the future of the joint graduate school it runs with the University of Auckland. The school, established in 2010, allows postgraduate students to work with Plant and Food Research on “real-world problems and gain industry perspective, as well as research excellence”, the institute said. “Over the 2024 academic year, the joint graduate school is supporting more than 40 postgraduate students, including six master’s students and 37 PhD students.”

Lincoln Agritech turns 60

The research firm Lincoln Agritech says it has evolved significantly since its foundation in 1964. In an annual review published this month, the company profiled its staff and research work. Of its 83 employees, 32 are scientists and 48 are from New Zealand. Interim chief executive Richard Gordon wrote in the review that in the face of “funding constraints, uncertainty and the impacts of inflation”, the company had “refreshed our ambition and set clear impacts and outcomes”. It reported 16 peer-reviewed journal publications, 39 conference presentations, 33 client reports and 50 publications in “popular press and trade journals” for the year. The company is owned by Lincoln University.

Māori medical students suffer racism

The authors of a study of how racism affects Māori medical students and doctors say that “urgent systemic change” is needed. In a study published this month, researchers from the Universities of Auckland and Otago found that over 90 per cent of 405 respondents “had experienced or witnessed racism in medical education, training or work environments”. “Medical education and workplaces should address the high reported experience of multiple forms of racism, discrimination, bullying and harassment for Māori medical students and physicians,” they wrote. The research was funded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand.

The post New Zealand news roundup: 11-17 July appeared first on Research Professional News.

Limits introduced in New Zealand fund may hit early career researchers hardest

Application caps in New Zealand’s flagship Endeavour Fund may have unintended consequences, the New Zealand Association of Scientists has warned.

On 2 July, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment announced that institutions would be allocated limited numbers of application slots for the fund’s Smart Ideas stream.

Association co-president Troy Baisden told Research Professional News that there were “significant concerns” in the sector about the changes.

“It seems clear the changes are motivated largely by less resources within the ministry to staff a two-stage assessment process. This is concerning because it pushes cost of screening onto institutions,” he said.

“The caps are simply an imperfect kludge at a time when many individuals will be trying to replace large blocks of funding lost from the National Science Challenges [which have now ended] and projects undertaken directly for ministries. This change will worsen the impacts of hyper-competition for limited funding.

“The big losers are likely to be the early and mid-career researchers who were able to access this funding mechanism as a significant stepping stone in their careers.”

More conservative system

Smart Ideas grants offer up to NZ$1 million over two or three years. The larger Research Programmes stream has not been given caps, but both programmes suffered small cuts in total funding in the 2025-27 Endeavour Fund investment plan published on 2 July.

Greg Bodeker, director of the private research firm Bodeker Scientific, said he believed the changes would be “bad for New Zealand”.

His firm has been allocated two application slots due to its past success, and it currently holds a Smart Ideas grant. But he said that the changes would make application slots “precious” and would cause institutions to overlook early career researchers. Institutions will “back proposals which have a higher chance of success, and they are more likely to be led by seasoned principal investigators”. This would be despite Smart Ideas being aimed at innovative ideas with commercial potential.

“I suspect it’s going to result in a more conservative science system and a more risk-averse science system.”

Bodeker said there might also be unexpected consequences where researchers sought to attach themselves to other projects to circumvent the cap system. In some cases that could be a benefit to collaboration, he said.

“I certainly don’t blame the ministry. The government has cut their operational funding and their science funding.”

New investment signals

The new system will be reviewed after a year, an online information session on 11 July was told.

In the session, officials from the ministry fielded questions from the sector. Alan Coulson, manager of contestable investments, agreed that the new round of Endeavour would be more focused on commercialisation of research.

“Clearly you’ll have seen the new investment signals. It does put more of a focus on commercialisation. That’s the focus that the incoming minister has wanted.”

Danette Olsen, the ministry’s general manager for science system investment and performance, said the impact of the caps on early career researchers would be assessed. “If there is significant drop-off and we have concerns about that, we always have the potential to add early career criteria.”

She said the assessment would also look at whether the caps on Smart Ideas grants push more applications into the fund’s Research Programmes stream. “We are aware that could be a potential consequence for setting a cap,” she said. A cap could also be brought in on Research Programmes, but there would be a consultation first.

Olsen said that a change in the wording around the application of the Vision Mātauranga policy, which encourages research that includes Māori knowledge, was “just editorial”.

“I don’t think there’s a shift away from [a focus on] people,” she said.

Baisden said that the sector saw the new wording as “falling back to the outdated 2008” policy, which would create pressure on researchers to engage in consultation that might be “neither useful nor properly supported financially”. This would have an impact on the Māori groups and researchers who were expected to take part.

Several questions in the session were about the fairness of the way caps were set and applied.

Coulson told the session that the cap allocations had been set by taking the average number of contracts won by an organisation over the past three years and applying an undisclosed “multiplier” to come up with a number. He said the formula would not be released because “we retain the right to change that year on year”.

The post Application cap on Smart Ideas funding scheme causes concern appeared first on Research Professional News.

This week: researcher wins damages, new Royal Society president starts, Covid inquiry expands, and more

In depth: A review of New Zealand’s university system has turned its attention to research, teaching and governance issues.

Full story: Review queries foundations of higher education system

Also this week from Research Professional News

Applications to Smart Ideas funding scheme capped—New Zealand government limits number of applications to Endeavour Fund scheme and cuts total funding 

Here is the rest of the New Zealand news this week…

Researcher awarded damages

New Zealand’s Employment Court has ordered the University of Auckland to pay microbiologist and science communicator Siouxsie Wiles NZ$20,000 in general damages for breaching its contractual obligations to protect her health and safety. Wiles brought a case alleging that the university had failed to protect her from public harassment in the course of her work, particularly around the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, on which she was a prominent commentator and the face of a public health campaign. Wiles said she suffered threats and was not sufficiently supported. The university said in a statement that a ruling stating that there was no suppression of academic freedom meant the decision would be “well received” by universities. Wiles said she felt “vindicated” by the findings. “Harassment of academics and experts is a longstanding and worldwide phenomenon,” she said, adding that organisations “must be prepared and have policies and practices to support, protect and care for workers”.

Health Research Council divides up NZ$50m

The Health Research Council has allocated NZ$50 million to 26 projects, including a joint three-year University of Auckland and Auckland City Hospital study of ways to include geographically diverse patients in clinical trials, which will receive $NZ1.2m. Other projects include a four-year University of Otago lung cancer screening study, which will receive NZ$5m; a NZ$5m five-year Medical Research Institute of New Zealand project investigating treatments for pneumonia, influenza and pandemic infections; and a NZ$5m study of the lives of young Pasifika people living in New Zealand, carried out at the Auckland University of Technology.

Harding handed baton at Royal Society

Jane Harding has taken over the presidency of the Royal Society of New Zealand for a three-year term, replacing outgoing president Brent Clothier on 1 July. Harding, who specialises in perinatal research and neonatology, is a holder of the Rutherford Medal and the Prime Minister’s Science Prize. She is New Zealand’s secretary for the Rhodes Scholarships. In a statement, she said: “My entire career has been dedicated to the pursuit and sharing of knowledge, to supporting a diverse research ecosystem, and to the recognition of excellent research. I am deeply committed to ensuring that Royal Society Te Apārangi continues to deliver on that core mission, as a fundamental underpinning of civil society.”

