On the 21st of October a one day conference entitled “Re-setting science and innovation (in NZ) for the next 20 years” was held in Wellington. The conference was organised by the New Zealand Association of Scientists in collaboration with Victoria University’s Institute of Policy Studies and featured presentations from many of the big players – the Minister for Research, Science and Technology, New Zealand’s Chief Science Advisor, the President of the Royal Society, high flying researchers, all providing their perspectives on science and innovation in New Zealand.
In this report, I will try and summarise the key themes emerging from the talks, describe some highlights, low points, and conclude with some of my own observations.
The low point had to be rousing myself at 4.30 am, prying myself into a suit and tie, and taking the red eye flight from Christchurch to Wellington. From there on everything improved, surprisingly for a conference focused on policy. I found the conference to be extremely beneficial in gaining an understanding about where many of the big players seem to want to head with science and innovation, and seeing that, surprisingly, there are significant areas of agreement. Talks by the Minister for Research, Science and Technology, Hon. Dr Wayne Mapp, Struan Little, Deputy Secretary, Dynamic Economy from the Treasury, Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, Chief Science Advisor and Dr Garth Carnaby, President of the Royal Society, shared some similar themes. These included:
1) A focus on applied research, technology transfer and innovation
To read the full, original article click on this link: Re-setting Science and Innovation for the next 20 years | Guest Work
Author: Dr Michael Edmonds
