Research at The University of Auckland

Outline

• The University of Auckland• Research at the University• Research is our passion• Benefits from research• Research changes lives• A vibrant international player• Research enriches our teaching• Research Office and UniServices

The University of Auckland

The University of Auckland

• Founded in 1883 now New Zealand’s largest university

• Largest and top ranked research institution in New Zealand

• Comprehensive University with full range of professional schools to PhD level

• Nearly 40,000 students and 7,000 staff including– 4,300 international students from

101 countries• Annual turnover >$800M

– >NZ$5 billion pa contribution to Auckland / NZ economy

Revenue ($M) 2007 % 2009 %

TEC Student Subsidies 219 241

Domestic Student Fees 111 123

International Student Fees 58 59

TEC - PBRF 57 69

Externally Funded Research 156 22% 206 25%

Other Revenue 111 120

Totals 712 828

The University of Auckland

Research at The University of Auckland

Research at the University – key figures

• 2,500 academic staff

• About 10,500 postgraduate students including nearly 2,000 at doctoral level

• More than 60 research units, centres and institutes

• More than 6,500 research articles, books and conference papers published annually

• 180 patent families and 115 patents granted since 1987

• Research revenue NZ$206 million pa in 2009.

• Eight Faculties:– Arts– Business and Economics– National Institute of Creative Arts and Industries– Education– Engineering– Law– Medical and Health Sciences– Science

• Two Large Scale Research Institutes (LSRI):– Auckland Bioengineering Institute - computational

physiology and biomedical engineering– Liggins Institute - research on fetal and child health

and development.

Research at the University - structure

• Four of the Eight National Centres of Research Excellence (CoREs):– Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular

Biodiscovery– National Research Centre for Growth

and Development– New Zealand Institute of

Mathematics and its Applications– Nga Pae o te Maramatanga

• More than 60 research units, centres and institutes.

Research at the University - centres

• Thematic Research Initiatives (TRIs):– Transforming Auckland

Institutional, technical and cultural innovations for sustainable cities

– Te Whare Kura

Indigenous knowledges, peoples and identities

– Biopharma Sector Development

Advancing discoveries to the market

– Food and Health Programme

Nutrition, science and engineering

Research at the University - interdisciplinarity

Research is our passion

Research is our passion

• Commitment to address complex questions facing our world

• Strong support for research centres, which combine expertise from across disciplines

• Culture of international excellence and innovation

• Collaborations with researchers from other organisations across NZ and around the world.

Benefits from research

• Highly skilled workforce:– Largest graduate school in the country – 1931 Masters and 221 PhD completions in 2009

• Knowledge society /Absorptive capacity:– More than 6,500 research articles, books and conference papers

published in 2009

• Expert advice and analysis:– 2500 academic staff

• Research capability for industry / government use:– Over $100m pa in commercial revenue

• Direct economic benefits:– Leading innovation player generating patents, licences and spin

out companies

Benefits for society

• Reputation and Rankings – Attracts creative talent and investment– Supports research degree, teaching and

building research capability

• PBRF revenues• Student recruitment (and revenues)

– Stimulating environment

• Staff recruitment– Provides world class facilities and

environment for academic researchers

• Enhanced teaching– Research informed learning

Benefits for the University

Research changes lives

• The University of Auckland has a broad range of research areas:gene therapy, bioengineering, neuronal rescue, pacific health, structural biology, wine science, computational electro-mechanics, geometric function theory, marine conservation, inductive power transfer, fish navigation, invasive species, group theory, atmospheric physics, surface science, materials chemistry, sail aerodynamics, organisational change, environmental law, Māori education, crustal fluids, obsidian dating, cross-cultural dynamics, women’s studies, art exhibitions, music composition...

Research changes lives

• Research at The University of Auckland touches on almost every aspect of our lives, eg:– Developing drugs to fight cancer such as the first agent of its kind for

disrupting blood supply to tumours

– Enriching our understanding of the cultural heritage of the Pacific

– Developing clean, green electric cars that can be recharged “on the move”

– Investigating what tertiary dance students gain from learning how to teach and learn dance in community contexts

– Tracking the health and development of 7,800 children in New Zealand

– Measuring the energy of wind to chose the best sites for wind farms– …

Research changes lives

• Research at The University of Auckland touches on almost every aspect of our lives, eg:– Creating and maintaining the World Register of Marine Species

– Modelling the human body at all levels (cellular to whole body) for research, education and testing drugs

– Determining volcanic risks in Auckland and around the world

– Helping teenagers fight depression through computer games

– Researching ethical and ecological approaches to law and governance

– Creating new products from renewable and recyclable materials

– …

Research changes lives

• Research contributes to:– Economic growth– Environmental sustainability– Social wellbeing

Research changes lives

• Advanced materials technologies• Human therapeutics• Food and health• Bioengineering• Growth and development• Robotics and healthcare• Geothermal energy• Inductive power electronics• And so on ...

Research capabilities – Economic growth

• Environmental Management– Invasive species– Breeding ecology e.g. Rosellas– Conservation biology e.g. Bryde’s whale– Sustainability and environmental justice– Landscape ecology, GIS– Marine Reserves, island biodiversity– Ecosystem Services

• Earth Systems– Natural hazards eg coastal erosion, slope stability– Geothermal energy– Mineral resources

Research capabilities – Environmental sustainability

• Water – Hydrology– Catchment management– Biofilms– Wastewater treatment– Water governance– Participatory development, public policy– Wastewater treatment

• Living with Environmental Change– Climate Change and hazards– Reconstructing past climates, dendrochronology– Carbon and nutrient cycling, ocean acidification impacts

Research capabilities – Environmental sustainability

• Dance and music studies• Patient care• History• Religion• Urban sustainability• Law and society• Applied Ethics• Social and Cultural Anthropology• Journalism, communications and media• Literature studies• Political science• Comparative education• Philosophy• And so on…

Research capabilities – Social wellbeing

A vibrant international player

A vibrant international player

• International research funding totalled more than $33 million in 2009

• Only NZ member of the international research university networks Universitas 21 and the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU)

• Associated with the Group of 8 leading Australian Universities

• Member of the World Universities Network

• Formal agreements with 170 universities in 39 countries

Research enriches teaching

Research enriches our teaching

• Over 10,500 postgraduate students including around 2,000 at doctoral level

• Students learn directly from leading thinkers about latest developments

• Opportunities to work on projects of global significance

• Two MacDiarmid Young Scientists of the Year awards since 2004.

Research Office and UniServices

Research Office – Public good and charitable funding

• 35 core staff • Supports Research Integrity through ethics

and biological safety administration (including animal welfare)

• Supports PBRF• Processed about 700 funding applications

annually• $96 million in external research revenue

(2009)• Develops and coordinates strategic research

initiatives• Supports internal funds such as Faculty

Research Development Fund.

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• 63 core staff plus ~700 on contract• Wholly owned subsidiary of the University• Largest commercialisation company in

Australasia• IP management, patents, licensing• Formation of new businesses• $116 million in commercial research

revenue (2009)• Spin out companies raised $130 million of

investment in last 3 years• Works across more than 2,500 projects in

any one year, across 36 countries.

Auckland UniServices Ltd – Commercial research

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Research at The University of Auckland

Thank you