Japanese collaboration grants announced

New Zealand researchers in disaster mitigation, response and recovery will be able to apply for funding for joint research projects with Japanese counterparts. In a 4 July announcement, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and the Japan Science and Technology Agency said they would each fund the teams in their respective countries. Up to NZ$300,000 for each of three New Zealand teams, working over three years, will be available. A call for proposals will be issued via New Zealand’s Catalyst fund in the next few weeks.

Covid inquiry expands

New terms of reference for New Zealand’s Covid-19 inquiry will include the rollout and safety of vaccines. The inquiry’s commissioners said in a 5 July statement that the wider scope was “a useful addition”. The inquiry’s reporting date for its first phase has been extended by two months, to 28 November.

The post New Zealand news roundup: 27 June to 10 July appeared first on Research Professional News.

University Advisory Group wants to hear how New Zealand universities’ “core activities” could be improved

A review of New Zealand’s university system has turned its attention to research, teaching and governance issues.

In a statement on 8 July, the University Advisory Group, which is carrying out the review, said it wants to hear how universities’ “core activities” could be improved.

Government oversight of university research is also on the table in the second round of consultations for the review, after submissions to the previous round revealed deep concern about funding within the sector, and differences between universities and other research agencies on the role of universities in carrying out research.

New questions posed

The group has now asked stakeholders whether the current governance structure is “optimal”, with the Ministry of Education funding universities but the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment setting science and innovation goals and funding.

It also issued questions around quality assurance in universities, the provision of qualifications by universities, the range of disciplines offered, staffing and management.

The group asked what scale and mixture of international fee-paying students would be appropriate for the university system, and for ideas on how to promote excellence in teaching, research and knowledge transfer.

It also raised questions about how to decide which disciplines should be taught and how the system could best respond to the demand for transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary research and graduates.

Staffing questions cover retention, how to foster early career researchers, and whether universities are “appropriately setting the proportions of teaching, research and administrative staff and the mix of those on long-term and short-term employment contracts”.

More rounds to come?

The advisory group is due to give advice to education minister Penny Simmonds in August, with a final report due in February 2025.

The current consultation closes on 8 August, and the group’s statement said there would be “several rounds” in total.

The post Review queries foundations of higher education system appeared first on Research Professional News.

New Zealand government limits number of applications to Endeavour Fund scheme and cuts total funding

New Zealand’s flagship Endeavour Fund will impose application caps on research organisations for its 2025 funding round, and has cut its total planned spending.

On 2 July, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) published its 2025-27 investment plan and new rules for the Endeavour Fund’s Smart Ideas scheme, which supports the rapid testing of promising and innovative research.

Universities, Crown Research Institutes and other bodies have been pre-allocated a set number of applications for Smart Ideas ranging from 23 to 1, based on their previous success.

The University of Auckland has been given 23 application slots, while other universities’ allocations range between 15 and two. Plant and Food Research has 10 applications to use, but AgResearch only three.

Organisations with no other specified allocation will be allowed to submit one application each.

Smart Ideas grants offer up to NZ$1 million over two or three years. The investment plan says that “at least 47” Smart Ideas projects will be funded, but the total amount available has been reduced by NZ$1m to NZ$17m.

Endeavour’s Research Programme, which supports more advanced research, has been allocated NZ$38m a year for 2025-27. The 2023 investment plan had called for it to receive NZ$39m this year.

Fund updated

Science minister Judith Collins said in a statement that the fund had been “updated”.

“Endeavour is the government’s largest contestable fund investing in science and research. It is crucial that this investment aligns with this government’s priority of rebuilding our economy,” she said.

In a presentation posted on the MBIE site, Endeavour fund leader Melanie Tomintz said that the reductions were the result of government decisions.

“The changes…are timely, as the current process puts some unnecessary burden on applicants, assessors and MBIE itself,” she said, adding that the move to a one-stage proposal system, which had been “asked for by the sector”, had necessitated limits on applications.

While there is no cap on Research Programme applications, “if we see a significant increase in Research Programme submissions, then we will review the submission guidance for the Research Programme,” Tomintz said.

Application allocations for the Smart Ideas round were based on “a formula using a rolling number of (previously) awarded contracts as a baseline”, she said. “Our data shows that the calculated cap is very similar to the number of applications that we have seen progressing to Smart Ideas full proposals in previous rounds.”

Criteria simplified

The impact criteria for the fund have also been “simplified”, with the Protect and Add Value and Transform categories axed, Tomintz said. “MBIE analysis show[ed] that these categories have not achieved the intended purpose.”

The mix of research outcome aims will remain the same at 70 per cent economic, 25 per cent environmental and five per cent “societal”, she said.

MBIE has scheduled two information sessions for public questions about the changes on 9 and 11 July.

The post Applications to Smart Ideas funding scheme capped appeared first on Research Professional News.

New Zealand and Australian reports highlight graduate earnings and national benefits, including in film industry

Humanities and the arts are the subject of “common myths” that need to be dispelled, an association of deans has said.

The Australasian Council of Deans of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities released two reports on 24 June, looking at the fields in New Zealand and in Australia.

They found that “some arts graduates in New Zealand will earn well in excess of NZ$1 million more than people with no degree over their lifetime”.

“Half of all current ministers have an arts degree and five of the last 10 prime ministers studied arts degrees,” the New Zealand report says.

The areas of study that paid the greatest lifetime bonus on top of average school leaver earnings were political science and policy at NZ$1.36m, ranging down to NZ$417,000 for “other” creative arts.

In the research field, humanities and social science specialists are working with scientists in interdisciplinary teams, the report says, such as at the QuakeCoRE centre, where they are looking for “ways of building earthquake resilience”.

“Researchers in the humanities, arts and social sciences improve agricultural productivity, build resilience to natural disasters, support those living with dementia, provide financial guidance to elderly New Zealanders and help revitalise endangered languages,” the report says.

“The humanities, arts and social sciences foster creativity and curiosity within graduates and teach them the skills to think critically and deal with complex issues and information.”

The report highlighted industry-specific outcomes such as in New Zealand’s screen media industry, which it said generated NZ$3.5 billion in 2017 alone as well as promoting tourism.

Australia

“In Australia, 90 per cent of humanities, culture and social sciences graduates are in full-time employment three years after graduating and their salary is on par with other graduates at A$82,000,” the Australian report said.

“In 2019-20, cultural and creative arts activity in total contributed A$122.3bn to the Australian economy, or 6.2 per cent of GDP.”

The study said that employers were overwhelmingly satisfied with arts and social science graduates. Those graduates are “moving into well-paid and rewarding careers where their employers appreciate their independence, critical thinking, adaptability and ability to communicate”.

Australian social scientists contributing to real-world outcomes include a University of Sydney researcher running a global project connecting users of coral reef fisheries to data on reef resilience.

The post Deans highlight economic value of arts and humanities appeared first on Research Professional News.

