12 April, 2024
2023 was a year full of activity, and we are pleased to share this report on the Institute's progress across a range of areas. Our research programmes are going full steam ahead: designing low energy alternatives to current computing technology, working at the interface of Mātauranga Māori with materials science, developing new materials for CO2 management and using nanotechnology to understand and address Kauri dieback.
We want to send a big thank you to our previous Deputy Directors, Professor Geoff Willmott and Professor Paul Kruger, and also a big welcome to our new Deputy Directors - Associate Professor Anna Garden and Associate Professor Natalie Plank. We are really privileged to have a deep pool of leadership talent within the Institute, and a shared commitment to our collective purpose that makes these moments of succession really uncomplicated to navigate. Thank you all for your support and work on behalf of the MacDiarmid Institute.
We worked closely with KiwiNet and others to start a conversation about the need for scale-up support for start-up companies as they outgrow their university origins, and brought together scientists, entrepreneurs and investors in the commercial stream of our AMN conference. Deep tech start-ups attracted 49% of total capital funding in Aotearoa New Zealand in the first half of 2023; our researchers deliver IP and new start-up companies into this ecosystem and our stream of highly skilled graduates are increasingly going on to work in deep tech, underpinning this sector of critical importance to Aotearoa New Zealand's economic and sustainability ambitions.
Please enjoy these snapshots of the work of our people, scientists who comprise the pipeline of talent that will enable Aotearoa New Zealand to prosper in the face of increasing global sustainability challenges.