...and makes renewed effort to boost research linkages with Europe in the process
The reasons for pursuing international collaboration within New Zealand's research community vary from a desire to be at the cutting edge to a need to secure human resources, funding and access to equipment. Whatever their reasons, there is no doubting the interest within New Zealand in increasing links with European researchers, as CORDIS News discovered on a recent visit to the country. Many New Zealand researchers already have links with Europe, principally on an individual basis, but often on an institutional level as well. There is a growing desire to increase these linkages, however, both on the part of researchers themselves and within the New Zealand government. 'If we want to be world class and cutting edge, we have to get out there and show the flag,' says Dr Murray Mitchell, Deputy Director of the National Research Centre for Growth and Development. 'It means doubling our output for half the price.' International collaboration 'would halve the time it takes to get products to the market. We don't necessarily need the money, just the commitment to work on joint projects,' echoes Dr Alison Stewart, Director of the Centre for Advanced Bio-Protection Technologies. The New Zealand Research, Science and Technology Ministry has a strategy for increasing international research linkages. The European Union component of this strategy focuses on the exchange of information and developing relationships so as to enable New Zealand researchers to put in proposals for the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) and to position themselves for FP7, according to Paul Atkins, Director of International Linkages at the ministry. While access to funding may not be a driving factor for Dr Stewart, New Zealand is a small country and public money is limited. The opening up of FP6 is gaining increased interest in New Zealand. Some are put off by a perceived complexity and lack of willingness within Europe to open up to the world, while others have joined consortia submitting proposals. Only one entity has as yet passed the evaluation stage, but CORDIS News discovered a genuine desire among other researchers to find out more about the opportunities and to get involved. Canesis, New Zealand's largest wool and textiles research company, has been working with a Spanish research institute on the application of lipids, extracted from sheep wool, to human skin in a cosmetic form. The partners are already looking into building an EU project in this area. The company is also interested in collaborating with Europe on research into skin allergies caused by wool, as well as those working on smart textiles. 'We want to be in touch with people working on other nodes. Collaboration is a way of lifting our skills base,' explained managers and researchers from Canesis. Another area of interest for collaboration is biopolymers. More work has been done in this area of research in Europe than in New Zealand, but Canesis now has the capability, according to the company. 'To be the world best and to work from a small country we need to work globally and receive funding globally,' explained General Manager for Textiles, Dr Nigel Johnson. Canesis has had success in FP6, although through its office in the UK. New Zealand as such is only represented in one FP6 project so far, and it is the Crown Research Institute HortResearch that is flying the flag. The project, EuropRevall, is due to commence in June 2005 and will investigate the prevalence, cost and basis of food allergies across Europe. It will also seek to develop holistic approaches for their prevention. HortResearch started out as an associated partner, but was invited to become a full project participant at the initiative of the European Commission after the proposal had been evaluated. In addition to the interest from industry and the Crown Research Institutes, there is also a wish to increase international collaboration within New Zealand's universities, and in particular, its Centres of Research Excellence (CoREs). While Europe was coming to terms with the new funding instruments introduced under FP6, the Integrated Projects and the Networks of Excellence, New Zealand was establishing its own networks for promoting excellence - the CoREs. The similarities between the two instruments should make them very suited to collaboration. Dr Stewart certainly thinks so: '[The Centre for Advanced Bio-Protection Technologies] is an easy way of connecting with the New Zealand science community with regard to EU projects,' she told CORDIS News. The CoRE can point any researchers from New Zealand interested in collaborating on bio-protection research in the right direction, she added: 'The CoRE is a path to whichever specialism they're interested in. We do all the hard work. We have an unbiased view of who the best team is.' There are six other CoREs in addition to that of bio-protection: The Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology and Evolution; the Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery; the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology; the New Zealand Institute of Mathematics and its Applications; the National Centre for Growth and Development and the National Institute of Research Excellence for Maori Development and Advancement. Like the EU equivalent they encourage collaboration. Some bring together several of New Zealand's universities, while others have forged links between various departments within one university, and are thus working on the basis of interdisciplinary collaboration. 'All CoREs have a theme,' explained Professor Ted Baker, a member of the management committee for the molecular biodiscovery CoRE. 'Their projects are all related in a broad way and the funding is for the CoRE itself rather than research, so it can fund PhDs and Postdocs.' Professor Baker welcomes the CoRE initiative as 'evidence of the government's commitment to excellence in research.' He also highlights how the CoREs have acted as a catalyst for increased collaboration. Some of the collaborations within his CoRE already existed, but principally in pairs. Other links are completely new: 'It never occurred to me that we may have something in common with some of the other groups. It was quite a revelation to me. One of the most positive things to come out of this is to have people think more widely and to bring people together.' Professor Baker is on the scientific advisory board for the FP6 project BIOXHIT, which he values as an opportunity to see what is happening in the field of structural genomics before anything is published. The government funding received by the CoREs has allowed them to update their equipment. Professor Baker's team, for example, now has a crystallising robotics facility. 'The equipment has enabled us to do some things that have really moved our research along. [...] We now have close to state of the art equipment that rates with the best European laboratories.' Those involved in the CoREs also welcome the fact that 'we have the luxury to be able to choose our own projects', in the words of Professor Paul Callaghan, Director of The MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology. The centres are consequently undertaking a combination of basic and applied research. The CoREs are already attracting researchers from overseas, according to Professor Callaghan. His department at the Victoria University of Wellington, as is the case with many university departments, receives a huge amount of interest, particularly from foreign students. While New Zealand traditionally has very strong links with the UK, from Europe it is French and German students who are most frequently to be found in New Zealand's laboratories. A government agreement with these countries means that French and German students pay domestic student fees in New Zealand. There is strong support within New Zealand's research community for the extension of this policy to other countries. There is also strong support for existing government initiatives aimed at increasing international research collaboration. The latest is the International Investment Opportunities Fund (IIOF), but this joins a list of other programmes. The IIOF includes a funding envelope to support the participation of New Zealand researchers in international projects whose funding cycles do not match those of New Zealand. The government has, for many years, also been financing the International Science and Technology (S&T) Linkages Fund Programmes, which are administered by the Royal Society of New Zealand. This is effectively a travel grant programme that provides for researchers to make overseas trips in order to build relationships and/or discuss a collaborative project. The New Zealand government has also appointed Melae Langbein as its first overseas science counsellor, and illustrating the country's commitment to collaborating with Europe, she is based in the New Zealand Embassy in Brussels. The appointment is 'crucial' and will 'save a huge amount of time', according to Professor Dick Bedford, Director of the University of Waikato. Ms Langbein's role is described by the CEO of the Research, Science and Technology Ministry as 'establishing, enhancing and developing relationships'. While interest in bilateral collaboration with individual countries or institutions has been present in New Zealand for a long time, the opportunities offered by the EU as a whole are now being recognised. 'If we want to do things properly with regard to FP7 we have to start now,' said Murray Mitchell, summing up the sentiment of many in New Zealand's research community.