This week: Māori data, Education New Zealand leadership, Royal Society awards and emissions reduction

In depth: Humanities and the arts are the subject of “common myths” that need to be dispelled, an association of deans has said.

Full story: Deans highlight economic value of arts and humanities

Also this week from Research Professional News

NZ universities face funding shortfall, vice-chancellors warn—Group says changes to domestic student funding will force difficult choices on institutions 

Here is the rest of the New Zealand news this week…

Māori data network planned

A New Zealand charitable trust has said that its Māori-specific data storage system will allow Māori to control their own information. The Te Kāhui Raraunga Charitable Trust says its Te Pā Tūwatawata infrastructure is a world first. “Unlike other data storage solutions here and around the world, the servers used to connect the network will be based at the heart of where the data comes from—on marae [village centres], inside Māori organisations or at other relevant iwi [community] locations,” the trust said in a statement. The trust expects Te Pā Tūwatawata to go live in early 2025.

Next ENZ head announced

Education New Zealand’s new head will be Amanda Malu. The international education authority announced on 21 June that Malu, a senior executive at the Accident Compensation Corporation, will take over from acting chief executive Linda Sissons in September.

Royal Society awards

Several senior researchers have receiving funding and awards through the Royal Society Te Apārangi. The Charles Fleming Senior Scientist Award went to the University of Otago’s Yusuf Cakmak for work on neural pathways used in hearing, while the Charles Fleming Publishing Award went to Warren Chinn and Elspeth Tilley to help publish books on glaciologist Trevor Chinn and the power of art. Other awards included Hutton Fund grants to two marine scientists and Skinner Fund grants for the study of Māori and Polynesian peoples.

More funding for emissions agency

The New Zealand government has announced an additional NZ$8 million for the agricultural emissions reduction agency AgriZeroNZ. The money comes from the addition of the Bank of New Zealand as a shareholder in the agency, which is a public-private joint venture. “This will take the overall investment in AgriZeroNZ to NZ$191m over the first four years. Fifty percent of this funding is Crown investment,” agriculture minister Todd McClay said on 21 June.

The post New Zealand news roundup: 20-26 June appeared first on Research Professional News.

Group says changes to domestic student funding will force difficult choices on institutions

New Zealand’s universities are facing shortfalls in their funding for domestic student places, the head of a vice-chancellors’ group has warned.

Guidelines published last month by the Tertiary Education Commission indicate that universities whose domestic student numbers increase in 2025 will not be fully funded for the places, while those whose numbers decrease will have their total funding cut accordingly. In previous years, per-student funding has been demand-driven.

Universities are now preparing their funding plans for submission to the government, and Universities New Zealand chief executive Chris Whelan says the TEC guidelines may force difficult choices on already pressured institutions.

Under New Zealand’s joint funding system, about two-thirds of domestic student place costs are covered by the government via the TEC, with the remaining third covered by student fees.

The national budget in May capped direct fee increases charged by universities at 6 per cent, while the TEC allowance per student increased by 2.5 per cent.

Whelan said that while student numbers for 2025 were not yet known, “it would be very unusual for universities to not accept students” to cope with budget constraints.

“Forecasts say that there’ll be an overall increase in domestic learners next year, but it lands unevenly [across the sector],” he said. “There is real worry, because having places that are not fully funded puts a different sort of pressure on universities.”

‘Rationing decisions’

A spokesperson for the TEC told Research Professional News that “total tertiary system funding is capped at NZ$3.9 billion, so the TEC is continually making rationing decisions about where to get the best return from the available funding”.

They confirmed that small adjustments, known as “in-plan” changes, would be permitted in 2025, within existing rules. These state that a university cannot go over 105 per cent of its planned budget without the change being “considered a performance issue, which can impact future funding allocations”. 

“We can only look to allocate additional funding to a tertiary education organisation when we have freed up funding from another organisation through an in-year downward amendment,” they said.

“Tertiary education organisations should develop their plan under the assumption that additional funding may not be available.”

Higher education institutions will not receive less than 85 per cent of their 2024 allocation, the TEC’s published guidance says.

Universities’ plans are due for submission by 5 July.

The post NZ universities face funding shortfall, vice-chancellors warn appeared first on Research Professional News.

Universities New Zealand proposes independent national research council

Universities New Zealand has called for a new research council to take over many of the research functions of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

In a submission to a national science review in May, published on 6 June, UNZ said the nation needed an “independent” council made up of “leading researchers and big-picture thinkers”. 

According to the vice-chancellors’ group, this council could support and guide research in New Zealand as an independent body to “ensure the needs of all parts of the system (including government) are considered in an objective way while being sufficiently agile to address emerging research priorities”.

The proposed council would be responsible for national research strategy, it said. It would supervise resource allocation, focus on workforce issues and “be at arm’s length from the government to enable a focus on priorities extending beyond political cycles”.

UNZ said that research management under the council would be “separate from the research advancement, promotion and academy functions of the Royal Society Te Apārangi”. The society currently manages several major funding initiatives on behalf of the government.

Among the practical tasks the proposed council should carry out, UNZ named streamlining of “the current complex system”, replacing short-term funding with longer-term funding, reducing administrative burden and encouraging “excellence and international engagement”.

It said that the current Catalyst Fund for international collaboration was “insufficient in quantum” and often gave little notice of funding opportunities.

Research-policy interface

The review of the science system is being carried out by the Science System Advisory Group, which is due to report back to science minister Judith Collins by the end of June.

UNZ told the advisory group that the research system should look beyond science to all disciplines, as well as “the distinctive contributions of mātauranga Māori”, or Māori knowledge systems.

If research funding is put at arm’s length from the government, New Zealand could develop “a stronger research-policy interface” through formal programmes like the Irish Universities Association’s “evidence for policy” initiative, UNZ said.

Publicly funded research should “pursue” open access, the submission said.

It also pointed out that universities house around half of New Zealand’s research workforce. “A successful future science, innovation and technology system needs to recognise and support universities,” it said.

Although funding is not a focus of the review, UNZ repeated calls for increased funding, saying about 15 per cent of university research spending was subsidised by universities.

The post Take research out of the business ministry, universities say appeared first on Research Professional News.

This week: health sector transformation, applied doctorates, a pandemic warning and partnerships with China

In depth: Universities New Zealand has called for a new research council to take over many of the research functions of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

Full story: Take research out of the business ministry, universities say

Also this week from Research Professional News

‘Better planning needed’ to bring down animal kill rate—New Zealand government report prompts call to minimise “overbreeding” in animal research 

Here is the rest of the New Zealand news this week…

New Health NZ chair to oversee ‘transformation’

Health New Zealand’s new chair Lester Levy will oversee “further transformation” of the nation’s health sector, health minister Shane Reti has said. According to Reti, the national health body faces “a period of ongoing change” due to “poorly planned health reforms” by the previous government. Levy took up the role on 1 June for a two-year term.

Organisations sought to run doctorate scheme

The bidding process has opened to run New Zealand’s applied doctorates training scheme. On 13 June, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment said it was seeking organisations to deliver the scheme, which will involve doctoral students working more closely with industry to “improve the commercial impact of research and the workforce readiness of doctoral graduates to address skills gaps in the wider economy”. The first cohort of students is expected to begin in 2025. 

