DiscoveryCamp and NanoCamp

The annual NanoCamp and DiscoveryCamp for Year 12 and 13 secondary school students take place in January each year and are hugely popular. The four-day, all-expenses-paid residential programmes give students the opportunity to learn about nanoscience through lectures and lab experience with MacDiarmid Institute investigators.

Designed for Māori and Pacific Island students in their final years of high school, MacDiarmid Institute DiscoveryCamp - Te Tohu Huraina - is an annual programme, now in its tenth year, where students from all around the country gather to do real research with the country's leading scientists from the MacDiarmid Institute. The programme's aim is to enhance the students' science knowledge, inspire a love of discovery and help them carve out a career in science. Each summer we also offer four DiscoveryCamp alumni the opportunity to gain further hands-on experience and knowledge in our MacDiarmid Institute labs.

Applications for DiscoveryCamp and NanoCamp 2025 are now closed.  We will be in touch with all applicants for 2025 by the end of October to let them know the outcomes to their applications. If you have any queries about the 2025 camps, or if you would like to be contacted when applications open in July 2025 for the 2026 camps, please contact us at macdiarmidnano-discoverycamp@vuw.ac.nz.