Otago successful in $69 million of CoRE funding
New Delhi: The University of Otago is proud to announce success in two applications for Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) funding in the latest Centre of Research Excellence (CoRE) funding round. The two projects receive a combined NZ$69 million over a seven year period beginning July 2021. The successful Otago CoREs are The Dodd-Walls Centre for Photonic and Quantum Technologies (NZ$36,750,000), and Coastal People: Southern Skies (NZ$32,250,000).
Professor Richard Blaikie, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Enterprise says the funding is a significant show of support for two national research centres that will benefit local and global knowledge. “We are extremely grateful to the TEC for this important funding. The Dodd Walls Centre for Photonic and Quantum Technologies will continue its work in world-class physical sciences research, while our Coastal People: Southern Skies project will investigate ways to strengthen coastal communities in the Pacific as they deal with the challenges and opportunities of a changing climate,” Professor Blaikie says.
Coastal People: Southern Skies (CPSS) Directors, Associate Professors Anne-Marie Jackson and Chris Hepburn are delighted with the announcement from TEC, and acknowledge the excellent team of CPSS researchers, the University, and other partners for their crucial support. “CPSS’s key purpose is to provide pathways to tertiary studies and on to exciting careers. We are an Island nation and it is exciting to see a marine CoRE funded and one that connects human wellbeing to the health of marine ecosystems here in New Zealand and the wider South Pacific Island community,” Professor Hepburn says.
The funding announced today is a continuation of TEC support for The Dodd-Walls Centre for Photonic and Quantum Technologies, Te Whai Ao, having been initially funded as a Centre of Research Excellence in 2014. “This funding enables the Centre to continue producing leading-edge research and research personnel in this dynamic field. With a secure future, we can further investigate ways to develop and harness quantum and photonic technologies which have potential to influence the world in similar ways as the microchip,” Professor Blaikie says.
University of Otago Vice-Chancellor, Professor Harlene Hayne, is thrilled with such significant funding for these important projects. “To have these Centres of Research Excellence at Otago is a great acknowledgment of the unrelenting desire for new knowledge our researchers and their collaborators hold. Thanks to this support from the TEC, these projects have potential to greatly impact New Zealand and the world. I will watch with interest and admiration as they progress,” Professor Hayne says.
Further information on the Dodd-Walls Centre can be found here: https://doddwalls.ac.nz/about/
Further information on Coastal People: Southern Skies can be found here:
https://www.otago.ac.nz/sciences/research/coastal-people.html
For further information on the TEC CoRE fund is available here: https://www.tec.govt.nz/funding/funding-and-performance/funding/fund-finder/centres-of-research-excellence/