Covid inquiry warning

The chair of New Zealand’s inquiry into the Covid-19 response has warned that “the threat of a future pandemic is real”. On 14 June, Tony Blakely said the recent threat of bird flu was a reminder that “it is not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’ the next pandemic occurs”. Blakely also said the inquiry expected a decision on updated terms of reference from the government by the end of June.

Chinese partnerships win funding

Five New Zealand teams will receive NZ$300,000 over three years to work on research projects in conjunction with Chinese researchers. The successful projects in the ninth New Zealand-China Strategic Research Alliance funding round were announced by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment on 17 June. They include a University of Auckland and Wuhan University food science project, a University of Otago and Sinolight project looking at ways of authenticating wines, and a University of Auckland and Hohai University project developing frameworks to help manage coastlines in the face of rising sea levels.

The post New Zealand news roundup: 13-19 June appeared first on Research Professional News.

New Zealand government report prompts call to minimise “overbreeding” in animal research

“Overbreeding” should be kept to a minimum in animal research, the Australian and New Zealand Council for the Care of Animals in Research and Teaching has said.

The council said that an April report from New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries shows the need for “better prediction of numbers”. The ministry’s report revealed that in 2022, “a total of 134,845 animals were bred for research, testing and teaching purposes but not used and subsequently killed”.

The report covered 143 organisations’ use of animals. In 2022, 392,344 animals were used for research, testing and teaching, not including those bred and not used. Universities were the highest users, at 43 per cent, followed by commercial organisations at 36 per cent. Crown Research Institutes accounted for 9 per cent.

For the first time, the MPI report included questions on the 3Rs, meaning replacement, reduction and refinement of animal use. Organisations that responded to the optional questions said they were replacing animals with teaching aids and other techniques.

A team at the University of Otago made its own model lizards in order to test drones that were to be used as part of a field survey. The team said that “using model lizards, in line with the guiding principle of replacing live animals with models where possible, enabled us to perform multiple replicated trials free from bias introduced through animal activity as well as minimising impacts on animals”.

Call for investment

In its commentary on the ministry’s report, the Australian and New Zealand Council for the Care of Animals in Research and Teaching called for greater promotion of the report and of research institutions’ own reporting of their animal use.

It said that more government funding is needed to implement animal use reforms and support ethics research.

In its submission to the Science System Advisory Group that is advising science minister Judith Collins on possible reforms, the council said: “Investing in animal ethics, the 3Rs and animal welfare science research is crucial for fostering public trust and acceptance of scientific practices.”

The post ‘Better planning needed’ to bring down animal kill rate appeared first on Research Professional News.

“Substantial changes” would expand New Zealand committee on medical trials and increase focus on risks

Rules on clinical trials in New Zealand are being reviewed with a stronger focus on risks to participants and on researchers’ capacity to run trials.

Updated terms of reference for the Health Research Council-appointed Standing Committee on Therapeutic Trials will require applications to show “investigators’ experience and qualifications relevant to the conduct of clinical trials” and the suitability of the site and arrangements for the research.

The existing terms of reference, last updated in 2021, only require the committee to “assess the ability of the triallists to conduct the trial”.

The committee will also need to assess whether the potential benefits of trials justify the risks to participants, where currently the main criterion is whether a trial will provide clinically and scientifically useful information.

The Health Research Council said the new terms were “substantial changes” and an attempt “to apply principles of modern regulatory practice” to decisions. A public consultation on the changes is open until 12 July.

Committee composition

Membership of the committee will be expanded under the proposed rules from 15 to up to 30. Current rules on the composition of the committee, including the right of the Pharmaceutical Society of New Zealand to nominate a member, will be scrapped in favour of a set of guidelines on expertise.

Not all members decide on each application; appropriate panels are convened to make decisions. Areas of expertise needed for the panel include: knowledge of pharmacology and clinical trials; experience in running clinical trials “relevant to mitigation of risk to participants”; and New Zealand-specific knowledge, including around the Māori population.

The committee’s recommendations are used by the Health Research Council to advise the nation’s director-general of health on whether a trial should be permitted.

The council’s statement said that lower-risk applications would be streamlined under the new rules and that it would aim to maintain a target of making decisions within 45 days. Some applications will be approved without individual reviews, while others will go to a panel review process.

The new terms of reference are proposed to take effect on 1 January 2025.

The post Draft changes to clinical trial rules open for consultation appeared first on Research Professional News.

This week: Pacific food systems, data improvements and startup support

In depth: Rules on clinical trials in New Zealand are being reviewed with a stronger focus on risks to participants and on researchers’ capacity to run trials.

Full story: Draft changes to clinical trial rules open for consultation

Also this week from Research Professional News

University system at a crossroads as review takes submissions—Scientists and universities lay out differing visions for New Zealand’s higher education sector 

Here is the rest of the New Zealand news this week…

Pacific scheme funded

The Plant and Food Research Crown Research Institute is to receive NZ$15.3 million to run a four-year Pacific research programme. The government funding, announced on 5 June, will support a programme involving Fiji, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Samoa and Tonga. The focus is on building stronger food systems “in the face of climate change”, with New Zealand researchers working with local scientists and communities. A statement said the programme “reflects New Zealand’s broader strategic commitment to support climate adaptation and resilience in the Pacific”.

Data recommendations published

The Aotearoa New Zealand National Committee on Data in Research has released a report suggesting improvements for how data are managed. It recommends “clarification” on where data can be kept, improvements to how Māori data are handled and “the development and implementation of a national strategy for open research”. The report was discussed at meetings earlier this year between the committee, the Chief Science Advisor Forum and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

Pacific Channel joins Deep Tech programme

The venture capital fund Pacific Channel is to become a partner in Callaghan Innovation’s Deep Tech Incubator Programme. In an announcement on 11 June, Callaghan said the fund was an “excellent addition” to the existing four partners. Programme manager Celeste Peh said there were “very few private organisations willing to patiently commit funds and provide expert support for ideas that will take many years to come to fruition”. Deep Tech provides startups with partly repayable funding to help commercialise new technologies.

The post New Zealand news roundup: 6-12 June appeared first on Research Professional News.

Scientists and universities lay out differing visions for New Zealand’s higher education sector

New Zealand’s universities are “lurching forward toward an unstable fate”, an advisory group reviewing the higher education system has been warned.

The New Zealand Association of Scientists’ submission to the University Advisory Group says that universities’ “primary functions” of learning, teaching, research and being the “critic and conscience of society” should be supported, but not at the cost of “functions and capacity in areas key to an advanced economy”.

The association argues for more differentiation between universities: “Good models that sit between a single University of New Zealand and eight separate, competing universities must be identified and tested.”

It says that public research institutions should be given an equal place alongside the work done by universities. It questions whether “an ever-growing portion of society should be educated through university degrees”.

“It is likely that most areas of research expertise are better concentrated in a few rather than all universities,” it says, adding that many research institutions had found New Zealand’s doctoral graduates not to be “work-ready”.

Mission-based research, such as that carried out in Centres of Research Excellence, may be the best way to meet national goals, it says, but the CoRE system is severely underfunded. “Funding either needs to be tripled or quadrupled or these bodies canned and combined with other funding…to rebuild coherent excellence in a sustainable form within clusters of activity,” it says.

The University Advisory Group will report to higher education minister Penny Simmonds in August on changes needed to the higher education system and the Performance-Based Research Fund, which supports university research. The group is chaired by former chief scientific adviser Peter Gluckman, who is also chairing a parallel Science System Advisory Group.

More collaboration, less competition

The Royal Society of New Zealand also argues in its submission to the University Advisory Group for greater differentiation of universities “based on areas of strength, with each institution having a distinctive mission and focus”.

The society outlines a vision involving “well-rounded graduates”, active Māori involvement and accessible education, where “freedom in science and scholarly activity are enabled and safeguarded, and responsible evidence-based public engagement and debate is encouraged”.

The society’s submission says: “The university sector needs to be sustainably resourced, with diverse and complementary institutions that offer internationally recognised education and research. Funding has not kept pace with costs, and universities have been struggling to undertake their primary roles, which needs to be addressed for the sustainability of the sector in the long term.”

Issues around staff retention and nurturing emerging research also need to be addressed, beyond the successful Rutherford fellowships and the new Tāwhia te Mana Research Fellowships, the society says.

University concerns

Universities New Zealand’s submission argues against specialisation, saying it is a strength to have eight high-quality and comprehensive universities across the country.

“We see that the future of New Zealand is increasingly built around a knowledge economy where higher education is the key to success,” the UNZ submission says.

“Rather than trying to create more specialisation or differentiation in the university system, we think that there should be more specialisation and differentiation between the different subsectors—particularly universities and institutes of technology or polytechnics.”

New Zealand’s Tertiary Education Strategy is too vulnerable to political change and is “so high level that it doesn’t really drive sensible long-term decisions around policy settings or investment settings”, the vice-chancellors’ group says.

UNZ chair Cheryl de la Rey said in a statement on 4 June that “New Zealand significantly lags behind OECD averages in key areas like business investment in research, researchers per capita and open-access publishing of findings”.

Although New Zealand’s universities generally perform at a high level, the advisory group process is raising questions about the role of universities, she wrote.

“At the forefront of our thinking is that more than 60 per cent of jobs now require at least two and increasingly three years of post-school training or education,” she said.  

“Beyond teaching, we also know that maintaining vibrant research activities at universities brings benefits across society. Universities account for over half of New Zealand’s fundamental research output, which underpins innovation and workforce development across sectors,” she wrote.

Solutions to New Zealand’s research “lag” could include “prioritising applied doctoral research closely tied to industry needs, reducing workforce precarity through more sustainable research funding models and facilitating better connectivity between academic experts and public or private sector partners who can utilise their insights”.

Pivotal role

The Tertiary Education Union’s submission says that universities have a “pivotal role to play in ensuring a more equitable, just and sustainable society”.

It emphasises working conditions, critical thinking, free speech and respecting the Treaty of Waitangi, which contains principles for the protection of Māori culture.

“To ensure the long-term viability of our universities, including their capacity to uphold the functions and principles outlined above, we need a funding system that is fit for purpose,” the union says.

A “fees-free model” in some areas should enable “barrier-free access” to higher education, it adds.

It criticises the current university management model for being “bureaucratic” and “inequitable” and having “ineffective and inflexible managerial hierarchies”.

A version of this article also appeared in Research Europe

The post University system at a crossroads as review takes submissions appeared first on Research Professional News.

This week: Singapore collaboration, Royal Society research fellowships and Antarctic cooperation

In depth: New Zealand’s Public Service Association has described the national budget on 30 May as “a dark day” for public sector workers.

Full story: Budget a ‘dark day’, says Public Service Association

Also this week from Research Professional News

Scientists slam shock cuts in New Zealand budget—Cuts to major research funds are part of “ongoing collapse”, says NZ Association of Scientists 

Here is the rest of the New Zealand news this week…

Collins in Singapore

Science minister Judith Collins has spent several days in Singapore at “defence and technology summits and meetings”. Collins attended the Asia Tech X Singapore summit and the Five Power Defence Arrangements meeting of defence ministers. She said that New Zealand’s “relationship with Singapore is particularly valued. Through our existing joint research programmes, we have leveraged complementary strengths and helped drive innovation and growth opportunities.” Collins’s trip also included a speech to the Shangri-La Dialogue in which she said that New Zealand was continuing to investigate “opportunities for New Zealand’s potential involvement in Aukus pillar two”. Aukus is a defence partnership between Australia, the UK and the US.

Tāwhia te Mana Research Fellowships open

The Royal Society Te Apārangi has revealed the funding and application guidelines for the new Tāwhia te Mana Research Fellowships, which are replacing the Rutherford grants scheme. The Future Leader Fellowship stream of the new scheme will fund up to 20 researchers for four years each, including salary, overheads and research-related expenses, to a total of NZ$820,000 each. Ten Research Leader Fellowships will be worth up to NZ$1.16 million over four years, or longer if the fellowship is taken part time. Two Distinguished Researcher Fellowships, paying NZ$220,000 for salaries and costs, depending on project structure, are also available. All applications will be assessed by a panel appointed by the society, and applications are due by 25 July. Results are expected by mid-November.

Germany-NZ Antarctic science deal

Antarctica New Zealand and the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany have signed a deal to work together more closely. The organisations already collaborate on a drilling project examining the Ross Ice Shelf and the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Antarctica New Zealand chief scientific adviser Jordy Hendrikx said the agreement would “facilitate even more excellent science going forward, playing a critical role in understanding how climate change will impact Antarctica and the rest of the planet”.

Health Research Council update

The Health Research Council of New Zealand has said that its new grants structure will “reflect our core investment areas”. While underlying funding has not changed, the council now classifies funds as “people focused”, such as emerging researcher grants; “ideas funding” for investigator-led research; and “priorities funding”, where the HRC itself defines the work to be done. Māori and Pacific-focused research will be classified as one of the three main categories and also as either Māori or Pacific health research.

The post New Zealand news roundup: 30 May to 5 June appeared first on Research Professional News.

New Zealand organisations say public science must be funded to meet national goals

New Zealand’s Public Service Association has described the national budget on 30 May as “a dark day” for public sector workers.

Across-the-board cuts to government department budgets will undermine public work that is “tackling our environmental challenges, building our climate change resilience and supporting New Zealand businesses”, it said.

Cuts of NZ$374 million to the Ministry for the Environment and NZ$903m to the science, innovation and technology sector, while income tax is being cut, are “the wrong choice”, said Duane Leo, the association’s national secretary.

Struggling system

Other bodies representing scientists had already slammed the budget.

The New Zealand Association of Scientists labelled it “worse than a nothing burger for science”, pointing out cuts to science institution funding and planned cuts to major research grant programmes.

Nicola Gaston, co-director of the MacDiarmid Institute for advanced materials, said in a statement that “the long-term trend is of attrition in the sector due to inflation relative to flatlined baseline funding”.

She said that although the National Science Challenges, which wind up this month, were at the end of their planned life, much of their funding had been “existing research funding that was reallocated”.

“Losing that money from the system means a funding cut relative to 2014 even before we worry about adjusting for inflation,” Gaston said.

“Any of the outcomes that this government would like to see—tech skills development, commercialisation, business investment in R&D and the all-important economic contribution that innovation can make—will be severely hampered when so many parts of that system are struggling.”

Fewer grants

Frédérique Vanholsbeeck, director of the Te Whai Ao Dodd-Walls Centre for photonic and quantum technologies, said that the budget was “very sad” for the tertiary sector.

“Funding for research is losing as well. The Health Research Council and Marsden [Fund] allocations have not increased so given the galloping inflation, it will mean fewer grants or grants that won’t cover as much of the researchers’ salaries,” Vanholsbeeck said. Her analysis also found “a net decrease in contestable funding”.

“This government is not investing in Aotearoa New Zealand as a knowledge-based economy.”

The post Budget a ‘dark day’, says Public Service Association appeared first on Research Professional News.

Cuts to major research funds are part of “ongoing collapse”, says NZ Association of Scientists

Projected cuts to New Zealand’s largest research funding schemes in the budget on 30 May have shocked the sector, although they will not take effect until 2027.

As well as savings already announced, including from the cancellation of the Wellington Science City project, the budget revealed that the Endeavour Fund will be cut by NZ$9.75 million, the Marsden Fund by NZ$3m, the Health Research Fund by NZ$4.9m and the Strategic Science Investment Fund by NZ$17.75m.

“Approximately NZ$756m total operating funding will remain across these funds from 2027-28,” the budget documents say.

Finance minister Nicola Willis (pictured) delivered no positive surprises for the research sector, but universities did receive a boost to the amount they can charge in tuition fees. The budget included personal tax relief, and Willis said that “we are shifting resources out of the back office of government into the frontline”.

All government departments have been given formal spending reduction targets. For the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, the target is 7.5 per cent, or NZ$234m. The Ministry of Education, including tertiary education, also has a savings target of 7.5 per cent, or NZ$73.6m. Total savings in tertiary education in the budget are set at NZ$238m.  

Lobby groups are now hoping for positive moves from the two advisory groups currently reviewing science and universities.

Science collapse

The New Zealand Association of Scientists said the budget was part of an “ongoing collapse in funding for the research and university sector”.

Association co-president Troy Baisden said the budget was the worst for 30 years. It “doubles down on a pattern spanning four decades, in which New Zealand’s governments have been world leaders in choosing not to invest in the future”, he said.

The association labelled the budget “worse than a nothing burger for science”.

Baisden’s fellow co-president Lucy Stewart predicted that the looming funding cuts meant researchers would spend the next few years looking for jobs overseas.

“Spending is essentially flat, in a time of record inflation and on the back of decades of underfunding of the sector. Certainly there is no sign of anything which could come close to making up for the loss of the National Science Challenges, which we have already seen translate into proposed job cuts in the public science sector,” she said.   

The association welcomed the establishment of ongoing funding for several important geohazard information services—GeoNet, the National Seismic Hazard Model and the National Geohazards Monitoring Centre—which will get NZ$31m in 2024-25, followed by ongoing support of around NZ$25m a year.

The budget returns uncommitted funding for the Decarbonising Industry Fund to general funds, saving NZ$647m over four years.

Higher education

Universities New Zealand, which represents all of the country’s universities, said “the financial situation for universities remains precarious” despite two increases in the budget. The Delivery and Quality funding stream will go up by 2.5 per cent, and the annual maximum fees universities can charge will go up by 6 per cent.

UNZ chair Cheryl de la Rey said that despite “challenging” times for the economy, “universities hold the key to dealing with some of the very challenges this country faces now and in the coming decades”.

Chief executive Chris Whelan described the budget as “a glimmer of hope”, saying: “We are hopeful that the processes around the University Advisory Group and the Science System Advisory Group will further highlight the value universities can unlock for the country.”

Budget documents say that the increase in the fees allowed will put pressure on the national purse because the government backs fees through the Student Loan Scheme. “This [increase] reflects that tertiary education providers have been unable to increase fees in line with inflation in recent years,” the documents say.

The Tertiary Education Commission, New Zealand’s university regulator, received a NZ$3.7m annual funding cut.

The Higher Education Collaboration Fund, announced in 2023 and aimed at allowing students to access courses at other universities, has been cancelled, at a projected saving of NZ$5m.

The budget included funding for previously announced moves such as extra support for training doctors and a study of the feasibility of a new medical school at the University of Waikato.

A version of this article also appeared in Research Europe

The post Scientists slam shock cuts in New Zealand budget appeared first on Research Professional News.

Cuts must stop, national coalition of science workers says

Cuts to New Zealand’s science and research system must be stopped, a coalition of science bodies and unions has said.

The group, calling itself the Save Science Coalition, formally launched on 27 May, saying it wants to stop reductions in funding.

The coalition includes the New Zealand Association of Scientists, the Public Service Association, the Tertiary Education Union and numerous professional associations.

It says its aims go beyond advocacy and that it wants to “highlight and catalogue what is being lost through the current cuts”.

The group will ask for support for Māori knowledge in research and “make the case for a foundation of support for public science and recommitting to a target of 2 per cent of GDP to be invested in research and development in Aotearoa New Zealand”.

Devastating impacts

Lucy Stewart, co-president of the New Zealand Association of Scientists and a spokesperson for the coalition, said that science and research are needed to address national challenges.

“We are concerned about large parts of the science workforce moving overseas to find work, which will take decades to reverse and rebuild,” she said.

“This will have devastating impacts in areas where expert knowledge of our landscapes, hazards, ecosystems and people is globally unique. We are particularly concerned about the harm cuts will cause to world-leading indigenous research, including rangahau mātauranga Māori, which can only be done in Aotearoa New Zealand.”

Among the cuts, the coalition lists the end of the National Science Challenges, the cancellation of Wellington Science City, the discontinuation of the Te Ara Paerangi Future Pathways science reforms, internal government agency cuts and the “university funding crisis”.

It has promised a more detailed analysis of the cuts soon.

New Zealand’s national budget is due on 30 May.

The post New Zealand groups launch Save Science Coalition appeared first on Research Professional News.

This week: Tertiary Education Commission guidance and a Royal Society submission on the science system

In depth: Cuts to New Zealand’s science and research system must be stopped, a coalition of science bodies and unions has said.

Full story: New Zealand groups launch Save Science Coalition

Also this week from Research Professional News

Science bodies voice workforce, funding and strategic concerns—Submissions to national science review in New Zealand outline need for clear vision 

Here is the rest of the New Zealand news this week…

Royal Society makes science system submission

The Royal Society Te Apārangi has told the national Science System Advisory Group’s review of the research sector that “human skills and capability” should be prioritised. “New Zealand will need to invest more, and more smartly, if we want to achieve our aspirations and match the performance of comparator countries,” the society’s submission says. It calls for “leading edge” work at universities, a science system that is strongly connected and the free flow of people and investment into the technology sector. It also wants a system where “the government has easy access to evidence and publicly funded research to inform policy, service delivery and decision-making on key issues”.

TEC guidance warns of policy changes

The Tertiary Education Commission’s annual guidance note to universities has warned that “the government is currently…considering policy changes to tertiary education [and] developing the budget for 2024-25 in a fiscally constrained environment”. It continues: “When planning for 2025, you should not assume your funding will be increased.” The guide was issued to universities in February but released publicly on 8 May. Indicative funding allocations to universities have been promised by 4 June.

Journal focuses on animal production research

New Zealand’s animal production research sector is the focus of a special edition of the New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research. The journal features articles drawn from the New Zealand Society of Animal Production’s annual conference, covering topics such as greenhouse gases, wool production and animal health.

The post New Zealand news roundup: 23-29 May appeared first on Research Professional News.

Submissions to national science review in New Zealand outline need for clear vision

Submissions to New Zealand’s Science System Advisory Group have focused on funding levels, workforce issues and the need for a clear national strategy.

The advisory group is assessing the national science system and is due to report to science minister Judith Collins by the end of June. Submissions closed on 17 May.

A submission from the National Science Committee of the Public Service Association said that “good science strategy” would lead to better employment conditions. This would mean “knowing what we want to invest in, what expertise we have and what the impact of our priorities will be on the workforce if they shift”.

Its other priorities included ease of movement across international borders, better connections with the industries that use scientific information and better links to the Pacific region.

The committee said that “capped funding over long periods limits investment in science infrastructure, makes projects unnecessarily precarious and forces institutions to cut valuable work—and the jobs of those who do it—to meet bottom lines”.

Beyond increasing funding, the committee wants to see less time spent on competing for money and less “time-limited funding”, saying that “contestable funding is too large a proportion of the overall mix of funding”.

The association is also concerned about overheads and infrastructure costs.

‘Scientific memory’

Large public research organisations such as the Crown Research Institutes should be recognised as “the scientific memory of the country” and for their role in supporting government decisions and science work by other groups, the committee said.

“To carry out these roles effectively, Crown Research Institutes need stable core funding that can enable them to retain their capacity and their flexibility to respond to new crises or changing priorities.”

Reducing the focus on commercialising intellectual property and instead “making scientific outputs freely available in the public good” would be desirable, the committee said.

That call was echoed by the New Zealand Association of Scientists, which told the group that “ultimately, government research should give rather freely to our firms and our society wherever net benefits and spillovers occur”.

Careers and capability

The New Zealand Association of Scientists put “careers and capability” at the top of its submission, expressing concern about New Zealand’s ability to retain scientists in a “global competition for talent”.

Better international collaboration and integration of the science system with wider issues such as health and the environment are also needed, it said, but it warned that “the stated commitment of the coalition government to fiscal austerity makes solutions more difficult—and change more treacherous”.

Public research organisations should be reformed to improve their connections to “universities, government, business, communities and with their international counterparts”, the association said.

It suggested dividing public research organisations into four sectors: primary production; environment and hazards; resources, technology and innovation; and health.

It added that it remained concerned about the timeframe and composition of the advisory group and its ability to create change in the face of funding issues, but it agreed that this was a “genuine effort at consultation”.

A submission from the Te Pūnaha Matatini Centre of Research Excellence for complex systems said the government should “take a systems approach to the evaluation and redesign” of the science system and “put people…at the centre of attention”.

The post Science bodies voice workforce, funding and strategic concerns appeared first on Research Professional News.

Pre-budget statement suggests more pain ahead for publicly funded education and research

New Zealand’s government has warned of a cost-cutting budget at a time when the university sector says it is continuing to struggle.

In her policy statement ahead of the national budget on 30 May, finance minister Nicola Willis said that more efficient, effective and responsive public services would be a priority, alongside “discipline” in public spending.

Willis said that she expects GDP to fall each year through to 2028, resulting in lower tax revenues.

The government has been operating in deficit since 2019-20, she said. Among its budget strategies will be reducing “core Crown expenses”, which include university and research sector funding.

Willis’s statement says that the government aims to reach and maintain a target debt below 40 per cent of GDP, recognising that pursuing levels lower than 20 per cent “can involve forgoing opportunities for productive investment”.

The government will seek new ways to bring private investment into the economy, she said.

University concerns

The most recent round of university annual reports showed widespread deficits and concerns about financial pressures.

In a statement last month, Cheryl de la Rey, chair of the vice-chancellors’ group Universities New Zealand, said that “government controls 80 per cent of university sector income. That income has only grown by 8 per cent since 2019, but inflation has grown by 21 per cent.”

A month after the budget’s release, funding will run out for New Zealand’s 10-year National Science Challenges, with no coordinated strategy announced to continue their work.

Our Land and Water, one of the 11 challenges, said in a newsletter on 21 May that while some work would continue to completion, most of its research would wind up. The challenge listed a number of key research staff, including its chief scientist Rich McDowell, who will be either underemployed or unemployed from the end of June.

The New Zealand Association of Scientists has also weighed in, saying in a statement on 3 May that “critical national capability (is) headed for ‘fiscal cliffs’”.

Willis also said that “wellbeing” measures as previously defined will take a back seat, with efficiencies and economic measures being “the most important contribution the government can make to the long-term social, economic, environmental and cultural wellbeing of New Zealanders”.

The post NZ government set to cut public spending in May budget appeared first on Research Professional News.

This week: Māori health concerns, a China research call and more student protests

In depth: New Zealand’s government has warned of a cost-cutting budget at a time when the university sector says it is continuing to struggle.

Full story: NZ government set to cut public spending in May budget

Also this week from Research Professional News

Education deans defend standards of teacher training—Findings of report on New Zealand teacher training are “based on flawed methodology” 

Here is the rest of the New Zealand news this week…

Māori health concerns

An article in the New Zealand Medical Journal has said that the disestablishment of the Māori Health Authority breaches the Treaty of Waitangi, which contains principles for the protection of Māori culture. The authors say that the new government’s decision to scrap the health authority goes against principles of equity and will affect work already done under the authority—which was only set up in 2022—including “extensive consultation with community researchers, [which] strengthened the level of support from Māori communities and held significant potential for improved Māori health outcomes”. The piece was written by academics from Massey University and Victoria University of Wellington, as well as a staff member at the Kirikiriroa Family Services Trust.

China research call

New Zealand-based food and environmental scientists are being invited to bid for joint New Zealand-China research funding. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment says it has up to four funding slots available, with NZ$300,000 over three years on offer for each project. The call is a joint initiative with the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology. Proposals must be submitted by 12 July.

Israel-Gaza protests

Student protesters at the University of Canterbury have occupied a food court. Protesters posted on the social media site X that they had been asked to leave and police had been called. The group is demanding that the university break ties with Israel over the war in Gaza. Images posted on Instagram showed an encampment with tents and Palestinian flags. The occupation follows protests at the University of Auckland earlier in May.

The post New Zealand news roundup: 16-22 May appeared first on Research Professional News.

Findings of report on New Zealand teacher training are “based on flawed methodology”

An analysis of teacher training and experience by New Zealand’s Education Review Office is “flawed”, the New Zealand Council of Deans of Education has said.

Responding to the 12 May report, the council said in a statement that the findings were “based on a flawed methodology and should not inform any proposed system-wide changes”.

Among the report’s findings were that many teachers felt underprepared after completing teacher training, with a quarter of those questioned calling their initial teacher training “ineffective”. It found that two-thirds of principals considered newly graduated teachers to be “unprepared” and lacking in key areas of professional practice.

It found that although four out of five new teachers are university-trained, training in a university was less likely to produce a prepared teacher than a polytechnic or similar. It also found that some universities were more effective than others but the individual institutions were not named.

Apprehensive graduates

The deans of education’s response said that many graduates in other fields also felt “apprehensive” when entering the workforce.

Alison Kearney, chair of the council and head of the institute of education at Massey University, said the small sample size of the survey and other issues of methodology were “problematic”.

She said that to understand where improvement was needed, “We must have robust and comprehensive research in partnership with all stakeholders.”

The deans have previously asked to meet with minister of education Erica Stanford to discuss her public statements about teacher training standards.

Massey’s Equity Through Education centre also published a rebuttal of the report, saying it did not take into account the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The post Education deans defend standards of teacher training appeared first on Research Professional News.

This week: International Education Strategy on track, Microsoft’s Māori data deal, archives digitisation deadline

In depth: Leading New Zealand universities have reported deficits for the most recent financial year and are tightening their belts in response.

Full story: Canterbury, Massey and Otago universities report deficits
 

Also this week from Research Professional News…

Covid commission considers expanded role—Vaccine effectiveness may be examined as royal commission enters second year of work
 

Here is the rest of the New Zealand news this week…

Student numbers on track, Simmonds says

New Zealand’s minister for education, Penny Simmonds, said the nation’s International Education Strategy— “to enable a thriving and globally connected New Zealand through world-class international education”—is “on track”. In a 14 May statement through international education authority Education New Zealand, Simmonds said, “There have been 59,306 international student enrolments for January-August 2023, a 43 per cent increase compared to the full year in 2022.” Simmonds said a government-commissioned poll also showed that more New Zealanders appreciate the value of international students. “An increase in the number of international students from all over the world is positive as it brings in vital revenue for institutions and the country, but it also has the spinoff of creating a wonderful cosmopolitan element to campus life,” Simmonds wrote.

Microsoft announces Māori data deal

Te Tumu Paeroa, the Office of the Māori Trustee, will be an “anchor tenant” of Microsoft’s new cloud computing operations in New Zealand. The US-based software giant said that data pertaining to the office’s work would be kept onshore, in accordance with Māori wishes. It quoted Ruth Russell, chief information officer for Te Tumu Paeroa, as saying that “our preference is to keep taonga [prized resources] for which we are a kaitiaki [guardian] onshore, and not to send it overseas as other taonga have been”. Microsoft is building a new data centre on the North Island of New Zealand.

Archive digitisation programme to end

A national programme to digitise important resources at Archives New Zealand will end on 30 June. The Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga Archives New Zealand’s Te Maeatanga Digitisation programme has been notified it will lose its funding. It was set up to digitise at-risk material that is difficult to access and material that could “support all-of-government commitments to revitalising te reo Māori [Māori language] and teaching young people the histories of Aotearoa New Zealand”. A related, on-demand digitisation service will also end on 24 May. A report from Museums Aotearoa said that, since 2017, the government-funded programme had digitised “almost two million images of significance to Aotearoa New Zealand”. After the closure, researchers and other users of the archives will need to visit in person. “This decision is separate from the government’s baseline reduction programme to find efficiencies in the public service,” according to an Archives New Zealand announcement.

The post New Zealand news roundup: 9-15 May appeared first on Research Professional News.

Annual reports detail another difficult year for New Zealand’s higher education sector

Leading New Zealand universities have reported deficits for the most recent financial year and are tightening their belts in response.

Massey University (pictured) recorded a deficit of NZ$41.4 million in 2023, having expected a surplus of NZ$2.9m.

In response, it said “a range of cost-saving measures were implemented in 2023”, and that three-year financial recovery and investment plans have been put in place.

The report sought to emphasise the non-financial “key benefits generated by research activities and outcomes”.

At the University of Otago, a joint report statement from chancellor Stephen Higgs and acting vice-chancellor Helen Nicholson said that “2023 was a financially difficult year”.

Expected growth in student numbers did not come about, and “this situation was exacerbated by the fact that, for the past 10 years, government funding of the tertiary sector has not kept pace with inflation”, the pair wrote.

A “strong” performance of the university’s foundation trust kept the university’s group deficit to NZ$400,000, despite a NZ$20.6m deficit from the university’s main operations. The pair said the university expected to record another loss in 2024.

The University of Canterbury’s consolidated operating deficit was NZ$14.4m, a better result than 2022’s deficit of NZ$31m, and better than the NZ$20.2m deficit originally budgeted for.

Canterbury has also allowed for a deficit of NZ$19.6m in 2024, which chancellor Amy Adams said “represents the continued investment by the university to support strong digital foundations, innovative new programmes and course delivery, and increasing financial sustainability”.

Vice-chancellor Cheryl de la Rey wrote that “liquidity is strong, the enrolment outlook is positive, and the strategic investments position the university well for the future”. Canterbury’s total student numbers went up to 24,354, the most ever enrolled.

Auckland University of Technology’s consolidated return was a surplus of NZ$5.4m, up from a deficit of NZ$2.3m in 2022.

Domestic enrolments fell by more than six per cent at AUT, but that was “partially offset by the better-than-expected recovery in the international market”, vice-chancellor Damon Salesa wrote.

Research challenges

Massey University vice-chancellor Jan Thomas wrote that “the environment for gaining research funding continues to be highly competitive, with an increasing number of entities applying through the major contestable funding rounds every year”. However, she said Massey’s research workforce continued to perform well.

The university reported external research income of NZ$100.3m in 2023, which it said was 6.9 per cent higher than in 2022.

Thomas wrote that Massey had a strong research focus on work aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

At Otago, a research highlight was gaining NZ$51m in funding from the Health Research Council, which the report said was “the largest amount of funding we have been awarded in any year” and the most awarded to any university by the HRC in 2023.

While Otago met its goal of increasing its external research funding (averaged over three years), the number of “quality-assured research outputs” declined.

The University of Canterbury said its external research income went up from NZ$57.8m to NZ$69.8m. It explained its deficit partly by “increased research activity”, and financial figures in the report show that total research funding (including self-funding) jumped from NZ$85m in 2022 to NZ$97m in 2023.

AUT named a “reduction in research activity and participation”, and lower Māori and Pacific student enrolments, among its “challenges”. The value of new research contracts signed by AUT fell to NZ$15.3m from 2022’s NZ$27.6m, and only 58 per cent of academic staff were active in research, compared with 62 per cent in 2022.

The reports of the universities of Waikato and Lincoln are yet to be published. Waikato expects to publish its reports in June, and Lincoln in July.

The University of Auckland and Victoria University Wellington had already published their reports, with both recording small surpluses.

The post Canterbury, Massey and Otago universities report deficits appeared first on Research Professional News.